Wednesday’s Headlines Think Globally, Act Locally

In a world where the federal government is aligned against all your goals, what else can you do?

By Blake Aued

12:19 AM EST on February 5, 2025

The Trump administration is threatening to fire more than 1,000 Environmental Protection Agency employees (New York Times) and is scrubbing any reference to environmental justice from federal policies, including the Department of Transportation's (Slate). This all comes along with reports that a bunch of 20-something interns have essentially taken control of the U.S. treasury payment system. (Wired).
What can you do about all this overwhelming national news? Other young Gen X/Millennial cusp readers may remember the slogan, "Think Globally, Act Locally." (Rolling Stone)
At the end of December, the Biden administration appointed an advisory board on a vehicle-miles-driven pilot program that's drawn disapproval from MAGA. (Eno Center for Transportation)
Local parking regulations and banks' loan requirements both discourage dense, walkable New Urbanist developments. (Yale Climate Connections)
Houston Mayor John Whitmire pledged to end traffic deaths "starting right now." A year later, they were higher than ever (Chronicle). Could it be because Whitmire de-emphasized Vision Zero? (Public Media)
The Utah Transit Authority is looking to break ground on new TRAX lines by 2029, with operations starting in 2032. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Replacing I-794 through downtown Milwaukee with a boulevard could still be one of the options presented by the Wisconsin DOT. (Urban Milwaukee)
Ridership is up on the Twin Cities' Metro Transit for the third year in a row. (CBS News)
Seattle Bike Blog details 2025 spending from the recently approved $1.5 billion transportation levy.
Denver might have three new bus rapid transit lines by 2030. (Denverite)
Axios does its Axios thing of trying to explain all of Charlotte's light rail plans and just making it more confusing.
Would you ride a pop-up transit line along the Delaware River? (Philadelphia Magazine)
Miami's 10-mile Underline linear park underneath an elevated rail line is expected to be completed next year. (Governing)
Freezing temperatures don't bother Indianapolis bike messengers. (Star)
Road salt isn't just bad for the environment; it's bad for pets, too. (CBS News)