Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Today's Headlines

Tuesday’s Headlines Turn Up the Heat

Triple-digit heat, fueled by climate change, is warping rail lines, interrupting construction work on transit lines and causing burns on sidewalks.

  • PBS News talked to a climate scientist about how extreme heat is affecting infrastructure, including slowing down Amtrak trains on the East Coast. Scorching-hot sidewalks are causing burns in the Southwest (New York Times). Phoenix road and sidewalk temperatures can reach as high as 160 degrees (New Times), and the city is installing more bus shelters for shade (Signals). A heat wave is forcing crews working on the Kansas City streetcar extension to start at 4 a.m. (KCTV)
  • A new safety report from Lyft showed an increase in crash deaths and deadly attacks but a decline in sexual assault reports aboard the ride-hailing vehicles. (Axios)
  • With Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA facing a $240 million deficit, Pennsylvania lawmakers included just $51 million in new funding for transit in the state budget, rather than the $161 million Gov. Josh Shapiro requested. (KYW Newsradio)
  • Tennessee and Arkansas received $400 million from the Federal Highway Administration for a new I-55 bridge over the Mississippi River. (ABC 24)
  • Transit and bike ridership are down, construction costs are high and fatal crashes are up, but Portland advocates don't believe the city government is taking transportation issues seriously anymore. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
  • The Buffalo city council is considering raising parking rates downtown. (News)
  • China has built 25,000 miles of high-speed rail since 2008, twice as much as the rest of the world combined. (Newsweek)
  • Copenhagen is offering perks like free coffee to tourists who take transit. (Washington Post)
  • A new bridge in Bordeaux includes just as much space for bikes and pedestrians as cars, and serves as a gathering space for neighborhoods on both sides. (City Lab)

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: The H.A.R.D. Fight Against Hit-and-Runs

Streetsblog USA senior editor Kea Wilson sits down with Tiffanie Stanfield of Fighting H.A.R.D.

December 12, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Have an Apartment in Every Garage

New York City is turning homes for cars into homes for people.

December 12, 2025

How Chicago Cyclists Are Fighting Food Insecurity (And ICE Crackdowns)

"We're on bikes, we're outside, and we see street vendors not only as beloved members of our community but also as some of the most vulnerable, because they have to be outside to earn a living. And so that's where our role as community organizers, advocates, and caring neighbors comes into play."

December 11, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: ‘The Dawn of the NIMBYs’

"We kind of live in this eternal present of cities being a certain way and always seeming to remain that way." And that's bad, says today's guest.

December 11, 2025

Report: Speed Cameras Working in San Francisco, Floundering in Bureaucracy in L.A.

Great progress and success in the Bay Area, while So Cal lags.

December 11, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines See Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind

Yes, it's political, but transit agencies are still going to have to grapple with the perception that it's unsafe.

December 11, 2025
See all posts