In Texas, One Newspaper Laments the Highway Lanes Not Built
The Transportation Enhancements program, which requires states to set aside 10 percent of their federal transport money for new bicycle and pedestrian facilities, among other projects, turns 19 years old this year. But you'd almost never know it after reading Saturday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, in which the paper tallies -- with no shortage of alarm -- the federal money not being spent on new roads.
January 25, 2010
Today’s Headlines
New York Sen. Gillibrand, facing a possible primary challenge from Ford, pushes for more transit spending in the Senate’s coming jobs bill (NYDN) Washington D.C.’s Metro system begins a new era of federal government influence with the appointment of two new board members (WaPo) Could the president and VP’s mysterious trip to Florida on Thursday … Continued
January 25, 2010
Obama Previews His New Budget’s Urban Policy Moves
When it comes to re-centering the Washington bureaucracy to better accommodate cities' needs, the first year of the Obama administration has brought its share of progress (a three-agency partnership set to spend $150 million on sustainable development) and hiccups (a White House urban affairs office with lots of talk but little action).
January 22, 2010
Feds on New Miami HOT Lanes: Good for Transit
Miami's conversion of HOV lane space to new high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes as part of the federal Urban Partnership program, which also prompted New York City's congestion pricing push, is cutting travel times for local transit and boosting use -- but overall bus ridership in the corridor has stayed static, according to a new report from the U.S. DOT.
January 22, 2010
Defining the ‘Public’ in Public-Private Partnerships
In a must-read piece for the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), Matt Lewis digs deeper into the network of cities and towns that employ D.C. transportation. He begins with a thought-provoking anecdote:
January 22, 2010
Today’s Headlines
Joel Kotkin is back, charging Obama with waging “war against suburbia” (American) Sen. Lincoln (AR) one of several Democrats backing a GOP effort to block EPA from regulating carbon emissions (The Hill) California backs away from a threat to abandon the White House auto fuel-efficiency deal if its loopholes aren’t addressed (Free Press) Lester Brown: … Continued
January 22, 2010
What if America’s Urban Economies Were National Ones?
The U.S. Conference of Mayors released a report this week with some dire conclusions for the nation's cities: Even the payroll growth that many prognosticators anticipate this year won't make a dent in double-digit urban unemployment. Half of the 363 biggest metro areas won't return to their pre-recession jobs levels until 2013 or beyond.
January 21, 2010
How Will Obama’s Sustainability Team Spend Its $150M? A Preview
Before the U.S. DOT gave some early clues as to how the agency would craft its new transit funding rules, deputy housing and urban development (HUD) secretary Ron Sims answered another question that's been on the minds of transit and local-planning wonks: How will the Obama administration's three-agency partnership for sustainable communities spend its $150 million in funding for this year?
January 21, 2010
U.S. DOT Previews How New Transit Rules Could Define ‘Livability’
When the Obama administration announced an ambitious revamp of transit funding rules to, as the Transportation Secretary put it, "take livability into account," urban planners and transit advocates alike were pleased -- but also uncertain.
January 21, 2010
Today’s Headlines
Oberstar urges Obama to back quick passage of his new transportation bill during a closed-door Dem meeting, to no avail — POTUS would only back general infrastructure investments (The Hill) Will Democrat’s loss of their 60-vote margin in the Senate, and its subsequent consequences for climate legislation, hamper a global agreement on emissions? Nope, says … Continued
January 21, 2010