Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

Obama’s Stimulus: Too Much Emphasis on Roads and Bridges?

There's a lot of reaction from members of the the Streetsblog Network to President-elect Obama's address this weekend. Some transit advocates, like The Transport Politic, are putting a positive spin on it, and Ryan Avent at The Bellows says, "it’s really amazing to see the wave of public intellectual criticism [for] Obama’s potential stimulus plan." Avent adds, in another post:

I have yet to see is any evidence that Obama intends to embark on amajor program of new road construction. And until we see definitiveevidence of something like that, transit supporters really ought tocalm down.

But others -- like Cap'n Transit -- are hearing the refrain "roads and bridges" way too many times. Trains for America puts it this way:

We here at TFA, along with practically every other blog about non-autotransportation, have been holding our breaths waiting for anything atall substantive about how the Obama administration is going to takeadvantage of this unique time to refocus attention on our overcrowdedand underfunded transit systems.

What do you think?

Also on Streetsblog.net today, a post from The Overhead Wire about the lack of transit power brokers with the political will of Robert Moses.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Q&A: Will The Bronx’s New Council Member Take On Car Culture?

Union leader Shirley Aldebol took on Republican Kristy Marmorato and won — and now she's ready to fight for better transit and safer streets.

November 7, 2025

Friday Video: The Utopia of London’s Low-Traffic Neighborhoods

Streetsfilms follows an urban planner around the “low-traffic neighborhood” of St. Peter’s in the London borough of Islington.

November 7, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Movie Night Edition

Check out the Bike Film Festival this weekend. Plus other news.

November 7, 2025

SLAUGHTER: Wrong-Way Van Driver Kills Woman in West Village Crosswalk

The driver of a commercial van struck and killed a woman in her 20s as he drove the wrong way on Morton Street.

November 6, 2025

DECISION 2025: Transit Wins Big — Again — Across America

Several candidates who ran on ambitious transportation reform platforms won at the ballot box on Tuesday — but even more communities said yes to supporting transit directly.

November 6, 2025

Book Excerpt Special: The Incomplete Freeway Revolt

A new book looks at the destructive 20th-century urban development style — freeways, downtown office towers, suburban housing developments — that keeps Americans so dependent on their cars. Here's an excerpt.

November 6, 2025
See all posts