DC Streetsblog

Last week, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign revealed how states prioritize spending: 20 percent for transit, 2 percent for bike/ped, 38.5 percent for maintenance, and about 22.5 percent for highway expansion. Looking just at those last two numbers, that breaks down to 71 percent more spending on repair than sprawl-inducing new lanes.

For a while it didn't seem certain, but after a critical vote earlier this month, it looks like California's on track to build high-speed rail. And, I'll be the first to admit, California -- with two large, global metros just a few hundred miles apart -- is a great place for it.

From the Drivers-Don't-Pay-Their-Own-Way Department...

Some Republican lawmakers really can't stand TIGER, the Obama Administration's competitive grant program for innovative transportation projects, which has funded several local initiatives to improve transit, biking, and walking over the past few years. Right now, Republicans are fighting to keep TIGER funding out of an appropriations bill -- even though demand for the program has been overwhelming. In the last round of funding, nearly 700 applications were received requesting $10.2 billion, with only $500 million available for about 50 projects.

How's your state doing on bike and pedestrian investment? Transit? Bridge repair?

The FTA has put out a helpful guide [PDF] to the changes to public transit policy in MAP-21, the new transportation bill that takes effect October 1. Three cheers to the agency for making the changes easy to see with their tracked-changes format.

In the immediate, panicked moments after the MAP-21 conference report was released, I missed some of the nuances of just how bad a deal this bill is for bike policy.

If you haven't been following the story of the Agenda 21 conspiracy theory, here's a quick overview. Some people believe a two-decade-old, non-binding UN plan to promote sustainable development means the government is going to seize their land and cars and force them to live in tenements. The ultra-conservative John Birch Society says that Agenda 21 "seeks to curtail your freedom to travel as you please, own a gas-powered car, live in suburbs or rural areas, and raise a family."

If there’s a problem connecting workers with workplaces, it stands to reason that there’s a problem connecting workplaces with workers. A new report from the Brookings Institution has teased out the subtleties of this side of the transit/jobs equation.