Monday’s Gilded Headlines
Get ready for some really tacky-looking transportation projects.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EST on February 9, 2026
- A new “beautification committee” appointed by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy could reshape transportation infrastructure to suit President Trump’s aesthetic tastes — aka, classical instead of modernist architecture. (Fast Company)
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer rejected President Trump’s offer to release $16 billion for a Hudson River rail tunnel project, if Penn Station and Dulles Airport were named after Trump (NY Post). Soon after, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze the funding (Gothamist).
- In a potentially landmark case, an Arizona court found Uber liable for a driver sexually assaulting a passenger and ordered the company to pay $8.5 million. (NBC News)
- City Beautiful made a video about how jaywalking laws were written to serve the interests of the auto industry.
- The Las Vegas transit agency ordered 50 new low-emissions compressed natural gas buses from New Flyer. (Automotive World)
- Will Charlotte’s new transit authority finally open the Gateway station? (WFAE)
- Madison’s Vision Zero strategy is based on changing how drivers think. (WKOW)
- A pedestrian killed by a driver in Columbus, Ohio was forced into the roadway by impassable, snow-covered sidewalks. (Underground)
- A bill requiring e-bike riders to slow down near pedestrians is making its way through the Florida legislature. (CBS News)
- Utah legislators are still trying to stop Salt Lake City from calming traffic on city streets. (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Atlanta has renewed its e-bike rebate program, appropriating another $1 million. (Georgia Public Broadcasting)
- Blue Krewe is adding 400 new e-bikes to New Orleans’ bikeshare service before Mardi Gras. (The Advocate)
- San Antonio residents urgently want safer street designs, a city survey found. (KSAT)
- A Minneapolis driver injured a pedestrian by crashing an SUV into a light rail station. (CBS News)
- A San Francisco woman recalls how a man dressed in a bunny suit helped her after she was hit by a car while riding her bike. (Texas Public Radio)
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.
Read More:
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
New E-Mobility Study Actually Reveals Need For Safer Streets, Not E-Bike Crackdowns
A new look into emergency room data at one Manhattan hospital shows a need for more infrastructure, despite what you might have read elsewhere.
April 24, 2026
Friday’s Headlines Thrive With Women in Charge
Mayors like Barcelona's Ada Colau, Montreal's Valerie Plante and Anne Hidalgo in Paris transformed their cities.
April 24, 2026
Talking Headways Podcast: The Urban Truth Collective
Tom Flood, Grant Ennis and Brent Toderian of the Urban Truth Collective discuss pushing back on falsehoods and conspiracies through positive messaging around cities.
April 23, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Shout, Shout, Let It All Out
A public input process that engages all stakeholders early on but doesn't drag out is the key to holding down costs for transit projects, according to the Urban Institute.
April 23, 2026
Judge Blocks Trump Admin’s Attempt to Demolish D.C. Bike Lane
But advocates across America aren't letting their guard down about the future of sustainable infrastructure in their own communities.
April 23, 2026