Streetsblog

Tuesday’s Headlines Want a Do-Over

What if we could go back and tell mid-20th century urban planners how many people the roads they designed would kill?

By Blake Aued

12:00 AM EDT on May 23, 2023

Simply painting a bike lane here wouldn't help much. Google Maps

A hundred years of designing roads for the sole purpose of moving cars quickly has created a deadly and dysfunctional status quo in the suburbs. (New York Times)
With pedestrian deaths at an all-time high, residents all over the country are urging cities to focus less on car culture and start spending more on safety. (Associated Press)
A new federal policy requires recipients of highway safety funding to spend at least 15 percent of it on preventing cyclist and pedestrian deaths. (Smart Cities Dive)
Austin’s future light rail system is under threat because Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton thinks Project Connect’s funding mechanism is illegal. (American-Statesman)
D.C. Metro buses face the possibility of a death spiral if they go fare-free as city tax revenue starts to decline. (Washington Post)
In contrast, Portland’s TriMet is set to vote this week on its first fare increase since 2012. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority is asking for federal aid on an ambitious 107-mile passenger rail network. (Star)
Some believe redesigning Milwaukee streets isn’t enough to change behavior after reckless drivers killed six people and injured six more last weekend. (Journal-Sentinel)
The Minnesota Senate passed a minimum-wage bill for Uber and Lyft drivers, sending it to Gov. Tim Walz, who’s been noncommittal. (Reformer)
Philadelphia’s first protected bike lane is coming to Market Street. (Billy Penn)
It took more than decade for a Pennsylvania mother to get a sidewalk built on the street where a driver killed her son in 2012. (Fox 29)
Twitter is dunking on Los Angeles’ “La Sombrita” bus shelters, but they’re neither as bad as the internet thinks nor as good as city officials claim. (Streetsblog LA)
Instant karma got this Oakland road-rage driver who went on a racist rant while driving down the freeway. (Jalopnik)
Mobile residents had the opportunity to take a bike tour last weekend of Underground Railroad stops. (Fox 10)

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.