Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Today's Headlines

Thursday’s Headlines Burn Rubber

The rate at which electric vehicles run through tires might be good for the tire business, but most of the world already has too much particle pollution.

  • Because electric vehicles are heavier than gas-powered ones and accelerate more quickly, tires for EVs cost more and wear out faster (CNBC). That's great news for the tire industry, but not so much for the people who have to breathe all that tire dust. Already, the vast majority of countries don't meet World Health Organization standards for fine particulates, which causes millions of deaths worldwide annually (New York Times).
  • Oil company Shell is selling off 1,000 gas stations to refocus on EV charging (Autoblog). Meanwhile, San Francisco is developing a plan for curbside EV chargers that will cut down on wires from apartment buildings that trip up people on sidewalks (SF Gate). Could this be an opportunity for municipal utilities to raise funding for transit?
  • Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is trying to convince a judge to scuttle bond funding for Austin's Project Connect transit expansion. (American-Statesman)
  • Speed cameras on Philadelphia's notoriously dangerous Roosevelt Boulevard have been shown to reduce crashes, encouraging the city to try them on other streets, but design changes are still needed. (WHYY)
  • Milwaukee is quadrupling its spending on street safety projects. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
  • Pittsburgh is combining several transit projects into one $150 million behemoth to streamline construction and reduce service interruptions. (CBS News)
  • A Tennessean columnist makes the case that Mayor Freddie O'Connell's transit plan will result in a more free and prosperous city.
  • A quarter of Seattle's neighborhoods lack sidewalks, and at the current pace it would take 400 years to build them all. (KOMO)
  • Harrisburg is ticketing drivers who park on sidewalks at a rate of $30 per hour. (The Burg)
  • Missoula is reshaping its downtown to make it friendlier to buses, cyclists and pedestrians. (Current)
  • London has quadruped its bike network since 2016 (Intelligent Transport). That doesn't sit well with the UK's pro-driver government, which is seeking to stymie local efforts to reduce traffic (The Guardian), even as one of its own advisers urges Tories to encourage walking and biking (also The Guardian).
  • Scotland transportation advocates are seeking to halt all new road projects. (BBC)

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

This Heat Wave is a Car Dependency Problem

Our quickly warming planet has a unique impact on people who don't or can't drive — and we need policy action to protect their health.

July 18, 2024

A Hillbilly Elegy for Thursday’s Headlines

Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president, supports more federal subsidies for giant, deadly, gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs.

July 18, 2024

We Need to Stop Killing People On Our Roads; a New ‘Bikes Belong’ Campaign Could Help

A ground-breaking campaign in the 90s helped deliver the federal money America needed to fund active transportation infrastructure. Is it time to re-laucnch it?

July 18, 2024

Wednesday’s Headlines Got the Worried Blues

Transit agencies listen to that whistle blow. They're going where they never gone before.

July 17, 2024

Study: More Evidence That Safer Streets Don’t Hurt Local Business

...more insight into why people simply don't believe it.

July 17, 2024
See all posts