Streetsblog

Thursday’s Headlines Reap What We Sowed

Traffic deaths are up across the board, but disproportionately the victims are people of color because of urban renewal and decades of disinvestment.

By Blake Aued

12:00 AM EDT on April 27, 2023

A Detroit family walks down a street with no sidewalks. Joel Kurth/Bridge Michigan.

Cyclist and pedestrian deaths have skyrocketed in the U.S. over the past 20 years — an anomaly among developed nations — and the victims are disproportionately Black and Hispanic. For decades governments prioritized wide roads in poor and minority neighborhoods that outsiders can speed through, and neglected to invest in safety. (New York Times)
Two-mile long freight trains often block intersections for hours, requiring children who walk to school to risk their lives climbing over a train that could start at any time or stay home. (ProPublica)
Automakers pretty much refuse to sell small cars and trucks in the U.S., believing Americans don’t want them. So rural farmers are importing tiny pickups from Japan. (The Economist; paywall)
“Desire paths” trampled by people where there are no paved paths help urban planners understand how to build better public spaces. (Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
California transit agencies and sympathetic legislators unveiled a five-year, $5 billion budget proposal to keep transit from going over a fiscal cliff. (CalMatters)
The Culver City council removed a protected bike lane from a downtown safety pilot program that was widely watched in the L.A. region. (LAist)
The “pause” on Philadelphia’s King of Prussia rail line is also an opportunity to draw riders back by improving existing transit service. (Governing)
Gov. Maura Healey hired the Massachusetts DOT’s first-ever chief safety officer. (Boston Herald)
Miami planners are floating a plan to turn U.S. Highway 1 into a boulevard with traffic calming measures and a bike path. (Miami Today)
A light rail crash near Denver in March was likely caused by the operator falling asleep, according to a state investigation. (Colorado Public Radio)
A Charlotte Magazine writer tried riding the bus and found it slow and frustrating, as did many of her fellow passengers.
Lisbon is the latest city to ban car traffic through downtown, if only temporarily. (City Lab)

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.

Streetsblog

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.