Tanya Snyder

Congress Tees Up Rail Fight With PRIIA Reauthorization (The Hill) I-5 Bridge “Wake-Up Call” Rings in $5.5 Billion Bridge Fix Bill (Land Line) …But What About Spending the Money We Have More Wisely? (Better! Cities & Towns) To Pay for Roads, New Jersey Considers Corporate Sponsorship (NorthJersey) If California Wants to Reduce Oil Dependency, It … Continued

On Tuesday, we wrote about the Defense Department’s new rules for the design of their bases and installations. These rules make smart growth the law of the land on hundreds of vast military installations in the U.S. and abroad. There’s more to the story: In this post we examine how a smart growth development model will bring wide-ranging benefits to the defense complex.

Constrained by Paul Ryan's budget and the sequester, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and HUD passed a $44 billion spending bill for 2014 – 15 percent lower than 2013 enacted levels. The bill contains $15.3 billion in discretionary appropriations for the Department of Transportation, also 15 percent below enacted 2013 levels and amounting to about two-thirds of the president’s request. It passed the subcommitee this morning on a voice vote.

This article is the first in a series about the U.S. military’s new embrace of smart growth planning.

The Million Dollar Question: Is There an All-Powerful Bike Lobby? Politico: No. WSJ: Totes. Transit Ridership Declined 1.9 Percent in First Quarter (APTA) Feds to Developers: No Prob, Sprawl Out into Wildfire Zones, We’ve Got You Covered (WaPo) Waiting for a “Grand Bargain” to Fix the Gas Tax? You’ll Be Waiting a While. (Jared Bernstein) … Continued

Distracted driving killed 3,331 people on American streets in 2011, yet car manufacturers continue to outdo each other to add more infotainment distractions in their vehicles. These systems are expected to increase five-fold by 2018, according to AAA. Carmakers seek to show their commitment to safety by making their distractions – onboard dinner reservation apps and social media, for example – hands-free. But a growing body of research indicates that there is no safe way to combine driving with tasks like dictating email or text messages.

Ed Markey Poised to Win Massachusetts Senate Seat, Leading to Changes on T & I (The Hill) VA Sen. Mark Warner Steps into Frank Lautenberg’s Big Shoes on Commerce Committee (TID) Renowned Trail Hiker Mark Sanford Joins T & I Committee (TID) LaHood Slams Partisanship in Congress (PJ Star) Bike Share Elevates Importance of NACTO’s Efforts for … Continued

It’s been six months since Lisa Jackson announced she was stepping down as chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, but there’s still no replacement. President Obama nominated Gina McCarthy to be Jackson’s successor in early March, and the Senate EPW Committee confirmed the nomination almost a month ago – albeit by a party-line vote of 10-8.

Whenever street space is allocated for bicycling, someone will inevitably level the accusation that the city is waging a “war on cars.” But it turns out the people in those cars want separate space for bicycles too, according to surveys conducted in two major California metropolitan areas. Bike lanes make everyone feel safer -- even drivers.

Right now, transit riders get the same commuter tax benefits as drivers: $245 a month in pre-tax income to spend to get to work. But next year, straphangers might go back to second-class status, getting just $125 for their ride.