Congress’ Transport Impasse Hits States — and Not Just Their Road Funds
When lawmakers failed on Wednesday to reach a deal on avoiding the cancellation of $8.7 billion in transportation spending authority, the consequences of Congress’ inaction weren’t immediately palpable to most voters — but the loss is sinking in on the local level. (Photo: USGS.gov) From Texas to New Jersey to Colorado, local DOT officials are … Continued
October 5, 2009
SF’s Newsom: Let’s Not Extend Parking Meter Hours in a Recession
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has snagged some high-profile
support for his nascent California gubernatorial bid, but he may have
some trouble with the transit-riding, congestion-weary constituency. My
colleagues Matthew Roth and Bryan Goebel have the story over at Streetsblog San Fran:
October 2, 2009
Boxer’s Climate Bill Released With Much Fanfare, Little Focus on Transport
Flanked by fellow Democrats, members of the military, and a crowd
hoisting signs with buzzwords like "clean energy" and "green jobs,"
Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) today released the
first draft of their legislation to curb U.S. emissions and combat
climate change.
October 1, 2009
New Report: Feds Subsidizing Parking Six Times as Much as Transit
"Subsidy" is a word used quite often in transportation policy-making circles, whether by road acolytes who claim (falsely)
that highways are not federally subsidized because of the gas tax or by
transit boosters who lament Washington's unceasing focus on paying for
more local asphalt.
September 29, 2009
House Voting Today on Transport Law Extension — What’s Next?
The House is slated to vote this afternoon on a three-month
extension of the 2005 federal infrastructure law, as proposed yesterday
by transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN).
September 23, 2009
New Report: 10% Transit Growth Would Help Meet House Climate Target
A 10 percent annual increase in U.S. transit ridership would reduce
CO2 emissions by 180 million tons each year, taking the nation halfway
to the target set by the House climate change bill within three years,
according to a report [PDF] released today by Environment America and the Coalition for Smarter Growth.
September 23, 2009
Boxer Reminds Metrolink: Train Crew Members Shouldn’t Ride Solo
The transportation spending bill passed by the Senate this week includes $50 million in rail safety grants sought in June
by environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) -- but the
bill may not become law for months, and today Boxer told California's
Metrolink commuter rail that interim safety protections would have to
stay in place.
September 21, 2009
Pro-Tea Party Republican’s Angry Letter to D.C. Metro: Read it in Full
Apparently unfamiliar with the concept of irony, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) has drafted an angry letter to the chief of Washington D.C.’s Metro, complaining that protesters at last weekend’s 9/12 “tea party” had difficulty traveling by transit — the very transit system that Brady voted against aiding, and the epitome of government spending that the … Continued
September 18, 2009
Oberstar to Back 3-Month Delay in Transport Bill As Soon As Next Week
House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) is readying
a proposal to extend current infrastructure law by three months -- 15
months less than the delay preferred by the White House -- and could introduce the legislation as soon as next week, his office said today.
September 17, 2009
Warner Scores a (Small) Win for White House’s Transportation Agenda
While it pushes for an 18-month delay in the next federal infrastructure bill, the Obama administration has proposed
a data collection effort that would help states and localities begin
tracking ridership and usage of transit, roads, buses, and the like --
a small put pivotal step towards enacting national performance standards for transportation.
September 17, 2009