Tanya Snyder

Reid: I Don’t Think We’ll Need an Extension (Reuters, The Hill) Pelosi: Holder Contempt Vote Is a Diversion From the Transportation Bill (The Hill) TIGER Grants Announced: Houston, Raleigh, Tampa Among the Winners An Underutilized Pot of Bike/Ped Safety Funds: HSIP (Bike League) How Will Automatic Budget Cuts, Triggered By Failed Debt Talks, Affect Domestic Programs? (WaPo) Will NEPA Spell … Continued

Rep. James Lankford, a Tea Party Republican representing Oklahoma City, probably wasn't responsible for any of the 118 pedestrian deaths in his district between 2001 to 2010. And it's unlikely Rep. Steve Southerland of Panama City, Florida was behind the wheel when any of the 164 people were killed while walking in his district during the decade.

Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. John Mica just released this statement:

We're hearing reports that a deal on the surface transportation bill is imminent. We'll let you know when we hear more. Could it be that the Walz Motion to Instruct lit a fire under the conferees?

Lawmakers “Redouble Their Efforts” To Pass a Bill (AP) Cities Lose Out in Transpo Bill Debate (Next American City) Rep. Capuano: It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Pass a Bill (Hill) Despite Dangers, Republicans Still Don’t Want Federal Authority Over Transit Safety (Politico) I Wish I Knew How to Quit You, Fossil Fuel Subsidies (WaPo) … Continued

There's no excuse for dilly-dallying.

UPDATE 3 PM: The text of the MTI doesn't mention forcing a vote on the Senate bill.

Last week, AASHTO, the national association of state DOTs, published the first update to its bicycle facility design guide in 13 years (available online for $144). Since many transportation engineers take their cues from AASHTO, there was an urgent need to update the 1999 guide, which failed to include many effective design treatments and promoted some standards that actually made streets more dangerous. The new guide includes some significant steps forward, but it still lacks the bikeway designs widely recognized as the best practice for making cycling a mainstream mode of transport.

What do you do if your bus service is cut by a third? If you’re Metropolitan Congregations United in St. Louis, you hold a ballot initiative – and win. What if your transit system neglects less affluent areas compared to the wealthy part of town? If you’re the L.A. Bus Riders’ Union, you bring a civil rights lawsuit – and win. And what if a regressive tax system starves your transit service? If you’re the Seattle area’s Transportation Choices, you organize an unprecedented coalition to pressure the County Council – and win.

The transportation bill conference committee negotiations have been difficult and contentious, by all accounts -- all except Senator Barbara Boxer's account. The EPW chair has been optimistic when others have been bitter, consistently focusing on how much the two sides agree rather than the places where they're still far apart.