Today’s Headlines
Foxx and 11 Former Transpo Secretaries Send Open Letter to Congress (DOT) Video: In Press Club Speech, Foxx Pushes for Investment, Celebrates Biking to Work (Examiner, Roll Call) The Transpo Funding Patch Spells Bad News for Unemployment Benefits (Daily Kos) Atlanta Considers Covering Its Park-and-Rides with Housing (CityLab) Ann Arbor Gives Free Transit Passes to … Continued
July 22, 2014
Answers to Your Top 6 Questions About Obama’s New Infrastructure Initiative
Last week, President Obama announced that amid Congressional dysfunction around transportation funding, he was taking action to foster infrastructure investment and economic growth. The Build America Investment Initiative will provide technical assistance to communities looking for guidance on how to leverage private dollars to build public works. But the initiative doesn’t actually provide any dollars itself.
July 21, 2014
Today’s Headlines
White House Gathers Praise for Its Infrastructure Investment Initiative Trust Fund Extension Just Another Crisis in Congress’s Unending Drama (NPR) The Future of U.S. Transportation Funding Is in Tolling (Salon) No-New-Taxes Pledges Are Handcuffing Congress (Athens Banner-Herald) The GOP Betrays the Founding Fathers’ (and Their Own Party’s) Infrastructure Commitment (Salon) New Orleans Lays Out 2030 Transit Plan (Times-Picayune) Inferior … Continued
July 21, 2014
Republican Senators Threaten to Slow Extension With Backward Amendments
Just as it seemed like a transportation extension was on the fast track to passage, a Tea Party senator from Utah is gumming up the works -- and the top Republican on the EPW Committee might have a plan to help him.
July 17, 2014
Dems Grudgingly Approve House Transpo Extension’s Disastrous Timeline
Yesterday, during the one-hour debate period over the House proposal to extend transportation funding through May 31, lawmaker after lawmaker stood up to condemn the bill. America needs a long-term transportation bill, they said. A short-term stopgap only creates more uncertainty.
July 16, 2014
Talking Headways Podcast: Good Riddance, “Level of Service”
All the buzz right now is about Arlington, Virginia -- the DC suburb has seen its population rise and its car traffic drop since the 1980s. How did they do it? It could be a lesson for Palo Alto, California, which is considering various growth proposals, including one that would invite greater density as long as it comes with no additional driving, carbon emissions, or water use.
July 15, 2014
Today’s Headlines
White House Releases Report and Nifty Map Detailing Need for Infrastructure Investment …And Obama Will Spend the Week Pushing for It (RTT News) White House Supports GOP Transpo Extension Through May 2015 (The Hill) …While Conservative Groups Slam It (The Hill) 3 DOT Chiefs Outline Impacts of Transport Funding Troubles (ForConstructionPros) Report: Arizona’s Rural Roads Among … Continued
July 15, 2014
UberFAMILY: Finally, a Taxi Option for People With Kids
Childless people, let me let you in on a little secret: Car seats are a huge pain in the ass. They're no big deal if you own a car, I guess, except for the fact that your kid probably squawks at the prospect of being immobilized in that iron maiden too long.
July 14, 2014
Today’s Headlines
What Could the Country Get From a Higher Gas Tax? Look to Pennsylvania for Clues (Inquisitr, Inquirer) So Much For “User Pays” (Vox) The Gas Tax Isn’t a Sustainable Solution: Switch to a VMT Fee (Center for American Progress) Tracy Morgan Going Home From Hospital, Suing Wal-Mart Over Tired Trucker (Salon) Seniors Less Likely to Take Transit … Continued
July 14, 2014
House, Senate Take Different Paths to Prop Up Transportation Funding
This morning, the House Ways and Means Committee passed its plan to prop up the Highway Trust Fund -- which pays for transit and bike/ped infrastructure in addition to roads -- until May 2015. A few hours later, the Senate Finance Committee approved a plan of its own, with no deadline attached.
July 10, 2014