Transportation Policy

An aide to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn sent this message late last week concerning new legislation that could bring improvements to dangerous locations for pedestrians and cyclists:

Congressman Blumenauer works the room

On Monday US Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa introduced "The Complete Streets Act of 2008," a bill "to promote the design of streets that are safe for all of those using the street -- including motorists, bus riders, bicyclists, and pedestrians, including people with disabilities."

We didn't do it.

Ahead of this week's National Bike Summit in Washington, DC, syndicated columnist Neal Peirce wonders if 2008 will be "bicycling's best year since the start of the auto age." He writes about developments promoting the bicycle as a legitimate form of transportation around the world, many of which have been featured right here on Streetsblog:

Fare Hike, the Day After (Post, AMNY, News, Metro, NY1) News: Prevent Fare Hikes; Enact Congestion Pricing Congestion Pricing Is Good For Your Health (City Fix) Service Enhancements on Track Despite MTA Budget Crunch (News, Post, Metro) Sander to Deliver First State-of-the-MTA Address Today (AMNY) 2nd Ave Sagas Grades the Subway System Ferry Ad Campaign … Continued

Democratic front runner Barack Obama just released a campaign "Fact Sheet" entitled, "Strengthening America's Transportation Infrastructure" (download it). While Hillary Clinton has put forward some outstanding and heavily transit-oriented plans of her own, Obama appears to be the first major party presidential candidate to outline a national transportation platform that explicitly seeks to "create policies that incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of sidewalks and roads" (if anyone knows differently, let us know in the comments section). Whatever the case, it's a significant step up from the 2004 campaign featuring George W. Bush's mountain bike fitness regimen and John Kerry, spandex-clad on an $8,000 Serotta.

The NRDC's "Beyond Oil" campaign. Are national environmental groups ready to shift their strategy?

Setting the tone: In its performance report, DOT starts off by measuring how quickly it fixes traffic lights.