Government Organizations
HUD Tells Cleveland: Don’t Let Opportunity Corridor Go “Horribly Wrong”
It was a sad day in Washington, DC, last year when Harriet Tregoning left the DC Office of Planning. But it’s becoming clear that she's a great addition at HUD.
July 7, 2015
Senate Committee Passes DRIVE Act Unanimously After Some Tinkering
Given the bipartisan gushing that accompanied the release of the DRIVE Act on Tuesday, it came as no surprise that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed the bill unanimously yesterday, with more gushing for good measure.
June 25, 2015
New Federal Guide Will Show More Cities the Way on Protected Bike Lanes
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 19, 2015
House Votes to Slash Amtrak Funding Just Hours After Horrible Crash
Just hours after seven people were killed and hundreds injured in an Amtrak derailment near Philadelphia, the U.S. House voted to cut funding for the passenger rail service.
May 13, 2015
Biking and Walking Get About as Much Research Funding as Chicken Trucks
When traffic engineers don't want to install protected bike lanes, they'll often say that more research is needed to prove their safety (because any results from outside America don't count, of course). But then when opportunities arise to study the safety of protected bike lanes, the engineering establishment doesn't take advantage. And so the cycle repeats itself.
May 12, 2015
House Bill Proposes to Slash TIGER Funding
Federal lawmakers are running out of time to come up with a long-term transportation funding solution by May 31, when the current bill expires. Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee has released a budget for FY 2016, which begins in October, that proposes to drastically reduce funds for projects that promote walking and biking.
April 29, 2015
You Can Help Make State DOTs Accountable for How They Spend
Pressure is mounting on the president and Congress to keep roads and bridges from falling apart by increasing transportation funding. But a big part of the problem is states, which receive the lion's share of federal transportation funds but opt to spend most on new roads, instead of maintaining existing infrastructure.
April 27, 2015
Boxer and Inhofe Say Transportation Bill Almost Ready, Funding Still TBD
Two leading Washington lawmakers assured reporters Wednesday that a long-term transportation bill is coming, but provided little in the way of details.
April 17, 2015
FHWA Will Help Cities Get Serious About Measuring Biking and Walking
The lack of good data on walking and biking is a big problem. Advocates say current metrics yield a spotty and incomplete picture of how much, where, and why Americans walk and bike. The U.S. Census only tells us about commuting -- a fairly small share of total trips. The more detailed National Household Transportation Survey comes with its own drawbacks: It's conducted infrequently and doesn't provide useful data at a local scale.
April 15, 2015
5 Things the USDA Learned From Its First National Survey of Food Access
The links between transportation, development patterns, and people's access to healthy food are under increasing scrutiny from policy makers trying to address America's obesity epidemic.
April 10, 2015