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: Guess Which Argument Can Get a NIMBY To Change Their Mind About New Housing

Put your instincts to the test with this fascinating experiment about the power of messaging to win support for urbanism.

March 20, 2026

Friday’s Headlines Took the Road Less Traveled By

And that has made all the difference, when it comes to preventing traffic deaths.

March 20, 2026

Study: How Ambiguous Definition of ‘Major Transit Stop’ Creates Wiggle Room for Municipalities

This is a story of how well-intentioned efforts by the state to tie new development to transit hinge on how local governments (with their own incentives) interpret broad state law.

March 19, 2026

Talking Headways Podcast: Growing St. Louis’s Arts and Culture District

This week on Talking Headways, step inside St. Louis's Grand Center Arts District with the people who make it happen.

March 19, 2026

Advocates Get D.C. Mayor To Release Buried Report On The Potential Benefits Of Congestion Pricing

How many other conversations about congestion pricing across the country are being suppressed — and how many have never even gotten started?

March 19, 2026
See all posts