Wednesday’s Headlines Fight Freeways
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on February 21, 2024
- Environmental groups are calling for a national moratorium on building new highway lanes (Washington Post, Streetsblog USA)
- Canada is actually taking such steps, with the environmental minister saying the government would no longer fund “large road projects.” (CBC)
- A little-known provision in the Trump-era tax law led to a proliferation of car washes and gas stations in Jacksonville and beyond. (Action News Jax)
- Salt Lake City’s walkable downtown is great for business — so great that it’s hard for new ones to find a space to open. (City Weekly)
- Las Vegas police say reckless drivers are running amok. Yet they blamed the victims in 12 of 13 pedestrian deaths this year. (3 News)
- Deadly hit-and-run crashes hit an all-time high in Philadelphia last year for the second year in a row. (NBC 10)
- Transit is booming in Cincinnati, which raises the question, what if the city had finished its subway system 100 years ago? (Enquirer)
- New Orleans’ Rampart streetcar, closed since a hotel collapsed in 2019, still hasn’t reopened even though officials said it would after Mardi Gras. (WWL)
- For the second year in a row, Washington state legislators are trying to pass a bill allowing more housing development around public transit. (The Urbanist)
- A Colorado bill would eliminate minimum parking requirements statewide. (Fox 31)
- Even as city officials pivot to roads to appease Republican North Carolina legislators, a group called Sustain Charlotte is pushing for more transit funding as the only way to reduce traffic. (Spectrum)
- Des Moines residents told the city council they want it to fund transit and avoid “drastic” service cuts. (Register)
- Akron included an historically high $1 million for sidewalk repairs in next year’s budget. (News 5 Cleveland)
- East Providence has started the process of creating a new bike and pedestrian plan. (ecoRI)
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
Dems Push for Guardrails to Shield Federal Transportation Grants From Trump Meddling
Will Senate Democrats leverage the proposed Build America 250 Act to end President Trump's meddling in transportation funding?
June 23, 2026
Should Residents Be Allowed To Ticket Trucks That Pollute The Air?
A New Jersey Congressman opposes efforts to clear the air (but he takes donations from bus companies!).
June 23, 2026
Porchfest Brings Affordable Entertainment to the Streets
People-first streets aren’t just life-saving – they’re a cost-of-living tool. And they're fun.
June 23, 2026
Tuesday’s Headlines Call It Heavy Metal
A New York Times interactive feature shows why larger vehicles are more deadly for pedestrians.
June 23, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Are Biked Up
Out of 3,000 U.S. cities, the number that scored well on People for Bike's metrics more than doubled to 555 between 2025 and 2026.
June 22, 2026