Government Organizations
EPA Rejects New York’s Clean Water Money Grab for Highway Bridge
This morning, the Environmental Protection Agency rejected the $510.9 million federal loan New York state had requested from a clean water program to pay for the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project. Only $29 million worth of TZB work is eligible for clean water money, the EPA's regional office ruled, averting a dangerous precedent that could have let governors across the country raid environmental funds to pay for highways.
September 16, 2014
Talking Headways: Pro-Walk Pro-Bike Redux
After a week at the Pro-Walk Pro-Bike Pro-Place Conference in Pittsburgh, it was all I could talk about -- and luckily, Jeff was an eager audience.
September 15, 2014
Protected Lanes Are a Great Start — Next Goal Is Low-Stress Bike Networks
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.
September 11, 2014
Foxx: New U.S. DOT Bike/Ped Initiative “Critical to Future of the Country”
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx just announced to the Pro-Walk Pro-Bike Pro-Place conference in Pittsburgh that the department is “putting together the most comprehensive, forward-leaning initiative U.S. DOT has ever put forward on bike/ped issues.” He said the initiative “is critical to the future of the country.”
September 10, 2014
FHWA Gleefully Declares That Driving Is Up, Calls for More Highway Spending
Well, so much for the predictions that changing preferences and new technologies will lead to a car-free utopia. The Federal Highway Administration announced last week that after nine years of steady decline, vehicle-miles-traveled in the U.S. was 1.4 percent higher this June than last June. Apparently, red-blooded Americans everywhere are finally getting back to their Hummer habit after a few years of diminished driving and rising transit ridership and bike commuting.
September 2, 2014
Why Transit Agencies Expand Even When They Struggle to Provide Service
New Orleans transit is in bad shape, as we reported recently. The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority has never recovered from Hurricane Katrina and service is at about 36 percent of pre-storm levels despite the region's population rebound.
August 18, 2014
Congress Hits the Snooze Button on Transpo Funding Until May
Someone had to cave and last night, it was the Senate.
August 1, 2014
Time’s Up: 6 Things to Know About Today’s Transpo Showdown (UPDATED)
UPDATE 2:40 p.m.: The House has rejected the Senate amendment, as expected.
July 31, 2014
FHWA to Engineers: Go Ahead and Use City-Friendly Street Designs
The heavyweights of American transportation engineering continue to warm up to design guides that prioritize walking, biking, and transit on city streets. On Friday, the Federal Highway Administration made clear that it endorses the National Association of City Transportation Officials' Urban Street Design Guide, which features street treatments like protected bike lanes that you won't find in the old engineering "bibles."
July 28, 2014