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How Much Would Most People Pay For a Shorter Commute?
As Washington conventional wisdom has it, raising gas taxes or creating a vehicle miles traveled tax to pay for transportation is impossible during the current recession. After all, who would want to squeeze cash-strapped commuters during tough economic times?
September 10, 2009
How to Judge “Cash for Clunkers”
At this point, it's difficult to know exactly what the government's "cash for clunkers" program is supposed to accomplish.
August 4, 2009
Report: Good Transit and Good Jobs Go Hand in Hand
How could federal job creation programs be greener? Making access to public transit a priority would be one way.
November 20, 2008
Reason to Like Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff
Spotted in today's Times story on Barack Obama's emergency economic agenda:
November 7, 2008
If Gridlock Sam Was President…
A bit of pre-Election Day fun: Here's a mock state-of-the-union speech drafted for the next President by "Gridlock" Sam Schwartz. Combining some ideas from Barack Obama's platform with some that no candidate would utter during a presidential campaign, he lays out a plan for infrastructure investment and how to pay for it:
October 28, 2008
In New Report, RPA Reinforces Link Between Transit and Growth
Following yesterday's Build for America launch and last night's presidential debate, the Regional Plan Association released a major report today recommending an array of public transportation improvements for New York City and northern New Jersey, adding its name to the ever-growing list of orgs and officials calling for federal investment to spur and sustain economic growth in the coming decades.
October 16, 2008
Jim Kunstler on the Bail Out and What’s Next
Jim Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency, has been predicting today's financial catastrophe for a few years now so it's no surprise that his blog is loading slowly this morning. The people want to know: What's going to happen next?
September 29, 2008
What Does Summer Streets Mean for Business?
While press coverage of Summer Streets has been generally positive, tales of the miffed muffler shop owner and complaining cabinet maker are bound to continue, as reporters hunt for naysayers to "balance" out their stories. But what will be the economic reality of Summer Streets? Here, Streetsblog Publisher Mark Gorton gives his account of Saturday lunch with the family at an outdoor café on Park Avenue and 51st Street.
August 11, 2008
Measuring the Value of Livable Streets
Ever wonder how much New York stands to gain by making its streets more livable? Transportation Alternatives has been gathering evidence measuring the economic and social benefits that accrue when cities put pedestrians first. Their report is coming out next week, but the Observer published a sneak preview (headline: "The Woonerf Deficit") this Tuesday:
July 31, 2008
The U.S. Wants to “Borrow” From Transit to Pay for Highways
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said yesterday that due to declining gas tax revenues, the Highway Trust Fund would need to borrow money from its mass transit account to pay for road projects. Today's big news story was buried at the bottom of page A17 in the New York Times:
July 29, 2008