Wednesday’s Headlines Think Smaller Is Better
American drivers need to break their addiction to ever-bigger trucks and SUVs. But automakers don't give them much of a choice.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on August 23, 2023
- Small cars are more efficient and less dangerous for pedestrians, but because automakers make higher profits off of trucks and SUVs, many refuse to even sell them (Ars Technica). In related news, the 10,000-pound electric Hummer has the lowest gas mileage equivalent of any EV on the market — even lower than some gas-powered sedans (Jalopnik).
- Traffic engineers should be looking at transportation from a public health perspective, according to a new research paper. (Governing)
- A California bill would overhaul the state’s racist highway-building practices that have exacerbated poor air quality in low-income communities. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
- Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is abandoning plans for a public-private Beltway widening partnership and asking the feds for $2.4 billion to complete the $6 billion project. (Washington Post)
- A recent D.C. study that tracked more than 300,000 vehicles found that 70 percent were exceeding the speed limit. (Greater Greater Washington)
- The Twin Cities have a deal with Hennepin County to split the remaining $535 million cost for the Southwest Corridor light rail project. (Minnesota Public Radio)
- Seattle is spending an extra $170 million on a light rail project to avoid impacting a street that only carries 9,000 cars a day. (The Urbanist)
- As unpredictable as robotaxis can be, the greatest threat they pose is to San Francisco’s transit system. (48 Hills)
- Eliminating parking mandates and reducing dependency on cars allows developers to free up urban space for humans. (Milwaukee Independent)
- The only thing worse than Dallas drivers might be its roads. (Morning News)
- Light rail in Austin is still six to eight years away. (CBS Austin)
- Starting Sept. 1 transit will be free for Philadelphia city government employees. (WHYY)
- The driver of a Philadelphia trolley that crashed in July didn’t know the brakes had been disabled while being repaired. (KYW)
- Richmond has found a new bikeshare vendor to replace a company that suddenly went belly-up. (Axios)
- Transit isn’t just for people — according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, it’s good for fish, too. (Alaska Sporting Journal)
- Toronto is considering a parking tax that would encourage using transit and bring the city half a billion dollars annually. (CBC)
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.
Read More:
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.
More from Streetsblog USA
Friday Video: Take Transit to the World Cup … If You Can Afford It
Why are some cities forced to charge high fares to World Cup visitors who want to take the train, while others are giving away rides nearly for free?
May 1, 2026
Good Public Transit + Good Public Funding = Good Public Health
Transit agencies need to do more to remind policy makers of the connection between good public transportation and good public health, a report argues.
May 1, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Walk Warily
Don't be fooled by declining statistics. Walking in the U.S. is still too dangerous.
May 1, 2026
Boston’s New Climate Plan Is At Odds With Boston’s New Transportation Policies
Mayor Wu's climate plan calls on the city to cut traffic and "transform" its transportation system, but City Hall leadership is cancelling and delaying projects that would actually accomplish those goals.
April 30, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: The Logistics of Package Delivery
Benjamin Fong on out how e-commerce companies like Amazon have built their logistics systems and the difficulty of last-mile delivery.
April 30, 2026
