Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Transportation Policy

Amtrak Bill Clears the Way for Bike-Friendly Trains

By Ben Fried | Oct 7, 2008 | 14 Comments

The five-year Amtrak authorization that Congress passed last week includes a nice inter-modal touch. It states in no uncertain terms that funding can be spent on making trains accessible for bikes: NONMOTORIZED TRANSPORTATION ACCESS AND STORAGE. — Grants under this chapter may be used to provide access to rolling stock for nonmotorized transportation, including bicycles, […]

The Bailout: Won’t Someone Please Think of the Car Dealers?

By Brad Aaron | Oct 3, 2008 | 1 Comment

Cap’n Transit pointed out the other day how US Senators, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, were pushing Bailout 2.0 by emphasizing the precipitous drop in new car sales and the slowing of highway construction as indicators of national crisis. (Mayor Bloomberg, by the way, also alluded to empty dealer showrooms during yesterday’s third term pitch.) […]

Bailout Bill Includes Bike Commuting Benefit

By Brad Aaron | Oct 2, 2008 | 24 Comments

Remember Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s long-sought $20 per month tax credit for bike commuters, intended to extend a benefit to cyclists that motorists have received for decades? The measure ridiculed by North Carolina Rep. Patrick "Give Me Fossil Fuels or Give Me Death" McHenry? It didn’t make it into law last year, but it seems […]

Gasoline Shortages Fuel Panic and Rage in the South

By Brad Aaron | Oct 1, 2008 | 7 Comments

Here’s a disturbing story from the Associated Press on gas shortages in Asheville, North Carolina, where hot-tempered drivers are waiting in long lines to fill up, only to find in some cases that the pumps are tapped. Asks one flustered motorist: "What’s wrong with our government? Why are they letting this happen to us?" Maybe […]

Where They Stand: Obama and McCain on Transportation

By Brad Aaron | Sep 26, 2008 | 5 Comments

With a few hours to go until what will be the season’s first presidential debate, we’re looking over a report from the Brookings Institution, which outlines each candidate’s positions on transportation. The six-page report [PDF] holds few if any surprises for Streetsbloggers, but it nicely highlights respective statements from McCain and Obama on topics like […]

Streetfilms: Interview With the Transportation Engineer

By Ben Fried | Sep 26, 2008 | 5 Comments

In his storied career at New Jersey DOT, Gary Toth played an indispensable role changing the culture of the agency, promoting a place-based ethic instead of the auto-centric transportation planning dogma. Today Toth heads transportation initiatives at Project for Public Spaces, where he has written "A Citizen’s Guide to Better Streets." The book, which will […]

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