Tuesday’s Headlines of Many Colors

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called rainbow crosswalks "a distraction" and called on cities to eliminate them.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on July 8, 2025

A rainbow crosswalk in New York City installed in 2018.

|NYCDOT

The Trump administration is trying to wipe out rainbow crosswalks like the one near Pulse in Orlando, an LGBTQ nightclub where a mass shooter killed 49 people in 2016. (Sentinel, Advocate)
The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a case involving New Jersey Transit that could make it easier to sue states. (Politico)
Milwaukee supervisors want to develop a system to target the one in four transit riders who evade fares, costing the system millions each year. (Urban Milwaukee)
King County chose a preferred route for a new RapidRide bus on Seattle's Eastside. (The Urbanist)
Houston Mayor John Whitmire strikes again, killing proposed bike lanes on West Alabama Street that would have eaten into the width of car lanes. (Houston Public Media)
Engineers have drawn up plans for North Kansas City bike lanes, but now bikelash has elected officials backing away. (KC Star)
Boston is considering using AI to manage traffic lights to improve school buses' on-time performance. (Globe; paywall)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a law upping penalties for impersonating a taxi or rideshare driver. (WVLT)
In response to the Oregon legislature's failed transportation bill, Portland raised on-street parking rates and extended hours to fund street maintenance. (Willamette Week)
As Atlanta tries to dig its way out of decades of car-centric planning, some residents feel left behind. (11 Alive)
The Courier-Journal interviews the new director of the Louisville DOT about how he'll fix streets where drivers killed 114 people last year.
A federal judge ordered Chicago to install accessible traffic signals for blind and sight-impaired pedestrians. (Smart Cities Dive)
Velo lists the best Amazon Prime Day deals on cycling equipment.