With Election Over, It's Time To Focus on Federal Transportation Policy

We’re now over 24 hours removed from one of the most memorable elections in American and Californian history. On the transportation front, Obama is putting together his administration, the proponents of Prop. 1a are readying their action plan, and the citizen’s of Los Angeles are anxiously awaiting their new transit projects.

So, what’s next for Livable Streets Advocates? While there are lots of worthy projects locally and statewide, we shouldn’t forget that billions of federal dollars for transportation will be allocated as part of the reauthorization of the federal transportation trust fund and perhaps another fedreal relief package. Activists have outlined a plan for Congress to make sure that these federal dollars are spent on the kinds of projects that will stimulate the economy and create a more sustainable transportation system. Build 4 America outlined a five-point plan calls for Congress and the Obama administration to:

Build
rail and transit networks that are competitive with those in China and
Europe, reducing oil dependence and connecting metro regions.
Invest in “the cleanest forms of transportation — modern public transit, walking and biking.”
Adopt a “fix-it-first” policy to repair crumbling roads and bridges rather than building new ones.
Stop wasteful spending and re-evaluate projects that have already been approved.
“Save Americans money” by providing them with cost-efficient, sustainable transportation options where they live and work.

Locally, the Transportation 4 America is organizing to make sure Southern California is involved in the fight to make sure that the federal government spends transportation dollars with our best interests at heart. Also, following the call from the Thunderhead Alliance, the Los Angeles County Bike Coalition has submitted local projects, that are “ready to build” to the Alliance to help their lobbying efforts for the expected Economic Stimulus Bill that Congress may be working on. If the Economic Stimulus Bill doesn’t get passed or doesn’t include transportation provisions, the list will help provide the framework for the next federal transportation trust fund.

The LACBC’s list is available after the jump. It should be noted that this list reflects ready-to-build projects that have been approved by a Master Plan and are through the initial engineering and design stage. This
list is NOT a reflection of what cities themselves believe is ready to
build, just projects that from LACBC’s initial research looks like they
are ready to build.