Friday’s Headlines Gird Our Loins
Get ready for another front in the culture wars. The Biden administration's emissions standards are going to be the next gas stoves.
By
Blake Aued
12:00 AM EDT on April 14, 2023
- The Biden administration’s proposed crackdown on tailpipe emissions would cut U.S. oil consumption by 17 billion barrels over the next 30 years (Bloomberg). But it wouldn’t close the light truck loophole that grants more leeway to automakers who produce a lot of SUVs and pick-ups (Vox). Still, that explains why the oil and gas industry is lining up against it, and it’s about to become Republicans’ latest front in the culture wars (Politico).
- Red states like Ohio are considering raising speed limits on highways even as traffic deaths reach all-time highs. (Pew Stateline)
- The Congress for New Urbanism‘s annual Freeways Without Futures list — composed of examples from New York, Texas, Maryland, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Washington, Oklahoma and Ohio — is the first to coincide with an actual federal effort to tear down such urban freeways.
- Intercity bus lines are hoping to reverse their fortunes by becoming more like airlines, with reserved seating, baggage restrictions and cooperation on connections. It makes more sense when you read it. (Metro Mag)
- But as shown by New Orleans’ Claiborne Expressway, such efforts are often more complicated than they seem. (City Lab)
- A San Diego NIMBY group is using environmental laws to challenge loosened regulations on density and parking. (CBS 8)
- Detroit’s central business district is made up of 30 percent parking. (Axios)
- An Austin city council resolution would eliminate parking requirements at bars in an effort to discourage drunk driving. (KXAN)
- South Carolina, of all places, is leading the way in electrifying its school bus fleet. (Government Technology)
- A poll found overwhelming opposition to Omaha’s proposed streetcar, but Mayor Jean Stothert called it a push poll that gave respondents false information before asking them to respond. (Nebraska Examiner)
- Tactical urbanists installed paint buckets on Indianapolis bike lanes to serve as bollards, but some motorists still drove in them anyway. (Fox 59)
- Here’s how Turkish cities are expanding mobility opportunities for women, children and cyclists. (The City Fix)
- And here’s what public squares in 14 cities looked like before and after they were reclaimed for people. (Domus)
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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