Wednesday’s Headlines Have a System

The safe systems approach to street design, popular in Europe, could cut U.S. traffic deaths in half.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on May 21, 2025

A cycle track in the Netherlands. Image courtesy Modacity.

U.S. roads are some of the most dangerous in the world. We could save 25,000 lives each year by better using the "safe systems" approach, which calls for engineering streets to encourage safer behavior, such as slowing down traffic and separating pedestrians from cars. (Asterisk)
Transit agencies all over the country are redesigning their bus route networks to better serve their riders post-COVID. (Eno Center for Transportation)
DOGE is sowing further chaos at the U.S. DOT by ending two dozen real estate leases at a time when the Trump administration is ordering federal employees back to the office. (Politico Pro)
Former "Jeopardy" champion and host Ken Jennings is doing a video series for Community Transit.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a sweeping bill that allows cities to set speed limits as low as 10 miles per hour and legalize jaywalking on those shared streets. (The Urbanist)
The Seattle-area city of Shoreline is giving free e-bikes to 100 residents as part of an effort to cut carbon emissions by 60 percent. (Cascade PBS)
Texas' "DART Killer" bill failed to meet a key deadline in the state House, but still has a slim chance of passing. (KERA)
The L.A. Metro opened a new walking and biking path connecting three transit stations in Inglewood and South Los Angeles. (Metro Magazine)
Transit-oriented development reached an all-time high in Cleveland last year. (Neotrans Blog)
Several communities north of Boston are getting zero-emissions ferries. (WGBH)
Minnesota lawmakers killed a proposed passenger rail line between the Twin Cities and Duluth. (Trains)
Colorado is planning on opening a rail line between Denver and Fort Collins by 2029. (Newsline)
Lime "gliders," a cross between an e-bike and a scooter, recently debuted in Denver and Seattle. (Denverite)
Montreal is turning a shopping mall and parking lot into 6,000 apartments. (CBC)