Tuesday’s Headlines Breathe in the Air
Don't be afraid to care... about all the harmful pollution cars spew, in addition to all the people they kill in crashes.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on October 24, 2023
- While it’s always good to call attention to the catastrophic number of traffic deaths in the U.S., don’t forget that pollution from automobiles also contributes to millions of premature deaths around the world. (Jalopnik, Streetsblog USA)
- Bike Portland is at the Vision Zero Cities conference in New York, where they learned that guerilla urbanism works, that advocates and their allies in government need to build trust with communities, and that eventually the government will be forced to regulate supersized vehicles.
- The Eno Center for Transportation has more inside baseball on congressional highway trust fund hearings.
- Newly released dashcam video shows a Portland driver flying into a rage over freeway exit closures before plowing through a parade in June (Oregonian). He’s still awaiting trial, but another road-rage driver in Charlottesville reached a plea deal involving no jail time for intentionally swerving into a cyclist (Richmond Times-Dispatch).
- The Los Angeles Times editorial board praises the L.A. Metro’s recent push to build more bus-only lanes.
- Denver transit ridership grew by a million rides during the two-month period when the Regional Transportation District offered free passes. (KDVR)
- After Dallas Area Rapid Transit shelved plans for a downtown subway, some city officials are trying to revive the project as a streetcar. (D Magazine)
- After decades of resistance, freight hauler Norfolk Southern now says it’s open to letting Charlotte use its tracks for commuter rail. (WFAE)
- Spending on traffic calming and bridge repairs are at the top of the list for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s proposed budget. (Post-Gazette)
- It’s short on details, but the Seattle DOT has released a list of 80 future projects ahead of a 2024 transportation levy vote. (The Urbanist)
- Charleston continues to drag its feet on a King Avenue bike lane. (City Paper)
- The Indiana Pacers bikeshare is adding 250 e-bikes in Indianapolis. (NBA)
- Fox 10 interviews Diamondbacks fans who rode Phoenix light rail to a baseball playoff game.
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.
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