Thursday’s Headlines Check In On Vision Zero
Ten years after the concept crossed the Atlantic, traffic deaths are on the rise in the U.S. despite a few cities' success stories.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on February 8, 2024
- In the 10 years since U.S. cities started adopting Vision Zero, they’ve had mixed success. A few cities have seen pedestrian and cyclist deaths decline, but they’re rising in the nation as a whole. (NPR)
- Unbelievably, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had to warn Tesla drivers not to wear Apple’s new virtual reality headsets while behind the wheel. (The Guardian)
- A coalition of almost 200 community groups launched a campaign telling governments to stop widening highways. (Streetsblog USA)
- The Federal Transit Administration awarded $110 million in disaster relief grants to eight transit agencies, primarily New Jersey’s to repair damage caused by Hurricane Ida. (Railway Age)
- The D.C. Metro’s latest budget projections are better, but the transit agency is still proposing to raise fares and cut down the rush-hour peak service window. (DCist)
- New York state received $1 billion in flexible funds from the federal infrastructure law that could have been spent on transit, but spent it on highways instead. (Focus)
- Take a look at the design for New York City’s new Port Authority Bus Terminal. (NY Times)
- Crime is down and ridership is on the Twin Cities’ Metro Transit, but some riders still say they don’t feel safe. (CBS News)
- A top academic in Buffalo warns that it would be a huge mistake to rebuild the notorious Humboldt expressway, which devastated a Black neighborhood, and that the state should fill it in instead. (Buffalo News)
- Orlando approved plans to fill in six gaps in the city’s bike and sidewalk network. (WFTV)
- Progress has been slow on Tucson’s Complete Streets initiative. (Arizona Republic)
- Anchorage is full of “stroads,” as Strong Towns’ Charles Marohn calls them — wide, fast roads where friendlier urban streets should be. (Alaska Business)
- India electrified almost half its rail network in five years and is aiming to reach net-zero emissions by 2030. (Energy Monitor)
- The House of Lords is pressing the British government to push back on misinformation about electric vehicles. (BBC)
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
Are U.S. Cities Ready for the Robo-Taxi Revolution?
And how can they get ready to regulate the shared AV revolution?
April 28, 2026
Tuesday’s Headlines Pay for Roads Whether We Use Them or Not
Over half of road funding does not come directly from road users, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
April 28, 2026
Urban Truth Collective: The One-Hour City Conspiracy
Here's the real conspiracy: Too many people are forced into car-dependent lives, with more health harms, more crashes, more noise, more air pollution, more social isolation — and less space for everything good our streets should be giving us.
April 27, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Introduce the New Green New Deal
To quote the great philosopher Kermit the Frog, "It's not easy being green."
April 27, 2026
How Intercity Bus Lines Are Rebranding To Attract New Riders
Getting people riding the bus isn't just about service; it's also about style.
April 27, 2026
