Friday’s Headlines Are For Local Control

It's playing out all over the country: A city wants to make a street safer for everyone, only for the state DOT to step in and say no. Learn more about the trend + more stories in today's headlines.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on October 4, 2024

The Texas DOT has blocked efforts to put San Antonio’s Broadway Avenue on a road diet.

|Google Maps

Even when cities decide they want to make a dangerous, wide street safer, too often state highway departments veto it in the name of moving vehicles, writes Henry Grabar. (Slate)
Statistics aren't enough to change minds. We should build a national memorial to all the lives lost to car crashes. (Next City)
A new study confirms that the number of curb cuts on an arterial road corresponds to pedestrian injuries and deaths. (Findings)
Fighting for transit means fighting for economic growth, the climate and a better quality of life. (Otherwords)
Like a lot of things, in the long run "pausing" congestion pricing in New York City is just going to wind up raising the cost of the projects it was supposed to fund. (Vital City)
Sightline has a study on the wastefulness of minimum parking mandates in Washington state that could probably be applied most anywhere.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom blew his chance to save thousands of lives by vetoing speed-limiting technology on new cars. (Fast Company)
The Portland streetcar is an example of how cities can build transit infrastructure by asking the property owners who benefit to pay for it. (Site Selection)
Ridership on Detroit's QLine streetcar has nearly doubled since 2022. (Detroit News)
Saporta Report has lots of new details about what light rail along the Atlanta Beltline would look like if built.
Austin released more detailed plans about what a cap over I-35 would look like. (KUT)
For some Atlanta parents, bike buses have turned a stressful car ride to school into a joyful experience. (AJC)