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
- 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)
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
Every Friday’s Headline Is Sacred
When transit funds are wasted, God gets quite irate.
October 16, 2026
Friday Video: When Walkability Isn’t Enough … Even in the Great Cities of Europe
What happens when livable places get overwhelmingly popular before we can build more of them — or when other failures of design and governance make them bad places to live?
October 16, 2026
Newsom Signs Bill to Better Align California Transportation Spending With Climate Goals
SB 1087 updates California’s landmark sustainable communities law, strengthening the connection between regional climate plans and transportation investments.
October 15, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: The Passion Problem in Public Transit
Where should the most enthusiastic supporters of transit try to work?
October 15, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Are Trouble for Tesla
Autonomous vehicles just can't seem to behave themselves.
October 15, 2026
