Kea Wilson
@keawilson.bsky.social
Senior editor + advocacy journalist at Streetsblog USA covering the movement to end universal car dependency. Based in STL, reporting nationally. Tips to: kea@streetsblog.org or kwilson.52 on signal. Opinions are my own.
Loved this one we published on Memorial Day about the violent history of Route 66 you won't see in nostalgic tourist traps, and how that's shaped the roads we still drive on today
The Forgotten History of 'Bloody 66' And How Public Memory Helps Perpetuate Traffic Violence — Streetsblog USA
Centennial events downplay the violent history of one of America's most "iconic" highways, and obscure how that violence persists to this day.
usa.streetsblog.org
TBH it's been disturbing to see how Black Lives Matter has faded out of a lot of street safety conversations since Trump got back into power. Wrote about a new report that reminds us why that's a massive mistake, and why Vision Zero and criminal justice reform are fundamentally the same movement.
Street Safety and Police Reform Are Two Sides of the Same Coin — Streetsblog USA
America's broken approaches to roadway safety and criminal justice are deeply interconnected.
usa.streetsblog.org
Been a while since this happened and I think it's cool: this very cool journal translated one of our articles into Portuguese! It means a lot to me when my work resonants in other places around the world.
“Não somos Copenhagen” não é desculpa para negligenciar pedestres e ciclistas | Caos Planejado
Leia o artigo de Kea Wilson sobre as cidades além de Copenhagen que estão gerando uma transformação na sua mobilidade ativa.
caosplanejado.com
I've been writing about federal transportation policy for a decade and even I am amazed at how many new ways the Trump administration is finding to defund transit, and how breathtakingly hard it is to keep up with. T4 has a great breakdown on the latest one: stalling apportionment from the OMB.
USDOT’s historic failure to advance any new transit projects in 14 months may be a sign of things to come - Transportation For America
As in their first term, it appears the Trump administration is again attempting to slow down or stop transit capital expansion projects across the country. Unlike those previous attempts in 2017-2018,...
t4america.org
Asking commuter railroads to hold 325-400M in insurance is crazy, class 1 railroads generally self insure given their size. We let road vehicles get away with basically nothing and people scream if you suggest at least 100k for personal Autos and 2.5M for trucks (both of which are still too low)
Kea Wilson@keawilson.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe thing about transportation reporting is that stuff that's really wonky and easy to glaze over (revisions to federal train insurance liability requirements) can have *massive*, dramatic impacts on our lives unless we lock in and speak up (commuter trains across America abruptly stopping service.)
The thing about transportation reporting is that stuff that's really wonky and easy to glaze over (revisions to federal train insurance liability requirements) can have *massive*, dramatic impacts on our lives unless we lock in and speak up (commuter trains across America abruptly stopping service.)
This Doomsday Law Could Stop Trains Across America In A Matter of Weeks — Streetsblog USA
Arbitrary insurance requirements set by Congress could easily kill commuter rail in the United States.
usa.streetsblog.org
I cannot describe how exhausting it is to spend a career talking about induced demand, to see it become mainstream among average people AND their governments, to see and feel things finally changing... and then a president comes in who take us back to the 1950s.
For Earth Day, the Trump Administration Wants To Expand Highways Across America — Streetsblog USA
US DOT wants states to build more roads and take space away from bikes and give it to cars. It's foolish on so many levels.
usa.streetsblog.org
In St. Louis you can do this with street trees ...and I may or may not know someone who's done it upwards of 100 times. :)
Michael McLean@michaelmclean.me · 4mo agoIn Chicago you can drop a pin on this map to request a bike rack bikeparking-chicago.hub.arcgis.com It made me so happy to see a family use this rack I requested for the first time 🥹
I would love to know how many U.S. families have lost multiple members to traffic violence, especially in separate crashes. Because this is not the first story on a husband and wife dying in exactly the same place that I've reported, and unless something changes, it definitely won't be the last.
