Monday’s Headlines — Plus Some Long Reads to Get You Through the Week

OK, it’s Christmas Eve day and, admit it, you don’t expect much from us today. Well, surprise, because here we are.

This week, we’ll be rolling out all the winners of our 2018 Streetsies awards, the most coveted honor in the world of livable streets. And we’ll also be on top of all breaking news and headlines from our beloved competitors bitter rivals.

We’ll offer headlines all week (except for Christmas Day because, well, come on) starting right now…

• New York State will soon legalize pot, which is fun for everyone — except those of us on the roads with all the newly minted legalized stoners, as Police Commissioner O’Neill said. (NY Post)
• Here’s yet another column by Steve Cuozzo where he complains about every form of transportation except the car, which is responsible for every road fatality this year…and last year…and the year before… Point of information, Steve: Your credibility, let alone your math, is in question when you write that Mayor de Blasio has “turned over hundreds of miles of precious street space to bicycles.” (NY Post)
• Welcome to the Winter of Hell. (amNY)
• Wired offered a first-person piece about a collapsible helmet we now feel we have to have (and there’s just a few hours before Christmas! Hint, hint!).
• City Lab named 2018 the Year of the Scooter.

And here are some longer reads to get you through the holidays:

• If we want to fix climate change, there’s no way around it: The car has to go. (New Republic)
• The Phoenix area’s Metro Valley light rail has exceeded expectations since it opened 10 years ago, but recently ridership has plateaued, and it still faces resistance in some parts of the region, jeopardizing future expansions. (Arizona Republic)
• Vision Zero has saved lives in New York, but many people are still dying in crashes that could be prevented. (City News Service)
• Don’t fix the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Get rid of it. (NY Mag)
• ProPublica’s “Trashed” series investigates fatal accidents, brutal working conditions and lax oversight of private trash haulers in NYC.
• After Minneapolis voted to eliminate single-family zoning, the Inquirer wonders if Philadelphia needs to get denser. Increased density can not only make housing more affordable, but also makes transit more efficient.
• The Post and Courier lays out a plan for robust transit in Charleston, S.C.
• We were told there would be no math involved, but on Medium a data scientists analyzes Bay Area traffic patterns.
• Toilet stalls, the cereal aisle and on top of street signs are among the weirdest places people found dockless scooters in 2018, (Curbed)
• Reinventing Transport has a long list of urban policy podcasts to while away the hours.