Government Organizations
Stark Divisions Between Dems and GOP on Climate Impacts of Transportation
How polarized are the two political parties on key questions about transportation policy and climate change? As you can imagine, the answer is "very."
August 22, 2016
State DOTs to Feds: We Don’t Want to Reveal Our Impact on Climate Change
Every year state DOTs receive tens of billions of dollars in transportation funds from the federal government. By and large, they can do whatever they want with the money, which in most states means wasting enormous sums on pork-laden highway projects. Now that U.S. DOT might impose some measure of accountability on how states use these funds, of course the states are fighting to keep their spending habits as opaque as possible.
August 18, 2016
Unless US DOT Changes Course, Building Protected Bikeways May Get Tougher
Michael Andersen blogs for The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities connect high-comfort biking networks.
July 8, 2016
U.S. Traffic Fatalities Rising Fast — Especially Pedestrian and Cyclist Deaths
Traffic fatalities in America hit a seven-year high in 2015, with pedestrians and cyclists accounting for a disproportionate share of the alarming increase, according to preliminary data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
July 1, 2016
4 Ways Road Builders Game the Numbers to Justify Highways
The people who make the case for highways often present themselves as unbiased technicians, simply providing evidence to an audience subject to irrational bias.
June 23, 2016
Will U.S. DOT Get Serious About Climate Change? Here’s Cause for Optimism.
Last fall, national environmental advocates sat down with officials from U.S. DOT to talk about how federal transportation policy can address climate change.
June 3, 2016
House Panel Calls on U.S. DOT to Measure Access to Economic Opportunity
A bill working its way through Congress may prompt federal officials to get a better handle on how transportation projects help or hinder access to jobs, education, and health care.
May 27, 2016
It Just Got Easier for Cities to Design Walkable, Bikeable Streets
We probably haven't seen the last of engineers who insist on designing local streets like surface highways. But at least now they can't claim their hands are tied by federal regulations.
May 13, 2016
Room to Breathe: The Feds Just Made It Easier to Fit Bike Lanes on Streets
Michael Andersen blogs for The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets.
May 6, 2016
U.S. DOT Wants to Show America How to Heal Divides Left By Urban Highways
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx opened up earlier this spring in a refreshingly personal speech about how highway construction in American cities isolated many neighborhoods -- especially black neighborhoods -- and cut people off from economic opportunity. Now U.S. DOT is following up with an effort to demonstrate how those wrongs can be righted.
May 5, 2016