Friday’s Headlines Are Quitting Cars

Photo: B137, CC
Photo: B137, CC
  • The Guardian declares the global love affair with cars over as cities and countries wake up to how dangerous they are.
  • Seventeen lawsuits filed in 11 states allege that Lyft did not do enough to protect drivers and passengers from assault. (TechCrunch)
  • The quality of roads tends to be worse in urban and high poverty areas, according to a new Government Accountability office report, but the Federal Highway Administration doesn’t measure such things. (Planetizen)
  • More than 10 percent of Massachusetts bridges are structurally deficient, and immigrants and racial minorities are more likely to leave near one. (Mass Budget)
  • The L.A. Metro’s transit expansion will cut greenhouse gas emissions by tens of millions of tons, but those gains will be negated by widening highways. (NRDC)
  • The Texas DOT has approved an $85 billion highway expansion plan over widespread objections. (Houston Chronicle)
  • The Gateway project — a new tunnel underneath the Hudson River to unclog East Coast rail traffic — is already $2 billion over budget and three years behind schedule. (New York Times)
  • New York City is using cameras to ticket drivers who block bus lanes in hopes of speeding up buses. (Politico)
  • The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is finally testing the first segment of a new light rail line after years of delays. (Civil Beat)
  • A Pittsburgh light rail station was evacuated after a rail car caught fire. (Post-Gazette)
  • Route 1 in suburban South Florida is getting a transit- and pedestrian-friendly makeover. (CNU Public Square)
  • With a little political courage, Washington, D.C. could jump-start its failed Vision Zero program by charging market rate for on-street parking. (Forbes)
  • Alexandria commuters will be relying on free bike-share and water taxis during a D.C. Metro shutdown this month. (ALXnow)
  • Fare-free August is over in Colorado, and now state officials will measure the impact on ridership and air pollution. (Colorado Public Radio)
  • A new Denver walkway allows people to interact with the long-ignored South Platte River. (Fast Company)
  • Watch as Dallas workers remove a historic streetcar that had become stuck in a warehouse. (Morning News)
  • Milwaukee’s “Paint the Pavement” program allows residents to turn asphalt into art. (Urban Milwaukee)

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