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
- 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.
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
Talking Headways Podcast: So What Is ‘Urban Disorder’ In A Post-Covid U.S.
Open air drug bazaars in San Francisco are one thing that we can agree need to be fixed.
June 18, 2026
Driverless Cars Could Save Tens of Thousands of Lives. But We Must Treat Them Like Aviation — Not Like Cars
Commercial passenger aviation has nearly zero passenger deaths per year compared to about 40,000 roadway deaths. That's not a function of driving being inherently riskier — it is a function of what our leaders decide is "safe enough."
June 18, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Go Green, Save Green
A lack of smart planning and political willpower contributes to climate change that is costing Americans money
June 18, 2026
Wednesday’s Headlines Are Truckin’
Maybe we shouldn't rely so much on diesel to fuel buses or move so much freight by truck.
June 17, 2026
Opinion: AVs Can Do More Than Just Serve People Who Can Afford A Cab
What has emerged is an industry trend that prioritizes hype instead of mobility equity.
June 17, 2026
