Tuesday’s Headlines Think the Kids Are Alright

A group of young people sued the Montana government for failing to act against climate change, and as brutal heatwaves and wildfires swept through the West, they won.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on August 15, 2023

An unfiltered image from Salem, Ore. during a 2020 wildfire. Source: Bruhmoney77, CC

|Bruhmoney77, CC

In a landmark decision, a judge in Montana ruled in favor of a group of young people who said the state's failure to tackle climate change violates the state constitution. (New York Times)
Amtrak's long-haul trains serve a purpose, but rural residents would be better served by buses connecting them to trains running through city centers. (Human Transit)
Electric bus manufacturer Proterra tried to find a buyer months before declaring bankruptcy but failed. (Axios)
London's Tube ridership is back up to 85 percent of pre-COVID levels. (BBC)
Fueled by Taylor Swift concerts and other major events, Seattle's Sound Transit smashed ridership records on two consecutive days in July. (Seattle Times)
Milwaukee's streetcar ridership continues to grow steadily. (TMJ4)
As expected, California regulators voted to allow driverless taxis to operate 24/7 in San Francisco. (The Guardian)
Texas Central — the private company that was planning high-speed rail between Houston and Dallas — reemerged from years of silence to announce it's partnering with Amtrak. (Smart Cities Dive)
Northwest Arkansas advocates are working to bring passenger rail back to the region. (Democrat-Gazette; paywall)
Los Angeles is reopening a dangerous portion of Mullholland Highway known as "The Snake" where cars have been banned since 2019 after multiple fatal crashes. (L.A. Times)
Denver's bike infrastructure is getting more sophisticated. (Post)
Philadelphia police are cracking down on people who try to save parking spaces with traffic cones, often sparking fistfights or even shootings in the process. (CBS News)
While Bethesda drivers may hate bike lanes, data shows that the reduction in car lanes isn't slowing them down. (WTOP)
Willamette Week explains why bike registration fees are a bad idea.