Transportation Policy
Streetsblog Basics
New York City Wins the 2009 Sustainable Transport Award
Madison Square: Before and After.
January 13, 2009
$2 Billion for Bicycling in Stimulus Package?
The most tantalizing tidbit in today's Times profile of Earl Blumenauer comes from fellow cycling Congressman James Oberstar:
January 13, 2009
Bloomberg to Obama: Stimulus Aid Should Go Directly to Cities
Yesterday the President-elect unveiled the broad strokes of his economic recovery plan at a DC press event, and Mayor Bloomberg was there to give his response. Bloomberg's message is critical for the prospects of green transportation in the upcoming stimulus package. Here's the abbreviated version via Liz Benjamin at the Daily Politics:
January 9, 2009
Chicago Loses NYC’s Congestion Pricing Money
Looks like New York legislators aren't the only ones willing to pass up big money for transportation improvements if it means putting a fair price on private auto use.
January 9, 2009
Quick Impressions of the MTA’s Sustainability Report
This afternoon the MTA released a draft of its eagerly anticipated sustainability report, which has been in the works since September 2007. The product of a "blue ribbon commission" featuring heavy hitters in the transportation world, the report reads like the MTA's version of NYCDOT's "Sustainable Streets" strategic plan.
January 8, 2009
Wiki Wednesday: “Shovel-Ready” Pedestrian Safety Plans?
StreetsWiki author Andy Hamilton files this entry on an idea from our very own Federal Highway Administration: the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan.
January 7, 2009
Tell Congress: Don’t Waste Money on Highway Expansion
With President-elect Obama back in Washington, action is heating up again around the economic recovery package, which could total up to $850 billion over the next two years. As much as $100 billion may be at stake for transportation projects. How will it be spent? The information that continues to trickle out of state departments of transportation is troubling. With a few exceptions, they are asking mainly to fund roadway expansion projects that would worsen traffic, pollution, and oil dependency, at the expense of transit, bike, and pedestrian infrastructure.
January 7, 2009
Cartoon Tuesday: What’s Your Destination?
Good stuff this week from Tom Toles, whose transpo-themed editorial cartoons are always on target. Click through for the rest of this commentary.
January 6, 2009
Want a Green Recovery? Stimulate Green Transportation
The massive federal stimulus package -- expected to direct hundreds of billions to infrastructure projects over the next two years -- enters a critical phase this weekend as congressional leaders and the Obama team hammer out the bulk of the bill. For transportation policy, the options are clear: This bill can either perpetuate a system geared toward more driving, more pollution, and more dysfunction on our streets, or it can signal that the nation is turning the page on 1950s-style mobility, embracing green transportation, and placing greater value on the public realm.
December 19, 2008