Friday’s Headlines Tread Carefully
The Washington Post too a deep dive into the epidemic of pedestrian deaths, which rose from 4,300 in 2010 to more than 7,000 in 2023.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on November 21, 2025
- The number of pedestrians killed by drivers in the U.S. rose by 70 percent between 2010 and 2023, according to a Washington Post analysis, mostly on multilane roads with fast-moving traffic, and such hotspots are clustered in the Sun Belt. The story includes an interactive feature for readers to identify the most dangerous roads in their city.
- Amtrak reported an all-time high of 34.5 million trips during the fiscal year that ended in September, along with record ticket revenue of $2.7 billion. (Progressive Railroading)
- The Republican chair of the House Transportation Committee isn’t interested in eliminating funding for transit. (Politico Pro; paywall)
- Waymos spend almost half their time “deadheading,” or driving around without a passenger. (Driverless Digest)
- Gary Nelson details the rise and fall of electric trolleys.
- Seattle area leaders are pushing Sound Transit to quit lollygagging on light rail construction. (Everett Post)
- Austin business owners are anxious about upcoming light rail construction on South Congress Avenue (Austin Monthly). On the other hand, H Street businesses are lamenting the loss of the D.C. streetcar. (The Wash)
- Iowa City residents are riding the bus more and driving less since the city eliminated fares. (New York Times)
- Plans are set to be unveiled Saturday for a new riverfront streetcar station. (KSHB)
- Facing a $300 million shortfall, Portland’s TriMet laid off 26 employees and eliminated 68 positions. (Tribune)
- Seattle added bus lanes and safety upgrades to Ranier Avenue. (KING 5)
- Atlanta’s Jackson Street Bridge, made famous by “The Walking Dead,” received a makeover with bike lanes and other improvements. (Urbanize Atlanta)
- An American company says it’s launching a flying taxi service in Dubai. (NBC News)
- In France, even conservative cities like Nice are banning cars and investing in bike infrastructure. (City Lab)
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
Friday’s Headlines Celebrate Juneteenth
Ideas for speeding up infrastructure construction in the U.S., where it's slower and more expensive than any other nation.
June 19, 2026
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