When Traffic Violence Hits The Same Family Twice — Years Apart, On Exactly the Same Street — Streetsblog USA
The deaths of a Colorado married couple has some mourning an eerie coincidence — and others outraged at two predictable tragedies that could have been prevented.
usa.streetsblog.org
IMO, we cannot possibly underestimate how little our elected officials and their staff actually know about how transportation works. And when you really look it in the face, it's obvious why we have the transportation system we do, and what we need to do to fix it.
“Why Do We Do This Bill?”: Preparing Congressional Staff for Surface Transportation Reauthorization — Streetsblog USA
A top advocacy organization is preparing Congress to take a critical look at the upcoming transportation reauthorization — and it's not easy.
usa.streetsblog.org
In which I share my go-to "fuck around and find out" tactic when arguing with end-stage carbrain
What If All Cars Were Autonomous, Electric, and Free? — Streetsblog USA
Can we really solve the problems of car dominance just by making cars less destructive?
usa.streetsblog.org
Spoiler: there isn't an easy answer! But not building so many damn highways is a good start.
How To Fix The Broken Gas Tax — Streetsblog USA
Drivers aren't paying their fair share — and no one else is getting their due. Is it time to rethink our federal road funding mechanisms?
usa.streetsblog.org
Wrote about why Trump's 'Freedom Means Affordable Cars' initiative (yes, they really called it that) is bullshit, why mass forced car dependency will never be affordable *or* liberating, and why the latest gas shock only makes it more obvious what this is all about: enriching automotive interests.
Trump's 'Freedom Means Affordable Cars' Rings Hollow As Gas Prices Surge — Streetsblog USA
Real freedom is the freedom to choose how you get around — including not driving at all.
usa.streetsblog.org
Really enjoyed this conversation about applying the idea of "universal basics" to neighborhoods, why it it *is* possible to give every person access to good transit, biking, and walking options, and why we actually can't afford not to do it. It's like Blue Zones without all the secret pension fraud!
How a 'Universal Basic Neighborhood' Can Help Americans Live Longer — Streetsblog USA
Want to increase your chances of living to 80? A new paper argues we need to start with our neighborhoods — and we need to do it for everybody.
usa.streetsblog.org
In early January we reported on a leaked document that showed that Trump administration was fishing for congestion-related excuses to rip out a bunch of bike lanes in D.C. Now one of the lanes on that list is actually slated for removal.
D.C. Advocates Sue To Save Key Bike Lane From Trump Teardown — Streetsblog USA
We previously reported that the Trump administration might soon move to dismantle key cycle tracks in the nation's capital. Unfortunately, we were right.
usa.streetsblog.org
Hi; we are hiring for a new intern this summer! Please share with any promising students (undergrad/grad) you know, esp. if they are passionate about urbanism, transit, biking, walking, and mobility justice. Bonus points for skills re: short form video, strong writers, etc.
SBUSA Summer Intern 2026
StreetsblogUSA seeks a summer intern to support one of the nation’s leading and most long-standing advocacy journalism outfits covering the movement for transportation reform in America. This fully ...
docs.google.com
Things I learned while writing this: by next year, the amount of general tax revenue we will need to subsidize the highway trust fund every year will be almost enough to *literally end world hunger,* and 4x more than we need to eradicate homelessness in the U.S. And that's just the shortfall.
Why Transit Advocates Aren't 100% Behind This Senator's Bold Bill To Slash Highway Funding — Streetsblog USA
A new Republican bill could bring rampant highway overspending to a halt and slash emissions by one-fifth. But don't get too excited because it would hurt transit, too.
usa.streetsblog.org
Something I think about a lot is how different our world would look if we took the $100billion+ we've invested in autonomous vehicle development alone and put into street safety infrastructure in our cities instead. And the subsidies don't stop with R&D.
Waymos Are a Huge Drain on Public Resources, Government Data Shows
Data from San Francisco's transit agency shows the stunning ways Waymo shirks accountability for its fleet of robotaxis.
futurism.com
Research q: anyone know where I can find an updated estimate for this number that center for investigative reporting (cc @revealnews.org) came up with 11 years ago?
