Friday’s Headlines Fought the Law and the Law Won

• A Next City op-ed pushes back on the idea that stepped-up traffic enforcement can save lives, citing police violence against Black and brown drivers, and more effective solutions like safer street design.
• Lyft is getting rid of its dockless bikes and scooters (CNBC) but doubling down on e-bike rentals (Tech Crunch).
• The U.S. DOT is proposing a rule beefing up accessibility standards for sidewalks, crosswalks and other pedestrian facilities. (Smart Cities Dive)
• In August, Indianapolis passed a Vision Zero policy. The same month, drivers hit 103 cyclists and pedestrians, killing seven. (WTHR)
• In Houston, 158 people were murdered in the first half of 2024, and 169 died in car crashes. (Axios)
• The Charlotte city council voted to ask the North Carolina legislature to put a transportation tax on the November 2025 ballot, and to buy an unused freight line if the referendum passes. (WFAE)
• Light rail construction in Denver is complete, but service won’t resume for another month. (Colorado Public Radio)
• Maryland cut $1.3 billion from its six-year transportation plan, including funds for sidewalks, intersection improvements and electric buses. (Washington Post)
• Washington, D.C. has ticketed almost 150,000 drivers for blocking bike lanes, fining them a total of $15 million, since enforcement began nine months ago. (NBC Washington)
• A Philadelphia bill would step up enforcement against drivers who stop in bike lanes. (Inquirer, Streetsblog)
• Seeking more jobs and housing, Atlanta banned data centers near transit stations and the Beltline trail, but some megaprojects are moving forward anyway. (AJC)
• The Twin Cities’ Metro Transit is restructuring local and express bus routes in response to changing commute patterns post-pandemic. (MinnPost)
• The Milwaukee County Transit System shelved a bus rapid transit project to save money on operating costs and stay solvent until 2028. (Urban Milwaukee)
• St. Louis was built for cars at the expense of vibrant city life and social connections. (NextSTL)
• By lowering speed limits, installing enforcement cameras, and building bike and pedestrian paths, Finland cut road deaths by almost 30 percent in the past decade. (Forbes)
• It may seem odd that Air Canada is backing a high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City, considering it flies that route, but it could be so the airline can gather valuable data about travel patterns. (The Star)
• As more EVs are sold in the rich nations, the gas-guzzlers they ultimately replace are flowing to the Global South, where they continue to pollute. (Vox)
• Denmark has one mobility app to rule them all. (Smart Cities World)

source https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/09/06/fridays-headlines-fought-the-law-and-the-law-won