Wednesday’s Headlines Wonder What If?

If New York City doesn't go through with congestion pricing, history is unlikely to look kindly on the decision, according to a NY Times urban policy writer.

By Blake Aued

12:42 AM EDT on June 19, 2024

Boston’s Big Dig, unpopular at the time, transformed the city for the better.

|Greenway Conservancy

Congestion pricing could have been one of those momentous decisions that changed a city's trajectory forever. (New York Times)
London's experience with congestion pricing show that it would become popular in New York if paired with a massive expansion of public transportation. (Jacobin)
Are traffic engineers really complicit in road deaths? Planetizen examined the claims made in Wes Marshall's new book and found that they hold up.
Governing makes a case for paying for roads and bridges with tolls rather than federal tax revenue.
Since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration won't act, Congress launched an investigation into the recent surge in traffic deaths. (Streetsblog USA)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking to halt a lawsuit over whether Austin can issue bonds to fund light rail, arguing that the AG's office has the sole legal authority to decide. (American-Statesman)
NPR does a deep dive into the David-and-Goliath battle between rideshare drivers and Uber and Lyft over a minimum wage in Minnesota.
Instead of asking voters to let it build a sprawling new city on farmland that's only accessible by car, Silicon Valley tech billionaires have already assembled enough appropriately zoned land for a smaller version. (San Francisco Chronicle)
In North Carolina, public health advocates are at the forefront of efforts to make roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians. (NC Health News)
Aging infrastructure means large swaths of metro Pittsburgh are hard to get around on foot, bike or even by car. (Post-Gazette)
A California bill would restrict the sale of devices allowing e-bike riders to bypass speed governors. (Electrek)
A San Diego e-bike charity is facing allegations that it misspent millions of dollars in public money. (Union-Tribune)
Salt Lake City police issued citations at a recent critical mass ride, but said they were targeting motorcyclists doing donuts and popping wheelies rather than trying to break up the event. (Tribune)
Washington, D.C.'s traffic cameras have cut speeding by 95 percent. (Post)
One D.C. resident spent two years biking to all 790 Capitol Bikeshare docks. (Washingtonian)