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Tuesday’s Headlines Get Off Our Phones

12:28 AM EDT on May 2, 2023

Photo credit: Tim Samuel

    • Drivers are increasingly distracted by their phones, according to a new study, contributing to the rise in traffic deaths in recent years. States that passed hands-free laws saw improvements...but those improvements didn't always last. (Route Fifty)
    • Vox interviewed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about traffic safety, fare-free transit and ridership recovery after COVID.
    • The Federal Railroad Administration issued a warning about super-long freight trains that are more prone to derailment. (Associated Press)
    • Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is pushing back against city council proposals for a rideshare congestion charge and canceling K Street bus lanes to pay for fare-free transit. (DCist)
    • The president of the Chicago Transit Authority has criticized the city transit system as unsafe and unreliable, but how would he know? He hardly ever rides it. (Block Club Chicago)
    • MARTA is starting construction later this year on two south Atlanta arterial transit lines — like bus rapid transit but without dedicated lanes. (AJC)
    • Phoenix's Valley Metro is looking to identify a route for a new light rail or BRT line through Maryvale. (KTAR)
    • Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson is floating a plan to turn I-794 into at-grade streets and redevelop the longtime dead zone of MacArthur Square. (Journal Sentinel)
    • Biking was up 57 percent in Culver City due to a downtown bike lane before the Los Angeles-area city's council voted to remove it. (Bicycling)
    • Portland announced plans for a protected bike lane and transit improvements on Southwest Jefferson. (Bike Portland)
    • St. Paul cyclists are split on redesign options for Summerhill Avenue. (MinnPost)
    • Here's how Seattle residents can bike downtown during a two-week Link light rail service slowdown. (Seattle Bike Blog)
    • Burlington is expected to get a new bikeshare in the coming months. (WCAX)
    • A slushy machine, a lightsaber and a Danny DeVito Christmas ornament are among the items Uber passengers left behind in 2022. (CNN)

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