The USA Streetsies: Vote for the Best and Worst of 2016

Let’s just get this out of the way — 2016 was terrible!

But the show must go on, and as is Streetsblog tradition, we’re reviewing the last 12 months with our annual awards — the Streetsies.

We’ll be putting the finalists for Best Street Transformation up for a vote tomorrow. In the meantime, here are four other people’s choice categories to vote on. We’ll post the winners of these polls and other categories next week.

Best sign of progress

Better rail regulations

Federal regulators finally allowed U.S. railroads to purchase trains designed to international safety standards, clearing the way for lighter, faster vehicles and big savings for passenger rail operators.

Ballot box wins for transit

Voters in Seattle, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Raleigh, and Indianapolis approved ballot measures for robust transit improvements.

Peak parking?

In new housing, parking spaces per bedroom declined for several years in a row, despite low gas prices and a relatively healthy economy.

Biggest local failure

D.C. Metro

The Metro shows signs of sliding into a “transit death spiral,” with WMATA threatening to cut service hours as ridership declines and fare hikes loom.

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo preserves unwanted highway

Advocates in Providence, Rhode Island, had a smart plan to tear down an aging elevated freeway, but the proposal was snuffed out by Raimondo.

Seattle’s missed opportunity by the waterfront

After spending a fortune to bury its waterfront highway, Seattle is planning to build another highway-like road right on top of it.

Suburban Detroiters vote against better transit

Detroit‘s regional transit measure, which could have transformed one of the nation’s most dysfunctional systems, was narrowly defeated at the ballot box.

Worst victim blaming

Michigan media

After an intoxicated hit-and-run driver killed five cyclists in Michigan, the press lectured cyclists about helmets.

Phoenix PSA comic

An insanely graphic comic book warned Phoenix kids that biking will kill them — for safety!

Louisville “pedestrian safety” program

A Louisville pedestrian safety program, sponsored by the local bike advocacy group, issued fake jaywalking tickets to children.

Worst trend

Traffic fatalities on the rise

Cheap gas and more driving made 2016 an especially deadly year on American streets — and pedestrians and cyclists.

Transit meltdowns

Some of America’s largest transit systems had epic failures in 2016, indicative of serious long-term problems with maintenance and procurement. The biggest fiasco happened in D.C., when safety lapses forced Metro to implement a mid-week, emergency closure of the entire system. Philadelphia’s SEPTA commuter rail was also hobbled by a major design flaw causing 120 trains to be pulled out of service, and in Boston, a train full of passengers caught fire.