Tuesday’s Headlines Smile, You’re on Candid Camera

Automated traffic enforcement cameras are easy to hate, until you start looking at how much they make streets safer.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on August 5, 2025

Stephen H. Graham|
Speed cameras in Sao Paulo have helped to reduce the fatality rate.

People don't like traffic cameras — they think they're all about revenue, or they just don't want to get caught breaking the law. Regardless of public opinion, study after study shows that they prevent crashes and save lives. (Governing)
It's conventional wisdom that Congress will pass a new transportation law before the Biden administration's Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act expires in September 2026. But Transportation for America thinks that belief is naive due to concerns about deficits and the ongoing fragmentation of bipartisan coalitions.
Uber is trying to corner the market on robotaxis. (Wired)
A Republican bill in the Pennsylvania legislature would require Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA to become more transparent, but doesn't provide any funding (WHYY). Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro told the public to call the senator who sponsored the bill and tell him to fund transit (NBC 10).
Meanwhile, new bills were proposed in the Illinois legislature to fund Chicago transit agencies that are also facing a death spiral. (Smart Cities Dive)
Police in Columbus, Ohio are stepping up traffic enforcement on crash-prone corridors after a rash of deaths. (Fox 28)
An outside audit found several serious financial irregularities at the Memphis Area Transit Authority. (Commercial Appeal)
Jackson, Mississippi is planning new bike, pedestrian and transit infrastructure along State Street. (Clarion-Ledger)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked readers how to improve transit agency MARTA.
Kansas City transit upset many riders by removing benches at bus shelters where people were loitering and replacing them with bars to lean on. (KCUR)
Under fire over placing boulders around a downtown bus stop, Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols says they're both part of an art project and a program designed to help the homeless who congregate there. (News on 6)
Will light rail make Seattle's little sister Bellevue cool? (KUOW)