Month: April 2011
Today’s Headlines
No Budget Deal After White House Summit With Congressional Leaders (WaPo, The Hill) Poll: Traders Expect Oil Prices to Continue Climbing (Reuters) Higher Gas Prices Could Be a Bigger Political Hurdle for Obama Than High Unemployment (LAT) Air Traffic, Amtrak Would Operate During Shutdown (AP, USA Today) Senate Pushes Back GOP Attempt to Gut EPA … Continued
April 7, 2011
Boxer Tests Out “America Fast Forward” at Senate Committee Hearing
With House GOP leadership making it abundantly clear that they would be pleased to return federal transportation policy to the 1950s, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works met today to get serious about the who, what and how of funding a 21st century transportation system.
April 6, 2011
GOP Budget Would Slash Transpo Spending, Entrench Oil Dependence
With the release of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's budget proposal yesterday, right wing calls for massive cuts to transportation spending are now enshrined in the GOP leadership's fiscal plan. Ryan singled out transportation as an area particularly ripe for cuts, criticized the use of gas tax revenues for projects that aren't highways, and called for transportation spending levels to barely cover half of what President Obama requested in February.
April 6, 2011
In Energy-Uncertain Future, Indiana DOT Bets That Nothing Will Change
Imagine for a second what transportation will be like in 2035. Will fossil fuels have been replaced by some new, not-yet-discovered energy source? Will the near-monopoly of car-based transportation systems still be viable thanks to vastly more efficient vehicles? Or will the costs of car-dependence become prohibitive, leading more of us to prefer living closer to where we work and shop, so we can save time and money by relying on effective transit networks and our ability to walk and bike?
April 6, 2011
Today’s Headlines
Infrastructure Mired in Budget Battle (NYT) Oil Dependence Leaves American Economy Vulnerable (AP) How Can the U.S. Move Forward on Transportation? (National Journal) Water: An Untapped Transportation Resource? (The Hill) Mayor Gray Finds Room for Transit in DC Budget (GGW) Survey: Americans Prefer Walkable Neighborhoods (IBT) Does Bus Rapid Transit Have a Future? (Grist) Radiant … Continued
April 6, 2011
House Members Make Their Case for Transpo Investment (and Earmarks)
While House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan grabbed headlines with the release of a fiscal plan that would severely constrain the federal transportation program (more on that later), the theme of the day at the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee was the desperate need to invest in infrastructure, as members of Congress provided their own proposals to the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
April 5, 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
How Far Should Bike and Transit Advocates Take Their Alliance?
In Portland, a political marriage has been brokered between biking and transit advocates. The two forces, once separate, have united under the heading "active transportation."
April 5, 2011
Today’s Headlines
Obama Summons Congressional Leaders to Avert Government Shutdown (WSJ) Boehner Rejects White House Offer of $33 Billion in Spending Cuts (The Hill) What to Look for in Paul Ryan’s Budget (CAP) Minnesota Senate Passes Bill to Slash Twin Cities Transit Budget (Star-Trib) CT Gov Malloy Will “Aggressively Pursue” Hartford-New Britain Busway (MTR, W. Hartford News) … Continued
April 5, 2011
In the Budget Debate, Scarcely a Mention of the Word “Transportation”
So Congress hasn't resolved the 2011 budget impasse yet, and already there are bigger budget battles about to consume Capitol Hill.
April 4, 2011