Tanya Snyder

There’s nothing quite like listening to a preeminent expert in pediatric injury prevention telling you you’re taking unnecessary risks with your child’s life.

Senators Show Sign of Removing Heads From A**es, Ending Shutdown (WaPo) 2013 Was Another Record-Breaking Year for Amtrak (Railway Age) Fox News Commentators Split on Gas Tax Hike Negotiations Continue, BART Won’t Strike Today (Mercury) Coming Soon: An Urban, Walkable Tysons (Hold the “Corner”) and Your First Silver Line Ride (WaPo) DC Suburbs Are Abuzz … Continued

FTA Proposes New Transit Safety Rules (PDF) Sen. Rockefeller: Shutdown Blocking Essential Transpo Safety Inspections (Senate Commerce Committee) The Federal Shutdown, From the Vantage Point of California’s Transportation Officials (SF Gate) Minnesota DOT: Widening I-94 Is Not the Answer to Congestion (AP) How Much Will a Compromise Water Down the Pennsylvania Senate’s Transportation Bill? (Inquirer) … Continued

Many transportation reform advocates were disappointed in the performance measures included in MAP-21, which was signed into law in July 2012. They weren’t tied to funding, they gave states and localities too much leeway to set their own performance targets, and they measured the wrong things. But there’s still a chance for them to get much stronger.

Urbanists have long told tales of the success story of Arlington, Virginia. Named a gold-level walk-friendly community by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, this Washington, DC suburb made the smart decision in the 70s to develop along the metrorail line. Because of that, Arlington workers drive alone at a rate 25 percent lower than the region as a whole and take transit more than twice as much. With 11 Metro stations in its jurisdiction, Arlington has more transit ridership than the rest of Virginia combined. Five percent walk or bike to work and carpooling is at three times the regional rate [PDF].

Don’t Blame Environmental Reviews for Project Delays, Blame the Shutdown (Switchboard) Shutdown Already Impacting Local Transit Agencies (Times-News) AASHTO Prepares a Five-Minute Cliffs Notes Version of Recent EPW Hearing on Transpo Funding Raleigh Votes 70-30 for Property Tax Hike to Fund Transpo Projects (News & Observer) Georgia Bicycle Registration Bill Proposed, Withdrawn (News Channel 9, … Continued

Many thanks to the 90 readers who sent photos of city life and car-free transportation with children, and also to the 639 of you who voted. We are happy to announce the two winners of a free Breezer bike.

The shooting at the Capitol yesterday, which took place as Walking Summit advocates were there lobbying lawmakers, underscores a very important point: Street safety isn’t just about sidewalks and traffic. It’s also about crime.

This week, in the midst of a government shutdown, at least one thing was moving and shaking in Washington: the first-ever Walking Summit. Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, America Walks, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and several other national groups, the conference sold out more than a month before showtime, the enthusiastic response surprising even the organizers. Today, despite the shutdown, many of the 400 participants are walking the Hill, meeting with their lawmakers to advocate for federal support for walking -- though many meetings have been canceled, especially on the Senate side.