Streetsblog

Wednesday’s Headlines Are Cited Less

Cities are rightfully worried about overpolicing and disproportionate traffic enforcement against people of color, but it may come with a cost.

By Blake Aued

12:00 AM EDT on April 12, 2023

Source: Jimmy Emersen/Creative Commons.

Traffic citations are down by 86 percent in Seattle compared to 2019, which some blame for a spike in deaths. Law enforcement departments are shorthanded, and cities are banning “pretext” stops that expose drivers of color to police violence. (NPR)
Companies like Uber and DoorDash are exploiting their drivers — and so are the customers. (New York Times)
NASA is starting to measure air pollution from space, which will provide data that ground-based instruments can’t detect. (Wired)
Two new studies indicated that Southern U.S. cities like Miami and New Orleans are in even greater peril from climate change than previously thought. (The Guardian)
Adherents to the #VanLife movement that took off during the pandemic are extremely environmentally conscious (Bloomberg). But how good for the environment can it really be to live in a vehicle?
The Houston Metro approved a route for the 25-mile University Corridor bus rapid transit line without buy-in from some of the minority neighborhoods it will pass through. (Chronicle)
Kansas City is applying for Missouri state tax credits to build a park over the South Loop freeway. (KCUR)
A federal appeals court ordered Chicago to install audible crosswalk signals, ruling that visual signs discriminate against the sight-impaired. (NBC Chicago)
Milwaukee bikeshare Bublr is advocating for more protected bike lanes. (CBS 58)
A Chicago program helps students from disadvantaged communities find employment as bike mechanics. (CBS News)
Sounds like the Chicago Transit Authority needs to take a mental health day for some self-care. (The Onion)

Blake Aued

Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.

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