With a few hours to go until what will be the season’s first presidential debate, we’re looking over a report from the Brookings Institution, which outlines each candidate’s positions on transportation.

The six-page report [PDF]
holds few if any surprises for Streetsbloggers, but it nicely
highlights respective statements from McCain and Obama on topics like
federal spending, road pricing and public transportation, with links to
source materials.

One category in particular caught our attention: "Smart Growth Considerations," from page five.

"Obama
will build upon his efforts in the Senate to ensure that more
Metropolitan Planning Organizations create policies to incentivize
greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads and sidewalks. As
president, Obama will work to provide states and local governments with
the resources they need to address sprawl and create more livable
communities." –BarackObama.com

"McCain hasn’t released a formal policy identified as targeting urban issues." –WSJ.com

While
it’s true that much of "heartland" America still couldn’t care less
about bike lanes and sidewalks, as we’ve seen, livable streets issues
are pushing further into the mainstream.
Whether those issues, and the often starkly differing views held by the
candidates, will emerge as part of the national discussion over the
next five weeks remains to be seen.

As confirmed in many
respects by the Brookings breakdown, one thing is a near certainty: the
composition of next year’s federal funding package will vary
dramatically based on who takes the White House.

Photo: Chesi – Fotos CC/Flickr