Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Transportation Policy

How the $8.7 Billion Transportation Contracting Gap Is Hitting Your State

By Elana Schor | Oct 20, 2009 | 1 Comment

Earlier this month, Streetsblog Capitol Hill reported on the fallout from Congress’ failure to prevent an $8.7 billion "rescission" — fancy legislative talk for the cancellation of funds — from taking effect on September 30. Though media coverage focused largely on the rescission’s impact on road projects, the lost money has hit clean transportation hard. […]

Transport Debate Still Stalled As Oberstar Decries “Lack of Political Will”

By Elana Schor | Oct 16, 2009 | 3 Comments

Halfway through the extra month that Congress gave itself to resolve a long-simmering dispute over funding the nation’s transportation system, Democratic leaders remain deadlocked over whether — and how long — to wait before debating a broad reform of federal infrastructure policy. The transportation secretary and the president have a stalemate on their hands. Photo: […]

Congress’ Transport Impasse Hits States — and Not Just Their Road Funds

By Elana Schor | Oct 5, 2009 | No Comments

When lawmakers failed on Wednesday to reach a deal on avoiding the cancellation of $8.7 billion in transportation spending authority, the consequences of Congress’ inaction weren’t immediately palpable to most voters — but the loss is sinking in on the local level. Photo: USGS.gov From Texas to New Jersey to Colorado, local DOT officials are […]

Senate Climate Bill Released With Much Fanfare, Little Focus on Transport

By Elana Schor | Sep 30, 2009 | No Comments

Includes Provision That Would Allow NYC Hybrid Taxi Fleet Flanked by fellow Democrats, members of the military, and a crowd hoisting signs with buzzwords like "clean energy" and "green jobs," Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) today released the first draft of their legislation to curb U.S. emissions and combat climate change. Sens. […]

LaHood’s Distracted Driving Summit: Follow It Live

By Brad Aaron | Sep 30, 2009 | 1 Comment

If you’ve got some free time at your desk over the next couple of days, drop in on the U.S. DOT distracted driving summit. There are plenty of platitudes flying around about the obvious need for "awareness" of how dangerous it is to operate a multi-thousand pound projectile while reading or typing, but there are […]

New Report: Feds Subsidizing Parking Six Times as Much as Transit

By Elana Schor | Sep 29, 2009 | 8 Comments

Image: Subsidyscope "Subsidy" is a word used quite often in transportation policy-making circles, whether by road acolytes who claim (falsely) that highways are not federally subsidized because of the gas tax or by transit boosters who lament Washington’s unceasing focus on paying for more local asphalt. But the subsidy debate often overlooks the government tax […]

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