Ben Goldman

Politico Pro Transportation put out a news blast today that threw some light into the inky shadows of the conference committee process, and what we saw there doesn't look too pretty. Apparently Sen. Barbara Boxer has reason to believe negotiations aren't going so well, "after a House GOP conferee criticized her for 'stonewalling' the lower chamber":

A coalition of 70 organizations, including the US Conference of Mayors, American Heart Association, and the National PTA, have signed on to a letter from America Bikes urging Congress to preserve the Cardin-Cochran amendment -- a provision in the Senate transportation bill that allows local agencies to directly access funds street safety projects. The letter is addressed to the 33 House members and 14 Senators on the transportation bill conference committee. Neither co-sponsor of the original amendment is on the committee.

Walkable Neighborhoods Shouldn’t Be Reserved For Top Earners (Good) State-Local Power Struggles as Intense as Ever (AtlanticCities) Oregon Report Proposes Bicycle User Fee to Generate Revenue for Transpo (BikePortland) After 100 Years in Erie, GE Transportation Will Move Headquarters to Chicago (Tribune) Transit Cuts Hit Poor, Elderly Riders Hardest in Upstate New York (Next American … Continued

The Senate has left town for their traditional late-May nine-day weekend, while the House has just returned from their own week off. Amid these comings and goings, work continues on the transportation bill, which has been concealed inside the conference committee's secret underground lair since the beginning of May.

Alan Ehrenhalt’s New Book Paints Cities as the New Suburbs, and Vice Versa (Grist) Green Bike Lanes Linked to More Women Riding Bikes in LA (LAB) Gas Prices Expected to Fall Through the Summer (WaPo) New Study: Scientific Literacy Only Increases Polarization Over Climate Change (Grist) Congressman and Environmentalist Oppose Coal Ash Amendment to Transpo … Continued

Eric Cantor Prepares to Punt on Transpo Bill Yet Again (Trans. Issues Daily) From a Mom: Take Safe Routes to School Off the Chopping Block (MNN) Leinberger: Supply of Walkable Places Isn’t Keeping Up With Demand (NYT) The Engineering Profession Is Stuck in the 1950s, Writes StrongTowns‘ Chuck Marohn How Much Does it Cost to … Continued

As we head into the Memorial Day holiday, and move from one congressional recess to another [PDF], Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has given us something to do with our extra free time: Watch taxpayer subsidies to big oil climb higher and higher.

Congress’s Elimination of Safe Routes to School Is an Obscene Gesture (Grist) Anti-Agenda 21 Conflict Over Smart Growth Brewing in Minnesota (MinnPost) When It Comes to Infrastructure, We’re All Socialists, And That’s OK (Forbes) Virginian-Pilot Asks: Who’s Getting Rich on Virginia’s Stagnant Gas Taxes? Suburban Cleveland Gets a Lesson on the Importance of Downtown (Cleveland.com) … Continued

Tuesday morning, a group of intrepid high schoolers in the western Michigan city of Walker got onto their bikes and into a heap of trouble.