Transportation Policy
Streetsblog LA
Court Orders California to Stop Robbing Transit (Updated)
Things may have gotten a little more difficult for Governor Schwarzengger, who is already wrestling with the titanic task of trying to pass a balanced budget for the fiscal year starting today, when a California court of appeals ruled that the state needs to stop taking funds dedicated by voters towards transit projects and use it to try and close the gaping funding hole.
July 1, 2009
Cities See Population Gains — But What About Political Power?
The Census Bureau has just released new data showing a resurgence of the nation's cities, with New York leading the way and Chicago reversing five years of population decline.
July 1, 2009
Calpirg, Smart Growth America Slam State Stimulus Spending
When the government passed the stimulus bill last spring, it set a 120 day deadline for states to allocate at least half of transportation funds in the bill. As that deadline passes today, CALPIRG and Smart Growth America released a report detailing how California is spending its stimulus dollars.
June 29, 2009
GOP’s New Attack on Health Care Reform Bill: It Promotes Walking!
Despite a growing awareness among conservatives that walking and biking are causes worth backing, Republicans on Capitol Hill continue to condemn bike-ped programs as wasteful "pork". The GOP's latest potshots at sustainable transportation come during debate over a health care bill that focuses mainly on insurance and hospitals, but also includes a public health grant program aimed at encouraging exercise.
June 16, 2009
AARP Sends Its Transportation Priorities to Congress
AARP, the Washington mega-force that lays claim to a membership base of 40 million older Americans, today threw its weight behind three transportation policy changes in a letter to House members. The group asked Reps. Jim Oberstar (D-MN) and John Mica (R-FL), the chairman and senior Republican on the House transportation committee, to include “complete … Continued
June 15, 2009
LaHood Vows to Avert Federal Transpo Bankruptcy and Pay For It
The Obama administration is working on a plan to fill the shortfall
in the nation's highway trust fund by August without adding to the
federal deficit, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Congress
today.
June 4, 2009
Transit Planners to Congress: Please Figure Out How to Fund Us
To all but the most ardent transit wonks, the phrase "New Starts"
sounds like a motivational tape sold on late-night TV. But those two
words actually represent Washington's predominant mechanism to pay for
major transit expansions -- everything from expanding an existing rail
station to building a new bus line.
June 4, 2009
Solve the Congestion Crisis And Win $50,000
Have you ever idled in traffic or waited for a late bus while thinking: "The city government should put me in charge of fixing this mess"? (editor's note: Ubrayj, put your hand down.)
June 1, 2009
Polly Trottenberg Tapped For Senior U.S. DOT Spot
It's a happy Friday for transportation wonks: the White House has nominated Polly Trottenberg, executive director of Building America's Future, as assistant secretary for policy at the federal DOT.
May 29, 2009
Metro Sort of Passes Budget, Punts on Ansaldo Breda, Insults Public
The big news from today's Metro Board meeting was that after our leaders subjected themselves to the pain of listening to the public, they were able to sorta-kinda pass the FY 2010 budget and put off a decision on whether to abandon their contract with Ansaldo Breda for another two months.
May 28, 2009