Brad Aaron

While Washington is bailing out banks and carmakers (maybe), City Council Member John Liu thinks an allocation to the MTA is in order.

Streets designed for safe, accessible, and equitable use. That is the vision of the "Blueprint for the Upper West Side: A Roadmap for Truly Livable Streets," to be unveiled tonight by the Upper West Side Streets Renaissance Campaign. The product of one year of community-driven planning, in consultation with urbanist legends Jan Gehl and Donald Shoup, the 51-page Blueprint [PDF] is an expansive neighborhood-wide plan that would employ many livable streets concepts already in use by NYC DOT. 

More details of a possible Obama administration-led auto industry bailout emerged yesterday when Politico reported that the president-elect wants a "high-profile point person to oversee reforms" attached to any financial aid.

Over the weekend, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate urged the Bush administration to extend financial aid intended for Wall Street to struggling domestic carmakers, a move that could have the support of President-elect Obama.

With the Obama administration indicating that it may counter the current economic slowdown with much-needed infrastructure investment, Transportation for America has issued a letter calling for the president-elect to "lay the groundwork for a clean-energy future that is less dependent on oil."

Congresswoman-elect Kathy Dahlkemper overcame ridicule for her "wacky" notion that Pennsylvanians should try walking and cycling. But down in western North Carolina, voters returned Rep. Patrick McHenry -- shown here mocking, and misrepresenting, the federal bike commuter tax benefit -- to Washington.

Her post-Bloomberg career has been the province of wishful speculation. But a report published today indicates that DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan may be considered for a position in Barack Obama's Department of Transportation -- possibly its top spot. 

A scene from Midtown early this morning, after Barack Obama was named president-elect.

Last week Freakonomics picked up a story from the Riverfront Times that connects an uptick in shoplifting, fighting and other crimes in the St. Louis suburbs to a two-year-old expansion of the city's MetroLink rail system.