Tuesday’s Headlines Go Car-Free

Here's what cities can do to encourage residents to ditch their cars and cut their carbon footprint.

By Blake Aued

12:01 AM EST on February 10, 2026

A car-free street in Berlin. Photo: Ralph Buehler.

Going car-free is the most effective way for an individual to reduce their carbon footprint. Yale Climate Connections has several suggestions for cities looking to become less car-dependent, including increased density, raising awareness through open-streets events, providing bike parking, and investing in transit, walking and biking projects.
MIT mapped foot traffic in New York City, creating the first complete model of pedestrian activity for any U.S. city, which could also be used to make planning decisions for any city.
Did the Trump administration's broadside against fare-free buses blow up the unlikely bromance between the president and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani? (Politico)
Other than the sheriff, GOP members of Congress went surprisingly easy on Charlotte officials during a hearing about light rail violence. (WFAE)
Drivers killed 34 people in Pitt County, North Carolina last year, up from 27 in 2024. (The Daily Reflector)
Restoring passenger rail between Ashville and metro Charlotte would have a $1 billion economic impact, according to the North Carolina DOT. (Progressive Railroading)
A Lexington, Kentucky committee released its final report on street safety. (Lexington Times)
Using AI to give San Jose buses traffic signal priority increased speeds by 20 percent. (Smart Cities Dive)
The director of Richmond's new DOT says 2026 is "the year of the pedestrian." (12 On Your Side)
An About Here video looks into why shared micromobility is successful in some cities but not others. (Next City)
Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver, Portland and Minneapolis are the most bike-friendly cities in North America, according to a metric called the Copenhagen Index. (Momentum)
Despite cutting incentives for buying electric vehicles, only 4 percent of the cars sold in Norway last month are powered by fossil fuels. (Electrek)