Transit Advocacy
Streetsblog LA
Asm. Bob Blumenfield: It’s Time to Think Big on Transit
(The following op/ed was written by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield (D-SFV), Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee in support of AB 650. Blumenfield's legislation has already passed the Assembly and passed the Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday. It needs to pass the full Senate and go back to the Assembly for a concurrence vote before heading to the governor's desk. This piece first appeared in the California Progress Report and is reprinted here with the consent of Blumenfield's office. - DN)
August 26, 2011
Gov. Brown Vetoes Commuter Benefits Act, Cites Cost Agument
Sounding like a spokesperson for the Republican opposition to the bill, Governor Jerry Brown announced a veto of SB 582, citing the cost to small businesses. From his veto statement:
August 3, 2011
Two Important Transit Bills Moving in Sacramento
(Ryan Wiggins is Transportation for America’s an on the ground in Southern California. Last week he presented a primer on transportation funding at “Expanding Our Public Transit Options: Resources to Keep LA Moving Forward?” a Salon put on by Breathe L.A. He was nice enough to share his notes with us in a two-part series. Today we’ll focus on some legislation moving in Sacramento. Yesterday Wiggins gave an overview of the federal picture. – DN)
April 12, 2011
Government Shutdown Would Be a Punch in the Gut to Transit Agencies
A powwow between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, President Obama, and House Speaker John Boehner last night failed to yield a compromise that would put a budget in place before the government shuts down at midnight tonight. The failure of yet another attempt to negotiate makes a government shutdown all but inevitable.
April 8, 2011
A Call to Plan Cities for Tomorrow, While Bracing for Transit Cuts Today
USDOT Deputy Secretary John Porcari kicked off the Transportation Equity Network’s “One Nation, Indivisible” conference yesterday with a call to think long-term. By 2050, he said, we can expect the U.S. population to grow by 100 million people, and nearly all of them will live in large urban centers. Problems like crumbling infrastructure, inadequate transit systems, grinding traffic and pollution will be much worse then if we don’t start acting today.
April 5, 2011
“Zen in the Art of Travel Behavior: Using Visual Ethnography to Understand the Transit Experience” a Photo-Transit Project from UCLA Goes Online
Almost a year ago, Streetsblog announced that a team of UCLA Graduate Students were working on a "Transit Photo Project" where participants took pictures of their transit oriented commute. These photographs would create photologs of their commuting experience and would allow the researchers to analyze how participants really feel about their commutes.
March 15, 2011
How About An Inclusive Movement?
(ed. note - I know a lot of you already know Jessica Meaney with the Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership. But did you also know she's also on our local Board of Directors for Streetsblog? This editorial will be the first of many you'll see from our Board Members going forward. - DN)
February 18, 2011
Will President Obama Speak for the Transit-Starved Tonight?
President Obama is expected to make a strong push for infrastructure spending during the State of the Union address tonight. Ahead of the address, the Transportation Equity Network organized its members and supporters to write to President Obama, telling their personal stories of why transit funding is crucial to their communities. In all, TEN will deliver 1,000 personal letters to the President asking him to support transit investments. A few have already been sent.
January 25, 2011
Report: Letting Transit Tax Benefit Expire Will Throw Riders From the Train
For many transit riders, there's another fare hike coming down the track, one that many may not even be aware of.
November 18, 2010