Streetsblog

Monday’s Headlines Go on Offense

The "defensive driving" they teach in driver's ed has now turned into "defensive walking," and one car website has had it with victim-blaming.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EDT on September 29, 2025

Who's fault is it if a driver hits a person crossing a five-lane road on foot? Photo: Google Maps.

Jalopnik calls BS on government agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and media outlets like NPR telling cyclists and pedestrians they’re responsible for not getting hit. The car enthusiast website argues for better transit so it’s easier to take away bad drivers’ licenses without leaving them stranded.
In another case of a mass killer using a car as a weapon, a gunman rammed a vehicle into a Michigan church, then opened fire on the congregation and set the building ablaze, killing at least four people. (CNN)
The Trump administration finally said the quiet part out loud when it declared safe-streets projects “hostile” to cars. (Momentum)
What’s commonly referred to as Charlotte’s “transit plan” includes $8 billion for roads, encompassing Complete Streets but also road widenings or new roads. (Ledger)
Miami-Dade approved funding for a new 13-mile commuter rail line along Brightline tracks. (Florida Today)
The D.C. Metro’s budget outlook is improving, in part because ridership is growing faster than expected. (WJLA)
Boston’s MBTA is starting a pilot program mounting cameras on buses to catch drivers who block bus stops and bus lanes, now that the state has legalized them. (Herald)
Portland’s Vision Zero program hasn’t succeeded since it started 10 years ago, but city officials aren’t giving up. (Mercury)
Traffic-calming efforts in Milwaukee have reduced speeding by an average of 27 percent. (Urban Milwaukee)
The Oregon legislature is scheduled to vote on a transportation funding bill today. (KCBY)
Are Michigan lawmakers high? They want to slap a 24 percent tax on marijuana to pay for road construction. (Bridge)
While transit gets short shrift, it seems like there’s always money to help the auto industry, even in the UK, where the Labour government is backing a $2 billion loan to help Jaguar-Land Rover recover from a cyberattack. (The Guardian)
Ontario Premier Doug Ford stepped in to block the speed cameras Windsor was about to install. (Star)

Blake Aued

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.

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