Thursday’s Headlines Clear Their Congestion
We know building more lanes doesn't work, so congestion pricing looks like the best way to actually reduce traffic.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on February 6, 2025
- Traffic keeps getting worse despite the billions spent on widening roads. Congestion pricing is the only way out, according to the State Smart Transportation Initiative.
- Autonomous vehicles don’t have enough data to be able to predict the movements of blind pedestrians. (Maryland Today)
- Robotaxi company Cruise is laying off half its workforce after GM decided to stop funding it. (The Verge)
- Many 15-minute neighborhoods are unaffordable for most people because they’re in high demand, and we haven’t built enough of them. (The Future of Where)
- Rents aren’t obscenely high at the car-free development Culdesac Tempe, and apartments come with free e-bikes and transit passes. (Dwell)
- Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey isn’t a fan of the U.S. DOT’s new policy giving preference to communities with high birth rates (Boston Globe). The memo from Secretary Sean Duffy also has Chicago transit officials worried (Sun-Times).
- Democrats support Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan to boost transit funding, but Republican’s don’t want to spend from the state’s rainy day fund. (Capital-Star)
- Ohio contributes just $7 million a year to its 61 local transit agencies — far less than other Midwestern states. (Policy Matters)
- Denver’s Regional Transportation District won a lawsuit filed by a contractor that was seeking over $100 million. (Colorado Public Radio)
- Suburban Plano has declared war on Dallas Area Rapid Transit, and now it’s getting the Texas legislature involved. (D Magazine)
- After a restructuring, the California High-Speed Rail Authority plans to have trains running within five to eight years. (Government Technology)
- Charleston is about to finalize the design for South Carolina’s first bus rapid transit project. (City Paper)
- A Charlotte Observer columnist has ideas for getting Republican buy-in on transit expansion.
- A hundred fewer people died on Wales roads last year after the government lowered urban speed limits to 20 miles per hour. (BBC)
- Vancouver Redditors are irate about trucks parking in bike lanes to unload. (The Cool Down)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
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