Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Today’s Headlines

Drivers killed 50 percent more pedestrians in 2019 than in 2009, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Causes include drunk and distracted driving, poor road design and heavier SUVs. (Washington Post) The National Transportation Safety Board partially blamed Tesla’s autopilot for a fatal 2018 crash, but the company doesn’t seem too interested in fixing […]

Transportation is the No. 1 source of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report from Environment America. The report recommends that all new cars and light trucks sold after 2035 be electric, all buses should be electric by 2030, and the U.S. should double the number of people who walk, bike or take transit […]

Climate change poses “catastrophic” and “likely irreversible” risks to global political stability, according to a new report by a national security think tank. The report calls for phasing out greenhouse gas emissions and reaching zero emissions “as quickly as possible.” (The Hill) Cities waste money building new roads when they should be maintaining what they […]

The U.S. was the only nation out of 140 at a global road safety conference that refused to sign a statement setting a target for reducing traffic deaths. (Forbes, Streetsblog) Traffic deaths in the U.S. were down 2 percent in 2019, to a still unacceptable 38,000, according to the National Safety Council (ABC News). One […]

Cities can only harness the full benefits of micromobility options like bike-shares and e-scooters if they’re fully integrated into public transit, according to a German study (Traffic Technology Today). But fully integrating micromobility devices and transit requires data, which companies have been reluctant to turn over to cities (Urban Mobility Daily). If Uber and Lyft’s […]

Under President Trump, the U.S. has become more car-reliant, while Congress has had to fight to protect major transit projects. Overall, Trump’s policy has been big talk and little action. (City Lab) One thing Trump has tried to do is roll back Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. Luckily, his administration’s been too incompetent to pull it […]