Who’s to Blame for Tuesday’s Headlines?
Are the people in this photo inherently "vulnerable", or is this car just dangerous?
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on April 30, 2024
- Americans’ growing penchant for ever-bigger, dirtier and more dangerous trucks and SUVs isn’t just a matter of consumer preference. Federal policies that subsidize light trucks and charge tariffs on smaller vehicles from abroad, as well as loopholes in safety standards, are also to blame. (Vox)
- A Governing podcast discusses how administrative barriers and public opinion make traffic-calming measures difficult to implement.
- A new report from the Mineta Transportation Institute examines the cybersecurity threats facing transit. (Transportation Today)
- Rather than talk about how cyclists and pedestrians are “vulnerable,” it’s more accurate to call drivers “dangerous,” a Bike Portland writer argues.
- Houston’s Metropolitan Transit Agency is reducing service on the Silver Line, which could lead to the loss of a federal grant and is unlikely to improve disappointing ridership numbers (Chron).
- Outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin traffic deaths fell by 36 percent between 2002 and 2022. Within the county, they more than doubled. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
- Atlanta formally launched its Vision Zero initiative on Juniper Street, which had 620 crashes over a four-year period. (Rough Draft)
- A rail link from the Orlando Airport to attractions like Disney World would cost $4 billion, according to a new Florida DOT study, which sounds like a lot but is actually less than previous estimates (Trains). Meanwhile, Florida’s Brightline set records for ridership and revenue in March on its Miami-to-Orlando line (Newsweek).
- The first leg of Sound Transit’s 2 Line connecting Eastside Seattle communities opened on Saturday. (Axios)
- San Francisco parking officers say they fear for their safety after being ordered to crack down on parking violations. (CBS News)
- A Chicago watchdog group is calling to consolidate the region’s transit agencies to save money, although transit officials say funding, not structure, is the problem. (Block Club)
- Drivers killed a record 35 people in Missouri road work zones last year. (KCUR)
- Donors from outside the district are pouring money into a Baltimore city council race where the hot-button issue is bike lanes. (Brew)
- Momentum Mag ranks the 30 most picturesque bike routes in the world.
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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