- The average American spends about two more hours at home every day than they did a generation ago (Washington Post). This leads to a more sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle, and also hurts our social lives — we now walk faster through public spaces instead of lingering (MIT, Yale). Smartphones are partially to blame, of course, but maybe if streets weren't so choked with cars, people would be more apt to use them?
- Air pollution isn't as sensational as a flood or a hurricane, but it's the byproduct of climate change that's most likely to kill you. (New Republic)
- President Trump's tariffs are making buses more expensive. (Smart Cities Dive)
- The Senate confirmed former New York congressman Marcus Malinaro to head the Federal Transit Administration. (Trains)
- If California transportation agencies want to widen roads, they'll also have to fund affordable housing to offset the additional traffic, according to a new state law. (State Smart Transportation Initiative)
- The Dallas Area Rapid Transit board threatened to retaliate against member cities that continue to support legislation reducing their share of contributions by cutting funding for projects in those cities. (KERA)
- Pete Saunders pushes back on Paul Krugman's argument that metro Atlanta's growth has stalled due to sprawl. (Author's aside: As a longtime Georgia resident, neither of them seems to understand that race is a more important factor than topography.)
- The company that owns the tracks Brightline uses to operate is suing the privately owned Florida passenger rail service. (Miami Herald)
- Pedestrian deaths in Anchorage rose 150 percent after the city decriminalized jaywalking. (Must Read Alaska)
- Plans are moving forward to turn the Buffalo Central Terminal into a mixed use development. (CityLab)
- Here's how to respond to all the ignorant arguments internet commenters make about how bike lanes are stupid. (Momentum)
Today's Headlines
Wednesday’s Headlines Stop and Smell the Roses
Streets are now places where we walk somewhere as fast as we can if we're forced to leave our house.
By Blake Aued
Read More:
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Friday Video: Amtrak Is Way More Successful Than You Think
Why do so many people still treat Amtrak as a failure — and what would it take to deliver the rail investment that American riders deserve?
October 24, 2025
Friday’s Headlines Are Hanging Out Down the Street
The same old thing we did last week — until the neighbor wrote a letter to the editor.
October 24, 2025
Report: Lessons from California’s HSR Project
A new paper from the Mineta Institute looks at California's high-speed rail project—and how to do better moving forward.
Talking Headways Podcast: Life After Cars
Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon of The War on Cars podcast on their new book, opposing views, Turtle Jesus and potential off-ramps towards car-free cities.
October 23, 2025
Traffic Congestion Is a Housing and Transit Problem, Not a Highway Problem
To truly solve tangled traffic in California (and across the U.S.), we need to take the problem out of the hands of the road builders and address the root causes of congestion: building more affordable housing near jobs and improving public transportation options.
Truckers Back NYC Busway Plan That Trump Blocked
The federal government has obviously lost its trucking mind.
