Senators Propose $4 Billion for Transit-Oriented Development Grants
Making good on a vow first reported in Streetsblog Capitol Hill, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) and three colleagues today offered a bill authorizing $4 billion in grants to help states and cities pursue transit-oriented development, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and other green transport projects.
August 6, 2009
Audit Finds U.S. DOT’s Transit Record-Keeping ‘Unreliable,’ ‘Inaccurate’
The disjointed state of "New Starts," the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) program to fund new rail and bus lines, is well-known on the Hill -- in fact, House transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) recently quipped that it ought to be renamed "small starts, low starts, and no starts."
August 6, 2009
PBS NewsHour Takes on Alabama’s “Zombie Highway”
UPDATE: Blueprint America's segment has been rescheduled due to breaking news, and will now air on two nights starting Monday, August 10.
August 6, 2009
Transit Union Apologizes to Senate After Campaign-Finance Flap
The United Transportation Union (UTU) is moving quickly to smooth over relations with the Senate Commerce Committee after sparking bipartisan ire with a claim that a former UTU counsel won a presidential nomination thanks in part to the union's political contributions.
August 6, 2009
Today’s Headlines
Transit workers union brags about its political donation winning a White House nomination, making senators very angry (Roll Call) Back home in Minnesota, Oberstar keeps jabbing at the White House’s transpo delay plan (Finance and Commerce) Obama announces $2.4 billion in grants to car battery manufacturers (NYT) Senate vote on “cash for clunkers” re-up could … Continued
August 6, 2009
The Perils of Taking Transit Advice From an Alabama Senator
During yesterday's Senate Banking Committee hearing on transit's funding needs, the most emotional testimony came from Washington D.C.'s Metro chief, John Catoe -- who, as the Washington Post reported, delivered an abject plea for federal aid to keep his system running safely.
August 5, 2009
Portland’s Transport Research Guru Headed to Obama Administration
The U.S. DOT is expected to announce today that it has tapped Robert Bertini, a Portland State University professor who headed Oregon's state-wide transport research effort, as the No. 2 at the Research and Innovative Technology Administration -- the government's home for stats on all things transportation.
August 5, 2009
Lobby Firm Behind Climate Forgeries Helped Kill Higher CAFE Standards
The Washington lobbying firm of Bonner & Associates is facing protests and a possible wire fraud probe after it was revealed to have forged at least a dozen letters to Congress this summer that claimed to represent local grassroots groups opposed to fighting climate change.
August 5, 2009
Today’s Headlines
No. 2 House Democrat talks up high-speed rail in upstate New York (Utica O-D) Minnesota is still locked in negligence litigation with two companies after its deadly 2007 bridge collapse — but the state DOT is giving them millions of dollars in work anyway (AP) “Cash for clunkers” is a stellar economic stimulus … for … Continued
August 5, 2009
AP: Obama Administration Won’t Release Full Data on ‘Cash for Clunkers’
A $2 billion renewal of "cash for clunkers" is now almost assured, with GOP senators easing up on their threat of a filibuster and one key Democrat remarking that "the statistics [for the program] are much better than everyone thought."
August 4, 2009