Thursday’s Headlines: Welcome to the War on Cars, Scientific American

Believe it or not, our favorite story yesterday was this editorial in Scientific American that felt like it could have been written by Streetsblog.

Under the headline, “We Need to Make Cities Less Car-Dependent,” the large-brained academics proceeded to check most of our boxes about the deleterious effect of cars on our society:

• The death toll from autos in the U.S. is widely out of scale with other Western democracies? Check.
• Better design can solve that? Check.
• We need to invest in transit to give people more safe and efficient options? Check.
• Land use policy plays a role in car-dependence. And it’s not a good one? Check.
• Pollution from cars is bad, too? Check.
• The damage of cars disproportionately affects the least fortunate? Check.
• Cars are getting way too big? Check.
• Open streets are a good idea? Check.
• All of this can be changed if we want? Check.

That’s a lot of ground to cover in one editorial, but the SciAm editors did it beautifully. And they didn’t even fall for the electric car trap. Bravo.

In other news:

• The reaction to the Times scoop about Mayor Adams’s apparent decision to hire former Giuliani Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro to head the Law Department has been swift from progressives. (NYDN, Hell Gate)
• By the way, it’s always been part of the congestion pricing plan to mitigate whatever environmental issues arise in New Jersey, too. We’ve reported that many times, but everyone seemed to notice it yesterday. (NY Post, amNY, Crain’s)
• Meanwhile, Janno Lieber is no fan of the free bus pilot that state lawmakers foisted on him and his MTA. (amNY)
• No one else really covered the Landmarks approval of the deliverista hub in Lower Manhattan, so we offer it to you again. (Streetsblog)
• Now, if only Apple Watch could prevent drivers from hitting us, too. (NY Post)
• Like us, the Post and Gothamist covered the minor charges against the driver who killed 10-year-old Yitty Wertzberger.