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

Obama: The Days of “Building Sprawl Forever” Are Over

obama_fl.jpgObama in Ft. Myers

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:

It's imagining new transportation systems. I'd like tosee high speed rail where it can be constructed. I would like for us toinvest in mass transit because potentially that's energy efficient. AndI think people are a lot more open now to thinking regionally…

The days where we're just building sprawl forever, those days areover. I think that Republicans, Democrats, everybody… recognizes that’snot a smart way to design communities. So we should be using this moneyto help spur this sort of innovative thinking when it comes totransportation.

That will make a big difference.

Before you get too carried away, though, head over to Salon for a recap of Obama's pitch yesterday in Elkhart, Indiana, which included this sop to highway enthusiasts:

He promised his plan would create or save 80,000 jobs in Indiana, and that infrastructure funding would improve "roads like US 31 here in Indiana that Hoosiers count on ... and I know that a new overpass downtown would make a big difference for businesses and families right here in Elkhart."

The US 31 expansion is what you might call a sprawl project. Obama's transportation platform may still amount to a Rorschach blot, but his comments in Fort Myers can't be retracted. With the stimulus bill about to enter conference committee, having POTUS on the record opposing sprawl should bolster efforts to maximize transit funding and limit the use of highway funds to expand road capacity. Time to keep the pressure on.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Money for Something: Funding OK’d, But Details Missing For ‘Dept. Of Sustainable Delivery’

The mayor got the Council to sign off on $6.1 million for the long-awaited “Department of Sustainable Delivery." But what's it mean? No one is talking.

July 1, 2025

Incoming Albany Mayor Could Help Safe Streets Movement Statewide

The state capital is built for the car and that is how it is experienced by our lawmakers. But could that change under a new mayor? Here's hoping.

July 1, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: Another Child Sacrificed to the SUV Edition

Stop de kindermoord! An 8-year-old boy killed by an SUV driver is the latest victim of America's obsession with big cars. Plus other news.

July 1, 2025

DOT Testimony: Removing Bedford Ave. Bike Lane Will ‘Reduce Safety’

"Removing the protected bike lane won’t remove cyclists — it will only make the street less safe," the DOT said. "The city risks legal liability for knowingly reducing safety on a Vision Zero priority corridor."

June 30, 2025

Hochul Signs Speed Camera Reauthorization, Enforcement Continues Through 2030

Stating a clear fact that scores of state legislators reject, Hochul said, "Speed cameras save lives and keep New Yorkers safe."

June 30, 2025

Cyclists Tell Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo: The Bedford Ave. Bike Lane is a Lifesaver

A judge will decide the fate of the Bedford Avenue bike lane on Tuesday. Streetsblog offers some user affidavits.

June 30, 2025
See all posts