Tuesday’s Headlines Were So Much Older Then, We’re Younger Than That Now

Getting around without driving can be tough for anyone, but particularly seniors and children.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EST on December 16, 2025

Photo: Swagify, CC

Cities are not very friendly places for seniors to walk. Very few people in their 70s with reduced mobility could make it across a street before the light changed, a British study found. (The Conversation)
Angie Schmitt thinks the hot mess that is public school transportation and subsequent need for a car is one reason why chronic absenteeism is so high since the pandemic. (Love of Place)
Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen and John Fetterman reintroduced a bill to boost funding for transit, including operating costs. (Trains)
Homes in noisier areas, like near freeways, are selling for less than houses in quiet neighborhoods. (Wall Street Journal; paywall)
New York City's congestion pricing policy is cutting vehicular traffic in lower Manhattan while raising foot traffic, which helps small businesses. (Jalopnik)
Drivers have killed 40,000 people and injured 2 million in California over the past decade, yet state elected officials refuse to act, even by doing something as obvious as strengthening one of the nation's weakest DUI laws. (CalMatters)
Canceling a second rail tunnel under downtown Seattle would save Sound Transit $4.5 billion, but also further delay the Ballard Link project and inconvenience riders. (The Urbanist)
Changing travel patterns and a lack of federal assistance are long-term threats to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority despite the state's commitment to funding transit, the head of the T said. (WWLP)
University of Texas at San Antonio researchers found 7,000 acres of vacant land near transit lines — enough to house 600,000 people. (San Antonio Report)
St. Louis is replacing all 55 of its Metrolink light rail cars. (Fox 2)
The Nebraska DOT is making 30 percent cuts to rural transit, which many Nebraskans with disabilities rely on for medical care. (KCUR)
Oklahoma City is backtracking on plans for Classen Boulevard bike lanes over — you guessed it — concerns about car traffic. (Free Press)
China is experimenting with separate sidewalks for people who can't stop staring at their phones. (AOL)
Small electric vehicles built in Europe will get special EU privileges in an effort to protect European automakers from Chinese competitors. (Financial Times)