Transportation Policy
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The Case for Active Transportation, by the Numbers
Thanks to commenter Stephen for prodding us to post on the new report from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, "Active Transportation for America" (download the PDF here).
October 24, 2008
Shaping the 2009 Transpo Debate: Rockefeller Foundation’s Nick Turner
American transportation policy has not fundamentally changed since gasoline cost a nickel a gallon and President Eisenhower started building out the Interstate highway system. Today, with gas prices through the roof, gridlock grinding our cities to a halt and many Americans feeling trapped in barely affordable, far-flung, exurban homes, it’s clear that our 1950’s-era transportation system is failing.
October 23, 2008
It’s Elementary: Kids Offer Livable Streets Advice to 44
As seen on this weekend's Uptown Treasures tour: At the American Academy of Arts and Letters in Washington Heights, K-5 students from Hamilton Heights Academy and P.S. 28 (along with at least one parent or guardian) added a livable streets flavor to the "If I Were President" display.
October 20, 2008
Report: American Cities Raring to Build $248B in Transit Projects
Funding needs for 400 transit
projects planned in 37 states. Graphic: Reconnecting America.
October 17, 2008
Nobelist Krugman Joins Call for Federal Transportation Spending
For decades, groups like Build for America have made a strong case that transportation spending has to increase. They have rightly warned that the U.S. transportation network is falling apart, with bridges failing and transit systems lagging behind international competitors. But wars, tax cuts and social priorities have stymied increased investment.
October 17, 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
The Build for America Plan: Invest in Transportation, Create Jobs
The Build for America campaign officially launched yesterday afternoon at Grand Central Terminal, one of six events held in cities across the nation. DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan -- joined by MTA chief Lee Sander, U.S. reps Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, and a bevy of advocates -- advanced the case for committing ambitious levels of federal support to modernizing the nation's transportation system.
October 16, 2008
Transportation for America Launches Legislative Campaign
Today marks the start of Transportation for America's "Build for America" campaign, which will work to influence the transportation funding legislation that goes before the next Congress in 2009. (You'll be hearing a lot more about it here in the coming months; we have received a grant from the T4America campaign to kick-start the development of Streetsblog.net, a national network of transportation policy bloggers.) It's a major effort to fundamentally change the way this country thinks about and finances transportation infrastructure — at the same time creating jobs, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and helping the environment. Download a PDF of the plan here.
October 15, 2008
Ask the Candidates to Talk Transportation at Tomorrow’s Debate
We've noted throughout this election season that transportation policy is something of a third rail in presidential politics. Gas prices and auto industry jobs are irresistible fodder for campaign promises, but even the candidate who has decent ideas about rail travel and bike infrastructure doesn't mention transit on the stump. (The other one doesn't have much to say in the first place.)
October 14, 2008
PBS Exposes the Joys of Transit
The latest episode of NOW is surely the most effective takedown of car-dependent planning ever broadcast in news magazine format. Adhering to the familiar contours of pocketbook journalism, "Driven to Despair" starts with a sympathetic portrayal of the Schleighs, a family who moved to a southern California exurb seven years ago. With their adjustable rate mortgage about to reset and gas prices already busting the family budget, they need a way out.
October 10, 2008