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Today's Headlines

Wednesday’s Supersized Headlines

How did we wind up with so many highways on steroids? DOTs are fudging their traffic projection numbers, according to Dissent.

Traffic on the I-65 bridge over the Ohio River in Louisville is less than half the 160,000 cars a day predicted. Photo: Trimarc

  • Traffic projections decades into the future are exaggerated at best and falsified at worst, resulting in bridges and highways that are built wider than they need to be. (Dissent)
  • People who value transit should use it regularly, even if it's a less convenient than driving, because of all the benefits and the importance of voting with your feet, writes Reece Martin.
  • WPLN has a guide to the Nashville transit referendum, and Atlanta Civic Circle explains a similar November in Cobb County that would fund 108 miles of bus rapid transit. And a Colorado ballot measure would allow the Regional Transportation District to keep more sales tax revenue. (Sun)
  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed nine bike-friendly bills last month, but vetoed two aimed at curbing speeding. (Smart Cities Dive)
  • The L.A. Metro hit an average of 1 million riders on weekdays for the first time since the pandemic, and is back up to 86 percent of its pre-COVID ridership. (Metro)
  • Seattle officials are debating how ambitious an update to Puget Sound's transportation plan should be. (The Urbanist)
  • Kansas City microtransit drivers want to unionize in the face of high fees and strict oversight by the private company that's contracted to run the program. (Mass Transit)
  • Philadelphia cyclists can take advantage of 20 miles of car-free streets in City Center on Saturday. (NBC 10)
  • A top UK infrastructure official says the nation must prepare for per-mile road pricing to replace the loss of billions in tax revenue during the transition to electric vehicles. (The Guardian)
  • The Ontario government — led by anti-bike former Toronto council member Doug Ford — will introduce legislation requiring provincial approval for bike lanes, and it doesn't sound like many would be approved. (CBC)

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