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:
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
More from Streetsblog USA
In Bid To Speed Buses, Mamdani Hopes To Go Where No Mayor Has Gone Before
Streetsblog NYC offers the new mayor a primer on what he's getting into!
July 14, 2026
New York’s Rampant Illegal Parking Stumps Viral Good Samaritan Street Cleaners
A growing group of activists are posting their street-cleaning escapades to social media, but parked cars that don't move for street cleaning are getting in their way.
July 14, 2026
Pedestrian Fatalities Drop Again, But More Needs To Be Done, Says Governors’ Group
Good news, except that 22.5 percent more pedestrians were killed in 2025 by car and truck drivers than in 2015.
July 14, 2026
Tuesday’s Headlines Get Out of the Way
The NHTSA is tired of self-driving cars blocking emergency responders.
July 14, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Don’t Need So Much Parking
More and more cities and states are easing up on parking mandates for new developments.
July 13, 2026