Wednesday’s Headlines Believe in Monsters
And so does the CEO of Ford. That's how he described some vehicles while calling for a shift to smaller EVs as pedestrian deaths remain high.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on July 3, 2024
- Increasingly heavy vehicles, lax traffic enforcement and dangerous driving are among the reasons pedestrian deaths remain high in Vision Zero communities (Smart Cities Dive). Even Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford — which famously stopped manufacturing ordinary passenger cars in recent years — now says that the U.S. needs “radical change” away from “monster vehicles.” (Electrek)
- Freeways ripped through Black neighborhoods and destroyed city tax bases in service to suburban car commuters, but government officials remain mostly indifferent. (Governing)
- The Washington Post delves into how conservatives on the Supreme Court have crippled presidential administrations’ ability to deal with climate change.
- New York lawmakers are pressing Gov. Kathy Hochul to bring back congestion pricing with slightly lower toll. (New York Times)
- A budget that includes a corporate tax hike generating $800 million a year for transit is headed to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk. (North Jersey)
- A Seattle city council member is pushing to add to Mayor Bruce Harrell’s $1.7 billion transportation proposal. (The Urbanist)
- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Raleigh to break ground on a high-speed rail line connecting it to Richmond. (NC Pulse)
- Houston is now the largest U.S. city without bike-share, and it’s unclear when or if another one will take BCycle’s place. (Houston Public Media)
- Miami is building the nation’s first all-electric bus depot, capable of storing and charging 100 electric buses. (ENR Southeast)
- The disease is sprawl, and Phoenix is betting that transit-oriented development is the cure. (Architect Magazine)
- Honolulu’s transportation director lent his support to the city transit agency’s CEO and explained the takeover of a nonprofit bikeshare in an interview with Hawaii Public Radio.
- Milwaukee is telling drivers to slow down. Will they listen? (Fox 6)
- A Minneapolis artist painted the sidewalk in front of his house. Is it art or graffiti? (MinnPost)
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
Friday’s Headlines Keep Our Eyes on the Road, Our Hands Upon the Wheel
Going to the roadhouse in a self-driving car does not mean you're gonna have a real good time.
April 3, 2026
Friday Video: A Master List of All The Reasons Why Car Domination Sucks
Jason Slaughter catalogues the many harms of America's preferred transportation monoculture.
April 2, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: Civil Rights, Civic Transport
Let's talk about "disparate impact" — and why the Trump administration wants to gut it.
April 2, 2026
Study: How Capping Vehicle Sizes Could Help Save the World
...and why a multi-pronged transportation reform strategy is critical to curb climate change, slash road deaths, and more.
April 2, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Take the Long View
Instead of panic moves like gas tax holidays, maybe governments should respond to high gas prices by providing alternatives to driving.
April 2, 2026
Comments Are Temporarily Disabled
Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.
Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.