Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Highway Expansion

Houston Mayor Calls for “Paradigm Shift” Away From Highway Widening

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 29, 2016 | No Comments

Newly elected Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner gave a remarkable speech yesterday in Austin [PDF], calling on the state to change its transportation priorities and stop pouring billions into widening highways. Turner told the Texas Transportation Commission, the appointed board that leads Texas DOT, that the state needs a totally new transportation paradigm. The speech is phenomenal, and […]

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Caption Contest: TxDOT’s Shiny Happy People Sucking in Highway Exhaust

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 22, 2016 | No Comments

This rendering of State Highway 45 Southwest in Austin — one of 12 highway boondoggles singled out by U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group this year — inspired some mockery on Twitter: @StreetsblogNet @StreetsblogUSA @uspirg “Hey mom, I’m going to go ride bikes in the ditch!” — Andy Howard (@ahow628) January 21, 2016 @StreetsblogNet @uspirg “Just […]

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Highway Boondoggles: Widening I-95 Across Connecticut

By Jeff Inglis and John Olivieri | Jan 19, 2016 | No Comments

Last year Congress passed a multi-year transportation bill. Like previous bills, it gives tens of billions of dollars to states every year to spend with almost no strings attached. How much of this federal funding will state DOTs devote to expensive, traffic-inducing highway projects that further entrench car dependence and sprawl? In a new report, Highway Boondoggles 2 (the […]

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It’s Time to Stop Pretending That Roads Pay for Themselves

By Angie Schmitt | Nov 25, 2015 | No Comments

If nothing else, the current round of federal transportation legislating should end the myth that highways are a uniquely self-sufficient form of infrastructure paid for by “user fees,” a.k.a. gas taxes and tolls. With all the general tax revenue that goes toward roads in America, car infrastructure has benefited from hefty subsidies for many years. […]

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Will Texas Voters Enshrine Failed Transpo Policy in the State’s Constitution?

By Angie Schmitt | Oct 20, 2015 | No Comments

When Texas voters go to the polls this November they will decide an issue of enormous consequence to the future of the state. A proposed amendment to the state constitution — on the ballot as Proposition 7 — would shift about $2.5 billion in sales tax revenues to highway spending each year. All the money must be spent […]

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Do Environmental Reviews for Road Projects Help the Environment?

By Angie Schmitt | Oct 19, 2015 | No Comments

It’s been more than 40 years since the National Environmental Policy Act was enacted. In that time, America has built a lot of emissions-inducing, land-devouring highway infrastructure despite the environmental review process mandated by NEPA. It’s fair to ask: When it comes to transportation infrastructure, does environmental review make a difference for the environment? To comply with federal environmental […]

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