Monday’s Headlines Are Behind the Eight Ball

A recently awarded round of federal street safety grants have won some praise — but it's still just a drop in the bucket as pedestrian deaths remain high.

By Blake Aued

12:50 AM EDT on September 9, 2024

One of hundreds of U.S. DOT street safety grants went to Orange Mound, a primarily Black neighborhood in Memphis that’s home to rappers like 8 Ball & MJG.

|Thomas R. Machnitzki

The Biden administration awarded more than $1 billion in grants for 354 traffic safety projects around the country, such as fixing an intersection near a park in Memphis' historically Black Orange Mound neighborhood. (Route Fifty)
Events like Burning Man show that adding more electric vehicle chargers does nothing to prevent congestion, blunting the environmental impact of EVs. (Bloomberg)
Recent auto sales show that, at least for now, consumers prefer plug-in hybrids to EVs. (Automotive News)
Don't believe Donald Trump when he promised $2 gas. (News Nation)
Shailen Bhatt is resigning this week as head of the Federal Highway Administration. (Detroit News)
A growing number of states are realizing that rolling stops are safe for cyclists — as long as both cyclists and drivers are educated on why. (Momentum)
An L.A. Metro light rail line in the San Fernando Valley received an $893 million federal grant. (ABC 7)
Traffic cameras on Philadelphia's notoriously dangerous Roosevelt Boulevard have been a rousing success, with a 50 percent reduction in deaths and 90 percent less speeding. (Smart Cities Dive)
Facing a $240 million deficit, Philly transit agency SEPTA is proposing raising rates. (NBC 10)
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava proposed suspending payments into a fund for future transit projects (Herald) but later reversed course after pushback from other elected officials (CBS News).
A Washington, D.C. bike ride last weekend drew 10,000 people. (WTOP)
Acclaimed director Daren Aronofsky is making a biopic about Elon Musk for indie studio A24. (Jalopnik)
Any Gen Xers out there remember these Fisher Price transportation toys? (The Autopian)