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This year packed a wallop for transportation reform advocates across America — but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything to celebrate, or a lot of hope for the future.
We covered the bad news yesterday, most of which was caused by a guy whose name rhymes with “Chump.” Let’s end the year, though, on a positive note, by recapping the ground swell of local support for the movement to end car dependency, and all the seeds that were planted for 2026 to be a better year than ever.
January started off with some good news in the final days of the Biden administration, when Secretary Pete Buttigieg awarded a mother lode grants that could have bolstered transit, biking, walking, and mobility justice across America.
If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll know much of that hope was later dashed when the Trump administration impounded, rescinded, pocket-rescinded, and reconciled away much of that money through just about every legal (and questionably legal) mechanism they could think of. But it’s critical to remember just how many Americans want these types of projects, and celebrated when they got them — and let that memory fuel the fight to restore that funding and more.
The February death of parking reform legend Donald Shoup certainly wasn’t good news, but we spent much of the month in gratitude for his astonishing legacy — and in awe of just how many people mourning him remain committed to the fight for more livable cities, in which he was so instrumental.
And we were also heartened by the outpouring of support for California’s high speed rail project, which got advocates fired up (and writing bangers.)
That wave of advocacy continued into March, as reformers got organized and started find new ways to stand up to Trump.
And cities started showing success at the local level, like the opening of San Francisco’s Great Funway Park.
And advocates kept winning through April, as Philadelphia successfully fought to maintain its beloved free transit program, and New York City successfully stood up to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s threats to shut down its national-first congestion pricing by an arbitrary 4/20 deadline … which inspired our New York affiliate’s graphic team:
In May, we got a timely reminder that cities can — and have — outlasted hostile administrations in Washington, with this inspiring story from the other Washington about how they put their heads down during Trump 1.0 and quietly pushed forward a transit project that opened at just the right time.
And in June, we focused even harder on the future as Congress got deeper into early negotiations over the next big federal transportation law — and advocates made a strong case for why cities and regions should have much more direct funding.
The July op-ed below inspired us to take the long view of this year’s turbulent transportation climate, and remember that navigating stormy waters is also an opportunity to get stronger and prepare for the journey ahead:
By the summer primary season, city residents sent a strong message that they were ready to start that journey now at the local level with the nomination of mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani in New York City, Katie Wilson in Seattle, and many more. (Spoiler alert: virtually all of them went on to win their elections in the fall.)
And August brought an avalanche of new marker bills that progressives are pushing to include in the next federal transportation law:
Of course, those bills are a long way from becoming law. But in September, we were reminded in the piece below that there’s a lot states can do right now to put transportation reform priorities into action.
And Illinois did just that in October, with the “Halloween Miracle” that brought transit back from the brink — and set a powerful example for how other states can throw their weight behind shared and active modes.
Some states across America did take traffic violence more seriously in 2025 — and by November, 18 of them had either passed, introduced, or signaled their commitment to pursue a “Stop Super Speeders” bill, which could save countless lives.
Meanwhile, those urbanist candidates we mentioned before had cemented their victories — and a few had even given Streetsblog an interview:
We won’t pretend that the movement to end car dependency doesn’t face some steep headwinds going into 2026. The Trump administration still has another three years in office, and the negotiations over the next federal infrastructure bill promise to be bruising.
Still, it’s important to end the year by taking stock of just how much advocates have accomplished, even under the most difficult of circumstances — and how many seeds have been planted for a better year ahead. We’ll be there to help you navigate it every step of the way.
