Monday’s Headlines Need More Action

If motorists won't even buy electric vehicles, what's the hope that they will ever come around to the things that might actually save us from climate change?

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on July 24, 2023

EVs and renewables are not going to be enough to stave off a climate catastrophe, scientists are warning officials at an international conference.

|Daniel Andraski, CC

Americans don't seem inclined to even do the bare minimum of switching from internal combustions engines to electric vehicles to avert an existential climate crisis, let alone invest in transit and radically downsize the nation's car fleet. (Jalopnik)
A new report from Transportation America shows how governments can't make transportation more equitable by repeating the same car-centric, community-dividing mistakes of the past. (Smart Cities Dive)
Walkable streets help cities improve their economy, environment and health. (American City and County)
Extreme heat reduces the range of EVs by as much as 30 percent. (Automotive News)
About 50,000 people are convicted under Georgia's distracted driving law each year, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's transportation columnist questions whether the law is really a deterrent because the penalties are so low. Burt is the answer 30-year sentences, like the one a Florida court handed down to a driver who killed a child while using a phone? (Streetsblog USA)
New Jersey is rushing to build a bus rapid transit line to get soccer fans to the 2026 World Cup. (northjersey.com)
Construction work has started on the notoriously dangerous "Dave Thomas Circle" in Washington D.C. where a Wendy's closed two years ago. (Washington Post)
A New Orleans lawsuit alleges that most streetcars and stops are inaccessible to riders who use wheelchairs. (Fox 8)
Minnesota's new budget offers hope for a bike connection over the Short Line bridge to St. Paul. (MinnPost)
Washington state is considering switching from a per-gallon gas tax to a vehicle-miles-driven system. (KIMA)
Spokane eliminated parking mandates within half a mile of transit routes. (Spokesman-Review)
Everything you need to know about bikepacking. (Momentum Mag)