Barack Obama
Final Stimulus Bill Slaps Transit Riders in the Face
The final tally is in, and we now have a breakdown for transportation funding in the stimulus bill that President Obama will sign, barring some unforeseen turn of the screw. Via Transportation for America:
February 12, 2009
Obama: The Days of “Building Sprawl Forever” Are Over
This is encouraging. On the stump in Fort Myers, Florida to campaign for the stimulus bill, President Obama took a detour from his well-worn "roads and bridges" infrastructure spiel to deliver some brief remarks on transit and land use. Obama's answer came in response to a city council member who said she wanted funding for commuter rail in the recovery package. C-Span has the video (check the 55 minute mark) and Transportation for America has the transcript:
February 10, 2009
Did Team Obama Gut Transit Funds From the Stimulus Package?
Reporting on last week's stimulus letdown -- when a proposal by US Rep. James Oberstar's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for $17 billion in mass transit spending was slashed by the Appropriations Committee, while $30 billion in proposed allocations for roads and bridges remained the same -- Grist got word that the then-incoming Obama administration may have had a hand in paring down the transportation package.
January 21, 2009
The Last Thing This Nation Needs
I hate to nitpick at an outstanding and historic speech but it's January 21 and time to start talking about the stimulus bill, so, well, I'll let James Howard Kunstler do the nitpicking...
January 21, 2009
Bloomberg to Obama: Stimulus Aid Should Go Directly to Cities
Yesterday the President-elect unveiled the broad strokes of his economic recovery plan at a DC press event, and Mayor Bloomberg was there to give his response. Bloomberg's message is critical for the prospects of green transportation in the upcoming stimulus package. Here's the abbreviated version via Liz Benjamin at the Daily Politics:
January 9, 2009
Campaign Flashback: Obama an Admirer of Jane Jacobs
This vid has been making the rounds via Streetsblog Network member Beyond DC. In it we see candidate Obama tell a crowd in Toledo that the Death and Life of Great American Cities is "a great book" and delve into some talking points about the importance of cities to regional economies. Read into it what you will. To me it says advocates for cities and urbanism should hold our next President to a very high standard, because he knows his stuff.
January 6, 2009
Same.gov: A Transportation Secretary Who’s Hard to Believe In
On Monday, Obama announced his "green dream team." Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wasn't there.
December 18, 2008
Obama and Biden Plan Whistle-Stop Inauguration Tour
Looks like the new administration is sending better signals with its inauguration plans than with its most recent White House appointment. TPM has more on the rail-friendly gesture and its traffic-mitigating impact:
December 15, 2008
Tell the Highway Lobby About ’09 Transpo Spending
Not to be outdone, the road-building lobbyists at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) have launched their campaign to influence federal transportation spending priorities over the next year, including the 2009 TEA package.
December 1, 2008
Obama Names Transpo Transition Team
The Obama-Biden transition team today unveiled its "Agency Review Teams" -- the people charged with "a thorough review of key departments, agencies and commissions of the
United States government, as well as the White House, to provide the
President-elect, Vice President-elect, and key advisors with
information needed to make strategic policy, budgetary, and personnel
decisions prior to the inauguration."
November 14, 2008