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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.

Photo: Michael, CC|

Car bloat is partially responsible for worsening traffic congestion.

  • 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)

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