Thursday’s Headlines Wonder Why
Why are drivers killing so many pedestrians? Governing magazine has a number of familiar theories.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on April 17, 2025
- What’s to blame for the rise in drivers killing pedestrians in recent years? Depending on whom you ask, bigger vehicles are a factor. So is poor street design. Then there’s antisocial behavior rooted in the pandemic and abetted by lack of law enforcement. (Governing)
- One Toronto suburb managed to get thousands of people to ride the bus just by running them more frequently. (CityLab)
- The Biden administration helped bring transit infrastructure closer to a state of good repair. (Mass Transit)
- Lime, the world’s largest bike- and scooter-share company, inked a deal to recycle its vehicles’ batteries. (The Verge)
- Cyclists at the Tour de Houston booed anti-bike Mayor John Whitmire. (Chron)
- Seattle’s bike- and scooter-share ridership is rising rapidly, up 28 percent in 2024 and 76 percent so far this year, putting it on pace to exceed 10 million in 2025. (The Urbanist)
- A Chicago organization that created an app for cyclists to report bike lane obstacles is now holding training classes for fleet drivers like delivery and landscaping companies that are the worst offenders. (CBS News)
- For five years, San Francisco’s Market Street has been closed to motorized vehicles. Now new Mayor Daniel Lurie is opening it back up, but only to Waymo robotaxis, prompting complaints from Uber and Lyft. (KRON)
- A major road project in Salt Lake City will include protected bike lanes and new crosswalks. (KSL)
- Maryland legislators preserved funding for a bus rapid transit connection to the D.C. Metro’s Green Line. (WJLA)
- Milwaukee’s Vision Zero plan is up for a final month of public comment. (TMJ4)
- Atlanta bike culture is booming, but the “Atlansterdam” nickname is probably not yet warranted. (Urbanize Atlanta)
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:
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
More from Streetsblog USA
Why Deadly, Illegal E-Motos Are On The Rise – And Why E-Bikes Are Being Blamed When They Crash
...and what we can do to protect our kids *and* the e-bike revolution.
October 26, 2026
Monday’s Great Smokey Headlines
While other countries work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. is moving in the opposite direction.
October 26, 2026
Op-ed: Will Illinois lawmakers let Waymo “Move fast and break things” in Chicago?
As Illinois considers autonomous-vehicle legislation, proposed protections for manufacturers raise questions about safety, privacy, and public consent.
October 25, 2026
Friday Video: Inside the Global Far-Right Push To Rip Out Bike Lanes
Toronto might be in the center of the fight to resist bike lane teardown today. But if some far-right politicians have their way, this fight won't be the last.
October 23, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Shoot Themselves in the Foot
Gas taxes pay for transit, too, so what happens when politicians pander to voters, and the highway trust fund runs dry?
October 23, 2026
