U.S. DOT
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Why Congress Can’t Kill the Partnership for Sustainable Communities
Let’s say you worked for a city that was trying to revitalize a piece of land with a bunch of dilapidated buildings on it. You want to build some residences and some retail space, and you want to make better connections to the street grid. Congratulations – HUD and U.S. DOT both have money to help you get where you’re going. Except, oops: HUD is going to demand that you hire locally, to create jobs in the community, while U.S. DOT is going to demand that you get a competitive bid, showing no preference for local hires. Everyone you talk to at either agency just scratches their heads and says they don’t know anything about the other agency. They wouldn’t even know who to talk to over there.
July 19, 2012
FRA Chief: America Is Driving Less and Congress Needs to Catch Up
Speaking to reporters earlier today, Federal Railroad Administration chief Joe Szabo said that people are driving less and using transit more -- and that those changes are permanent. "America’s travel habits are undergoing rapid change," he said. It's a fact, he said ("not opinion -- statistically proven"), calling on Congress to show that it understands these changes by moving in a new direction.
June 4, 2012
FHWA: Small Investments in Bike/Ped Infrastructure Can Pay Off in a Big Way
If you ever doubted whether a small investment in biking and walking could have a large impact, here is your proof.
May 1, 2012
Five Ex-Secretaries Map Out a Communications Strategy For Transportation
If 80 percent of the American people agree that federal infrastructure investment will create jobs, and two-thirds say better infrastructure is important, why is the call for a robust transportation bill being made in whispers? And why is Congress already two and a half years late in producing one?
April 24, 2012
Instead of Reclaiming a Despised Highway, New Haven Plans a Close Replica
The "most defacing scar from the 1960's Urban Renewal era" -- that's how local advocates describe the Route 34 Expressway through downtown New Haven. Just about a year and a half ago, this small New England city won a TIGER grant to heal that scar. But another disfiguration may be growing in its place.
March 26, 2012
After 30 Years of Federal Support for Transit, Battle Lines are Redrawn
Add Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff to the list of people saying that it's premature to declare victory over the House's attempts to cast transit into the abyss. Rogoff knows a thing or two about transportation bills: He was an aide on the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee for 20 years, during which time the federal government passed three long-term transportation laws.
March 13, 2012
DOT Issues Voluntary Guidelines for Driver-Distracting Electronics Systems
Distracted driving has become one of the U.S. Department of Transportation's banner issues under secretary Ray LaHood's tenure, with agencies launching safety programs and awareness campaigns aimed at preventing the practice. Last week, LaHood stepped into new territory by recommending that cars be built to automatically disable potentially distracting electronic devices when in motion.
February 21, 2012
Tappan Zee Costs $1.4 Billion More in Cuomo’s Loan App Than in Cuomo’s EIS
As part of an application for a $2 billion federal loan to help pay for a replacement Tappan Zee Bridge that would double the width of the current bridge, the Cuomo administration has put forward a new and much-higher estimate of the project's cost: $6 billion. That's $800 million higher than previous press reports had stated, and $1.4 billion more than the state put forward in its draft environmental impact statement. The loan application also suggests that the administration will use toll revenues to repay the feds, meaning potentially huge toll hikes for Tappan Zee drivers without providing any effective transit option as an alternative.
February 15, 2012
Biking and Walking Score Big in TIGER III
In the third round of TIGER funding, the Obama administration has continued to demonstrate a strong commitment to bike and pedestrian projects.
December 20, 2011
Nearly Half of TIGER Award Money Goes to Roads, 29 Percent For Transit
If you live in Stamford, Connecticut and your walk to the train station gets safer next year, you can thank USDOT’s TIGER grant program. Or when your hometown of American Falls, Idaho suddenly gets complete streets downtown, accommodating people on foot, on bikes, on buses, in cars, and in wheelchairs, encouraging local shopping. Or when you realize that traffic congestion between Olympia and Tacoma, Washington has eased, not by adding lanes but by installing intelligent technology to manage traffic and encourage ridesharing.
December 15, 2011