Tuesday’s Headlines Came Down With Congestion
People are driving more in 90 out of the 100 largest metro areas in the U.S., according to a new report. Is it time to borrow strategies from Europe to cut those miles? Learn more in headlines.
By
Blake Aued
12:54 AM EDT on September 17, 2024
- Vehicle miles driven nationwide have jumped 12 percent since the pandemic lockdowns temporarily cleared out streets. Traffic congestion now exceeds pre-COVID levels, and even more concerning, it’s rising faster than when shelter-at-home orders ended in 2021. (City Lab, StreetsblogUSA)
- U.S. cities that want to fight the trend can look to Europe, where cities are taking steps like limiting where people can drive and investing in bike infrastructure. (Time)
- Complete Streets do make a difference — if supporters can overcome entrenched interests and budgetary constraints to implement them. (Transportation for America)
- Mail carriers are big fans of the Postal Service’s new trucks, although they still get horrible gas mileage, and not enough of them are electric. (Jalopnik)
- Curbed interviewed Robert Caro, author of the definitive Robert Moses biography “The Power Broker.”
- A U.S. Department of Energy study found that investing in transit in Chicago would return the investment 13 times over. (Mass Transit)
- Uber and Waymo are bringing robotaxis to Austin and Atlanta next. (Clean Technica)
- Plans for a north-south bus rapid transit line in Milwaukee could stay on the shelf for another decade or more. (Urban Milwaukee)
- A WHYY podcast discusses reclaiming Philadelphia’s public streets for pedestrians.
- New Orleans transit is almost completely back to normal operations after Hurricane Francine. (WGNO)
- An Indianapolis police officer driving a patrol car hit a pedestrian, who was hospitalized in critical condition. (Star)
- If James Bond had an e-bike trailer, this would be it. (MSN)
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 Video: Five Bike Advocacy Mistakes You Don’t Even Know You’re Making
For one thing, make sure that political leaders who say "no" to livable streets experience consequences for their decisions.
March 27, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Take a Free Ride
Waymo has remote response teams, but when a robotaxi gets stuck, emergency responders have to get behind the wheel.
March 27, 2026
Despite Spin, Calif.’s Transportation Commission Funded a Lot of Highway Expansion Last Week
The gaslighting is almost as bad as the funding decisions.
March 26, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: Congestion Pricing Data Collection
New York's congestion pricing data whiz discusses the program's first year.
March 26, 2026
How DC’s Mayor and Council Chair Thwarted Every Effort to Better Its Streetcar
There are two reasons why D.C. doesn't have the streetcar system it was promised — and their names are Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson, one urbanist argues.
March 26, 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.