Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Today's Headlines

Friday’s Headlines Are Blinded By the Light

The Ringer takes a deep dive into why headlights are so bright now and the community of people trying to tone them down.

  • If you think car headlights are blinding these days, you're right — average brightness has doubled since the advent of LEDs about 10 years ago. And it's probably causing a lot of crashes, although no one is sure how many. (The Ringer)
  • Most of the deadliest cars on the road are compacts, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But keep in mind that the NHTSA only considers people inside the vehicle, not the cyclists or pedestrians they hit. (Jalopnik)
  • Amtrak set records for ridership and ticket revenue in fiscal year 2024, adding 300,000 trips over pre-pandemic levels. (Smart Cities Dive)
  • A bipartisan YIMBY caucus is forming in Congress. (Colorado Public Radio)
  • Car tires are responsible for a quarter of the microplastics in the environment. (The Conversation)
  • Only one in four Americans get enough exercise, which public transit can promote. Transit users walk more and have lower obesity rates than drivers. (Niskanen Center)
  • Loud traffic noise like revving engines are not just annoying, they have harmful health effects as well. (streets.mn)
  • The Federal Highway Administration announced that Tesla-style charger plugs will be the standard for EVs. (Electrek)
  • If Portland residents cut out one of every five car trips, it would save 67 lives and each household almost $1,500 a year. (BikePortland)
  • North Carolina is spending $3.7 billion on 11 miles of freeway express lanes near Charlotte. (Equipment World)
  • Experts pointed to voters' economic concerns as the reason transit referendums in two suburban Atlanta counties failed. (Saporta Report)
  • A new Massachusetts law allowing Uber and Lyft drivers to form a union takes effect next month, and they're already organizing. (WGBH)
  • Kansas City has finished laying track for a streetcar extension that's now entering the months-long testing phase. (KCUR)
  • Utah's TRAX light rail system turned 25 years old. (Axios)
  • Ridership on Pacers Bikeshare in Indianapolis is up 50 percent, thanks to new e-bikes and free annual passes for Marion County residents. (WRTV)
  • Madison, Wisconsin now has an all-electric bus system, 90 years after it tore up its all-electric streetcar network. (CleanTechnica)
  • Anchorage is reopening its downtown bus station after a hotel redevelopment project died, once again giving riders a place to wait inside. (Daily News)
  • In Ann Arbor, when people put out their trash, the carts often block a bike lane. Now the city is banning the practice. (MLive)

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Monday’s Headlines Are Dragging Their Feet

The Trump administration claims the Biden administration left them with a backlog — but they've actually been far slower at getting transportation money to states than their predecessors, a new analysis finds.

July 14, 2025

These U.S. Communities’ So-Called ‘Complete Streets’ Policies Don’t Even Deserve the Name

Any city can call itself a "Complete Streets" champion. But not all of them are walking the walk — and if they don't, a top organization says they'll no longer give them a platform on its esteemed "best of" ranking.

July 14, 2025

Communities Rally To Reclaim Streets From ICE Terror

"This is an attack on Los Angeles. This is an attack on California. On all of us."

July 11, 2025

Friday Video: The London Neighborhood Where Bikes Outnumber Cars

...and how they got to that impressive milestone.

July 11, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Battle Galactus

Like the Marvel supervillain, U.S. interstate highway system seems to eat up everything in his path. A new book explores how to stop it.

July 11, 2025

New Report Shows Pedestrian Fatalities Drop — But Experts Say Not Enough

The Governors Highway Safety Association report showed a 4 percent drop in the number of pedestrian deaths last year, putting a slow on a dangerous trend — but advocates say the drop isn't nearly big enough.

July 11, 2025
See all posts