Wednesday’s Headlines Take the Bus

A big transit roundup, the New Orleans vehicle ramming attack, and more in today's headlines.

By Blake Aued

12:27 AM EST on January 8, 2025

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The Indianapolis Purple Line was one of five BRT projects in the U.S. that was finished last year.

Yonah Freemark is out with his annual roundup of U.S. transit projects. Transit agencies completed just 18 miles of new light rail tracks in 2024, with a notable shift toward bus rapid transit. Eighteen more projects are under construction and expected to be completed later this year. (The Transport Politic)
New Orleans exhibited "horrific negligence" in allowing a pickup truck driver to plow through Bourbon Street on his way to killing 14 people, an expert on anti-ramming infrastructure told Henry Grabar. But while proper bollards would have stopped the attacker, most such obstacles are not designed for 6,000-pound F-150 Lightnings. (Slate)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into flaws in a Tesla feature that allows drivers to summon their cars remotely. (Reuters)
About 200,000 acres of solar panels could produce as much energy as 30 million acres of corn grown to turn into ethanol. (Need to Know)
The Minnesota DOT is keeping I-94 between Minneapolis and St. Paul, scrapping plans to turn the stretch of urban freeway into a parkway. (Star Tribune)
Congestion pricing or no, Vital City argues that car culture still holds sway in New York, and better transit is the only solution.
Austin has chosen a consortium of construction firms to build its first light rail line. (Smart Cities Dive)
With a portion of Houston's downtown Main Street set to close to cars prior to the 2026 World Cup, Houstonia Magazine has a wish list of other streets that should go car-free.
Seattle is installing speed cameras in 19 additional school zones. (KOMO)
New Orleans is hoping to have all of its streetcars back up and running before the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. (Times-Picayune)
Connecticut should turn to transit-oriented development to help its passenger rail system's branch lines recover, says the Mirror's editorial board.
A new TOD in Decatur, Georgia includes 80 units of affordable senior housing. (Urbanize Atlanta)
Southern Californians are trying to preserve Googie, the retro-futuristic architectural style of 1950s drive-throughs and roadside motels. (New York Times)
Online sleuths have been unable to discover who left an urn in the back of a Kansas City Uber. (Gizmodo)