Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Transportation Policy

In New Orleans, LaHood Unveils $280M in Streetcar and Bus Grants

By Elana Schor | Dec 1, 2009 | No Comments

During a visit to New Orleans, where city planners are seeking nearly $100 million in federal stimulus money for three new streetcar lines, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced plans to award $280 million in grants for streetcar and bus networks. New Orleans is counting on bonds, backed by sales taxes, to finance new streetcar […]

The Missed Opportunity for an Urban Stimulus: Mayors “Were Ignored”

By Elana Schor | Dec 1, 2009 | 2 Comments

Two-thirds of America’s population, and more than three-quarters of its economic productivity, come from major cities. So why did the Obama administration’s economic stimulus law end up giving metropolitan areas the short end of the stick? Daniel Malloy, mayor of Stamford, CT. Photo: Bridgeport City Council Harry Moroz of the Drum Major Institute attempts to […]

Think Roads Pay for Themselves? Think Again

By Elana Schor | Nov 24, 2009 | 12 Comments

The myth that U.S. roads “pay for themselves” thanks to user fees is a subject that’s likely familiar to many Streetsblog readers — but just how much of the nation’s highway funding is provided by charging drivers? The answer may surprise even active critics of the current asphalt-centric transportation system. Between 1982 and 2007, the […]

Streetsblog Capitol Hill Q&A: Four Questions For Rob Puentes

By Elana Schor | Nov 19, 2009 | No Comments

America’s transportation and infrastructure policies affect literally everyone who moves from place to place in the country, but often they are under-discussed and over-simplified by the mainstream media. To help broaden the debate, Streetsblog Capitol Hill is kicking off a new Q&A series called "The Four Questions." Robert Puentes, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s […]

Bipartisan Support Builds for Six-Month Extension of Current Transpo Law

By Elana Schor | Nov 18, 2009 | No Comments

The senior Republicans on three of the Senate’s four infrastructure-centric committees signed a bipartisan letter on Tuesday asking the leaders of Congress’ upper chamber to call up a six-month extension of the 2005 transportation law. Senate environment chairman Barbara Boxer. Photo: Politics Now In the letter, Sens. Jim Inhofe (OK), Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX), and […]

Transportation Policy Becomes the Proverbial Tree Falling in the Forest

By Elana Schor | Oct 28, 2009 | 5 Comments

Halfway through this afternoon’s rally in support of a new federal transportation bill, there came an accidental but telling moment. A group of tourists, attracted by the hundreds of orange flags planted in the National Mall for the rally, walked through the event and whispered questions to attendees about its purpose. Once their curiosity was […]

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