Texas has had a road fatality every single day for 20 years.
Dug Begley reports on a grim milestone in Texas: 70,000 people dead on the roads around the state over 20 years. Drivers have killed someone every single day over that period, in a string of unceasing carnage.
The milestone passes as local and state officials have promised in recent years to improve traffic safety, but the fruits of those labors have yet to make an impact on the traffic safety data in the state, according to experts cited in the article.
It will take efforts on numerous fronts to make a meaningful change, according to the article, "Plans call for spending millions on education campaigns to change driver behaviors and keep impaired drivers from choosing to get behind the wheel. Engineers expect to use crash data to identify and then build better intersections and crosswalks. Upcoming state highway repairs include rumble strips to warn drivers when they drift from the road."
"Whatever changes officials have in store, the intent is to encourage drivers to do what they need to keep themselves and other safe, or not enable whatever it is that leads to poor choices," adds Begley.
More details of the scale of the tragedy on Texas roads is included in the article.
FULL STORY: The Streak: 20 years, 70K deaths and unfulfilled plans for zero road fatalities in Texas
Seniors Account for 32% of Traffic Deaths in the Bay Area
Road safety interventions would help protect seniors and other vulnerable groups from traffic violence.
San Francisco Cut Traffic Deaths Almost in Half in 2025
The city credits its Vision Zero strategy and new traffic cameras for reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on its roads.
After 30% Spike in 2024, New Jersey Traffic Deaths Drop by 15% in 2025
New Jersey launched the nation’s first statewide Vision Zero plan last year.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association