The True Cost of Gasoline: $15 Per Gallon | Smart Cities Dive
smartcitiesdive.com
IDK who needs this, but here's a breakdown of why Kansas' anti-trans driver's license law is bullshit, why this is absolutely a transportation reform issue, and how cruel and dangerous it is to make people in car dependent places choose between legal driving and not denying their basic identities.
Why Anti-Trans Laws Are Terrible For Transportation, Too — Streetsblog USA
A disturbing new Kansas law revokes trans people's driver's licenses. Here's how it will make our communities more dangerous.
usa.streetsblog.org
This is fucked and if you’re a “street safety” person this is absolutely your issue
Laura Jedeed@laurajedeed.bsky.social · 5mo agoIt seems all Kansas-issued trans drivers' licenses are invalid, effective tomorrow It is now illegal for trans people to drive a car until they surrender their license at a DMV (that most will need to drive to) and have it reissued with the wrong gender marker This was never about woman's sports
"When our government is not just apathetic but an aggressor against our communities,... we need to resist today by creating systems of community care that get people where they need to go right now, even in the most terrible storms." @keawilson.bsky.social usa.streetsblog.org/2026/02/02/s...
Shoveling a Snowy Sidewalk Is An Act of Resistance — Streetsblog USA
Shoveling a sidewalk in winter is always a critical act of community care — but in an era of government assault on civil liberties, it's also an act of resistance.
usa.streetsblog.org
This pubbed a week ago while I was on vacation someplace warm (yes, I did pay someone to shovel my walk while I was gone), but wrote about why mutual aid is getting more important for street safety, especially as government gets more violent.
Shoveling a Snowy Sidewalk Is An Act of Resistance — Streetsblog USA
Shoveling a sidewalk in winter is always a critical act of community care — but in an era of government assault on civil liberties, it's also an act of resistance.
usa.streetsblog.org
Fellow snowbelt folks: what is your number one tip for clearing a sidewalk of snow? Having a weirdly hard time finding a guide that's specifically geared towards plowing so pedestrians of all ability levels can move comfortably and thinking about compiling one of my own.
"And it would also ensure that taxpayers actually get some of the life-saving benefits they've been promised by transportation officials for decades – rather than seeing their money wasted on endless highway expansion projects that never seem to reduce congestion or cut deadly crashes."
Kea Wilson@keawilson.bsky.social · 6mo agoMaybe someday, more politicians will give full-throated support to multimodal transportation policies because the climate emergency demands it. But until they do: *call it a safety policy.* Because it'll have the same emissions benefit either way.
Maybe someday, more politicians will give full-throated support to multimodal transportation policies because the climate emergency demands it. But until they do: *call it a safety policy.* Because it'll have the same emissions benefit either way.
Improving Road Safety Is A Win For The Climate, Too — Streetsblog USA
Closing the notorious "fatality target" loophole wouldn't just save lives — it'd help save the human species from climate catastrophe, too.
usa.streetsblog.org
ok so who's going to invite me, Kea Wilson, to moderate a panel featuring Portland mayor Keith Wilson and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, thereby unleashing Maximum Multimodal Wilson.
Mayor Wilson: 'We have to be the biggest bike mode city in the nation'
He made the comments at an event attended by business and tourism officials.
bikeportland.org
If you need a break from The Horrors, I dug into a wonky but super important bill that would make it possible to use transportation funds to build housing and other important destinations near transit, and why TOD deserves a lot more airtime in the conversation about building livable places.
A Few Legal Tweaks Could Unlock A Mother Lode of Housing Near Transit — Streetsblog USA
It's time to help communities use federal financing to build housing near transit, a new bill argues.
usa.streetsblog.org
On the most basic level, transportation reform advocates need to speak out about ICE violence because it is a barrier to movement for countless migrants, brown people, protestors, and anyone else who ICE targets. But there are deeper reasons why this is our issue, too. Explored a few on the pod.
What's A Transportation Reformer's Role In the Fight Against ICE Violence? — Streetsblog USA
Migrants and protestors are being killed in the streets by ICE agents. What should transportation reform advocates do?
usa.streetsblog.org
