Tuesday’s Headlines Pick the Low-Hanging Fruit
Greg Shill argues that if a transformative road redesign isn't possible, it's time to talk about second-best strategies.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on May 7, 2024
- Rather than try for ambitious but unreachable reforms, transportation safety advocates should sidestep obstacles and go for easy wins, even if they’re not the best solution, one law professor argues. (CityLab)
- The Urbanist embarks on a four-part series about using land use policy to fight climate change.
- Mixed-use development isn’t enough to make a neighborhood walkable. The businesses have to be “useful” ones that provide daily necessities. (Next City)
- The Eno Center for Transportation quoted Streetsblog in a piece about how e-bikes are saving financially precarious bikeshares.
- New York City’s much-watched congestion pricing program could generate $15 billion to modernize aging transit infrastructure — if lawsuits don’t derail it. (NY Times)
- With six new appointees out of nine, the Houston Metro’s board of directors now seems intent on scrapping three voter-approved bus rapid transit lines. (Houston Public Media)
- Combining Chicago’s transit agencies seems like a no-brainer, but the Tribune editorial board thinks it’s more complicated than that.
- A California bill provides a funding mechanism for freeway caps to “stitch” back together minority communities divided by freeways. (Axios)
- Having thus far failed to achieve Vision Zero, San Francisco is now trying to solve the problem of traffic deaths with more cops. (SFBay)
- The Colorado Senate watered down a bill eliminating minimum parking requirements in many areas. (Newsline)
- A second Amtrak line and the opening of a train store points to a bright future for St. Paul’s Union Depot. (Star Tribune)
- Sri Lanka agreed to resume work on a $1.5 billion Japanese-funded light rail project, a sign it’s moving away from alliance with China. (Nikkei Asia)
- Sadiq Khan fended off a motorist-focused challenger to win a third term as London mayor. (Forbes)
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:
More from Streetsblog USA
What It Will Take To Turn the ‘Blue Wave’ Into a Watershed Moment for Transportation Reform
Democrats won big at the ballot box in the midterms. Will they fight for multimodal travelers when they're in office?
November 5, 2026
Midterm Results: Big Wins for Transit, Walking, and Biking
Car dependency lost in races up and down the ballot on Tuesday.
November 5, 2026
Amidst a Historic Night, California Stands Up for Its Transportation Future
A quick review of the measures and races covered at Streetsblog California
November 5, 2026
Election Recap: Street Safety and Transit Won Big Across the Empire State on Tuesday
New York had moments to celebrate for the street safety and urbanism crowd.
November 5, 2026
Election Roundup: Transit Notches Wins In California, Colorado, and New York
Transportation wasn't explicitly on the ballot yesterday in Massachusetts, but the major "blue wave" that swept the country will eventually have major implications for federal transportation policy, and stave off the Republicans' proposals for disastrous budget cuts for public transit and safer streets.
November 5, 2026
