Friday’s Headlines Turn Back the Clock
The Trump administration is undoing decades of progress on transportation emissions and safety — progress that many would argue was too modest to begin with.
By
Blake Aued
12:47 AM EDT on March 14, 2025
- EPA Administrator and climate change denier Lee Zeldin announced that he will attempt to roll back emissions standards for cars and other environmental regulations (Associated Press). Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is taking aim at grants for bike lanes and other “green infrastructure.” (Streetsblog USA)
- Those are the things the Trump administration is doing. Transportation for America has a list of things it should be doing, like fixing roads, making them safer and cutting red tape.
- E&E News delves into the budget complexities of repealing electric vehicle tax credits.
- A federal appeals court allowed the merger of 1,600 sexual assault lawsuits against Uber to move forward. (Los Angeles Times)
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement is using data from license plate readers to plan raids. (The Guardian)
- With proposals to redesign Penn Station stalled out, a new plan calls for moving Madison Square Garden to double the cramped train hall’s capacity. (New York Times)
- Kansas City’s transit agency is proposing to chop nearly half its bus routes, reduce service hours and lay off 171 employees. (KCUR)
- Instead of extending the streetcar to the Beltline’s Eastside trail, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens now wants to run the streetcar to a new MARTA infill station first. (AJC)
- A new Twin Cities transit app makes navigating the system easier. (MinnPost)
- A walkable and bikeable mixed-use development for 5,000 residents opened along a Utah light rail line. (CNU Public Square)
- A transit board in Washington state is deadlocked on whether to include light rail in a new I-5 bridge over the Columbia River. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
- The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority says it’s facing a $32 million shortfall, but Gov. Dan McKee’s budget proposal cuts its funding instead. (Current)
- In the wake of the New Year’s Eve truck attack on Bourbon Street, Savannah is beefing up security for its popular St. Patrick’s Day parade, including installing water-filled barricades at intersections. (Georgia Public Broadcasting)
- Unbelievably, this is actually a true story: Brazil is chopping down thousands of acres of rain forest to build a highway in preparation for a global climate change conference. (BBC)
- La Paz, Bolivia has the longest cable car system in the world. It costs just 30 cents to ride, and 200,000 people use it every day. (The World)
- Vancouver is offering free rides on its new electric buses through next Friday. (Daily Hive)
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.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog USA
Friday Video: The Three Ingredients to a Great Trick-or-Treating Neighborhood
...and how your neighborhood can use good planning and community engagement to get more walkable long past spooky season.
October 30, 2026
Friday’s Headlines (Except Spooky)
Your annual reminder that letting kids safely roam around their neighborhood is not the top priority.
October 30, 2026
Five Simple Hacks to Avoid L.A. City Speed Camera Tickets
Nobody ever tells you about hack number 2! You'll never believe it!
October 29, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: Architecture Won’t Save a Bad Street
"We have accommodated car convenience over people for five decades — and we need to correct that," says today's guest.
October 29, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Live in an Endless Summer
Parts of the country are in the 80s in late October, but sure, let's spew some more methane into the air.
October 29, 2026