Wednesday’s Texas-Sized Headlines

Some urbanists dreamed about repurposing gas stations in the EV age. They're being repurposed, all right.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on June 11, 2025

This is the future nobody wanted.

|Jameywiki

Gas stations aren't going away as more people buy electric vehicles. Instead, they're getting bigger to accommodate charging stations. And if you've ever been to a Buc-ee's, you know what that means. (New York Times)
People will bike where it's safe. Protected bike lanes are used almost twice as much as painted ones, and more than four times as much as streets where there are no bike lanes at all, according to a University of New Mexico study.
Natural areas in cities reduce noise pollution like traffic and make people healthier. (The Conversation)
The $730 million meant for the canceled St. Paul streetcar will be distributed among a variety of smaller projects. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
The specter of potential federal budget cuts is hampering efforts to fund transit in the Pennsylvania statehouse. (Spotlight PA)
Inland Southern California cities are hoping that the Brightline West project will revitalize their downtowns. (CityLab)
A proposed Santa Cruz passenger rail line now has an official cost estimate of $4.3 billion. (Trains)
A Philadelphia police officer injured a cyclist while chasing a driver who was running from a traffic stop and escaped. (NBC 10)
Milwaukee is trying again to get the Wisconsin legislature to legalize automated traffic enforcement cameras. (Urban Milwaukee)
Fayetteville, North Carolina is on the verge of spending more than $700 million to shed its reputation as a "least walkable" city. (Observer)
An Indiana nonprofit is trying to take Vision Zero statewide. (News From the States)
Bologna, Italy lowered speed limits to about 20 miles per hour, and almost immediately crashes fell by 20 percent. (Euro Cities)