Thursday’s Headlines Shouldn’t Have to Buy a Car
Average Americans are getting priced out of the auto market, which is just another reason to invest in alternatives.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on April 16, 2026
- There are many reasons why owning a car shouldn’t be a necessity for the majority of Americans, and the fact that they’re becoming unaffordable for the working and middle classes is one of them. The New York Times does a good job of explaining the causes — decades of car bloat, expensive new features and fuel efficiency standards that incentivize trucks — but maybe the solution is investing in alternatives to driving, not lifting tariffs on cheaper Chinese vehicles. (Jalopnik)
- Waymo is sharing data it’s collected on potholes so that cities can fix them. (The Verge)
- Traffic creates heat that makes cities warmer, according to a University of Manchester study.
- Real-time data on tailpipe emissions could help cities decide on the most effective decarbonization policies. (Anthropecene)
- Retailers rely on foot traffic for business but remain obsessed with cars. (Housing Notes)
- The North Carolina DOT is considering alternatives to widening I-77 in Charlotte that add greenspace and bike lanes, and reconnect communities. (WFAE)
- Denverite takes a deep dive into the drama behind scrapped plans for a road diet on Alameda Avenue.
- Spokane is banning new drive-throughs, gas stations and car washes along future bus rapid transit lines. (Spokesman-Review)
- Tacoma voters will go to the polls in August to decide on a tax for road repairs and sidewalks. (KOMO)
- Even after committing to Vision Zero, Denton continues to widen roads and freeways. (Texas Observer)
- Vancouver advocates are seeing an uptick in biking as the weather gets warmer and gas prices stay high. (CBC)
- For 50 years Bogota has closed major streets to cars and opened them up to cyclists every Sunday, making the Ciclovia a forerunner to the modern open streets movement. (The City Fix)
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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