Friday’s Headlines Have Bad News and Bad News

Two rather pessimistic stories wonder whether the U.S. will ever rid itself of the car death cult.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on June 30, 2023

Photo: Oscar Sutton, CC

We know how to stem the tide of needless traffic deaths in the U.S. — redesign streets and regulate vehicle size. It's just that bureaucratic inertia and industry lobbyists prevent us from doing it. (The American Prospect)
Can city planners ever halt, let alone reverse, the car-centric sprawl of the past 100 years? (Deseret News)
Recognizing the often hidden costs of being stuck in traffic, the National Review urges conservatives to be open-minded about congestion pricing.
A new survey found that three-quarters of Americans would pay more for a house in a walkable neighborhood. The percentage drops with age, though, from 92 percent among Gen Z to 56 percent for the Silent or Greatest generation. (Realtor Magazine)
Trucks drive 175 billion miles each year in the U.S., and between a fifth and a third of those miles, they are empty. (Transport Topics)
The California budget deal still leaves Bay Area transit agencies $60 million short. (SFBay)
A short circuit probably caused an accident that killed a Boston train rider last year, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. (Railway Age)
A venture capitalist tried to talk Austin into spending $2.6 billion on a network of tunnels built by Elon Musk's Boring Company. (Fortune)
Denver cyclists can now register their bikes with the city to help identify them if they're stolen and recovered. (Denverite)
Kansas City's transit agency has dropped plans to build a transit-oriented high-rise and dissolved its development arm. (Flatland)
St. Louis has plans to improve 10 of its most dangerous intersections. (Post-Dispatch)
While some cities consider banning new drive-throughs, walkup windows are already popular in Minneapolis and St. Paul. (MinnPost)