Monday’s Headlines Aren’t in Denial

• Climate change deniers have gone from claiming it’s not happening to claiming it’s not manmade to claiming that solutions won’t work. The new falsehoods are spreading on YouTube, and one survey found that a third of teenagers believe them. (The Verge)
• Laws allowing right turns on red initially passed in the 1970s to reduce idling during a gas shortage are now being repealed because they lead to more crashes, particularly drivers hitting cyclists and pedestrians. (CNN)
• Transit blogger Reece Martin blames groupthink among U.S. cities focusing on light rail for the fact that they’ve built virtually no subways in the past 30 years, in contrast to China.
• People who live in rural areas need complete streets, too. (Smart Growth America)
• Access to public transportation should be a right, argues New Internationalist.
• Plug-in hybrids might be a better option for quickly decarbonizing the U.S. fleet than battery-electric vehicles. (Commonwealth Beacon)
• The Los Angeles Times endorsed Measure HLA, an initiative on the March ballot that would force the city government to pick up the pace on building walking and biking infrastructure.
• Much-needed repairs to Seattle tracks are nonetheless causing frustrating delays for Sound Transit riders. (KING 5)
• Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell continues to lay the groundwork for a November transit referendum. (Axios)
• Greater Greater Washington published the first in a series of stories about the challenges and opportunities facing the D.C. Metro.
• Pennsylvania Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey and four House Democrats wrote to President Biden asking for help funding Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA. (Philly Voice)
• Indiana Republicans are trying again to ban the use of dedicated bus lanes, targeting the planned Blue Line in Indianapolis. (Star)
• Construction has started on Raleigh’s first BRT line, on New Bern Avenue. (Axios)
• Traffic deaths and injuries are down in Cincinnati, but 4,500 people were still killed or injured in crashes last year. (WCPO)
• Cambridge may be a national leader on installing protected bike lanes, but they don’t do much good when they’re covered with ice and snow (CBS News). Same goes for Philadelphia (NBC 10).
  • Grand Rapids, on the other hand, is doubling the number of sidewalks it’s clearing (WZZM).
• $20,000 tickets to the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” final season premiere will get you not just a meeting with creator Larry David, but will go to support biking, walking and transit infrastructure in the Flint area. (MLive)

source https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/01/22/mondays-headlines-arent-in-denial