Tanya Snyder
Tanya became Streetsblog's Capitol Hill editor in September 2010 after covering Congress for Pacifica Radios Washington bureau and for public radio stations around the country. She lives car-free in a transit-oriented and bike-friendly neighborhood of Washington, DC.
Recent Posts
Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast, Episode 3
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This week, Jeff and Tanya take on the Atlanta Braves’ terrible, no-good, very bad decision to move their stadium to Cobb County, Georgia. We discuss cities that are (and are not) shaped like wedding cakes, and whether that means you need to smoosh your spouse’s face in it. Tanya makes a pedestrian-rights argument against high-heeled […]
Fight Street Crime With Speed Bumps and Crosswalks
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In Gabe Klein’s exit interview with Chicago Mag, the outgoing transportation commissioner predicted that in the next few years, cities will be paying more attention to the correlation between lawbreaking by drivers and other kinds of crime. “I think it’s a broken windows effect,” Klein said. “If you get control of the traffic crime, I […]
It Could Cost More to Shut Down Cincy Streetcar Than Finish It
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Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory is frustrated that all his work to bring the streetcar to fruition might be for naught, now that anti-streetcar John Cranley has been elected to take his place. “I’m from the tough part of town,” Mallory joked. “I will take the guy in a dark alley. I’m not afraid to use […]
Transformation for America: T4A Reemerges With Focus on Local Control
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Transportation for America has been in hiding. Perhaps you’ve noticed. The coalition of over 500 organizations that came together to advocate for policy reform and adequate funding in the transportation reauthorization seemed to disappear for a little while after the dust settled on MAP-21. T4America, often called simply T4, provided analysis of the bill and […]
Blumenauer, Bipartisan Co-Sponsors Set Out to Improve Street Safety Metrics
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After a long period of inaction on Capitol Hill, the wheels are beginning to turn again. Lawmakers introduced not one but two good transportation-related bills yesterday: one that aims to improve the safety of walking and biking and one that would establish a national infrastructure bank. We’ll get into the infrastructure bank bill in a […]
It’s Official: 33,561 People Killed in Traffic on American Streets Last Year
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The official 2012 death toll is out for our nation’s poorly-designed, auto-centric transportation system. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic injuries on the nation’s roadways claimed the lives of 33,561 people. The headline of the agency’s press release, “NHTSA Data Confirms Traffic Fatalities Increased In 2012,” is quickly walked back by the subhed, […]
Talking Headways: The Streetsblog Podcast, Episode 2
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Welcome to the second edition of the new Streetsblog podcast, which we’re calling Talking Headways. Reconnecting America’s Jeff Wood and I return as your hosts, talking about everything from bicycle carnage to Texas sprawl, and from misguided transportation priorities in Tennessee — one place that ought to know better — to motorcycle-riding assassains in Bogotá. […]
HUD and U.S. DOT Embrace Housing + Transportation Metric for Affordability
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A few years ago, the Center for Neighborhood Technology gave a wonderful gift to urbanists and planners: the Housing + Transportation Index. This simple calculation clarified and popularized a key concept: that transportation costs must be taken into account in any measurement of “affordability.” Without that, potential homebuyers and renters make the mistake of “saving” […]
Streetsblog’s Brand-New Podcast: Episode 1
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Behold, Streetsblog’s brand-new podcast! In what we aim to turn into a recurring feature, Reconnecting America’s Jeff Wood and I recently chatted about the week’s news in livable streets, urbanism, and sustainable transportation. The topics are drawn from Jeff’s excellent daily compendium of transportation and planning links, The Direct Transfer, and from stories we’re tracking […]
State DOTs Brazenly Request a Blank Check to Build More Highways
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“This is a money and power grab.” “It’s very disappointing and very AASHTO.” That’s how some transportation reformers are describing the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ new recommendations for the next surface transportation bill. The current bill, MAP-21, expires in less than a year. AASHTO’s proposal is “so mired in protective technical-speak that […]
Georgia Removes Tolls, Invites 11,000 More Drivers to Clog GA 400 Each Day
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Why raise desperately needed transportation funds for a broke region when you could let people drive for free? In Georgia, the state has made up its mind: The DOT will pay $4.5 million to tear down tolls on GA 400 — and forfeit the $21 million a year the tolls brought in. It cost drivers […]
Was TIGER Eliminated in the Shutdown Deal?
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Soon after the government shutdown ended, we heard murmurs that the TIGER grant program for innovative transportation projects had been a casualty of the negotiations. Under the rules of the Office of Management and Budget, any program that was de-funded in either chamber’s bill would be de-funded in the continuing resolution (the temporary budget) until […]