Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Transportation Policy

The U.S. Wants to “Borrow” From Transit to Pay for Highways

By Aaron Naparstek | Jul 29, 2008 | 17 Comments

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said yesterday that due to declining gas tax revenues, the Highway Trust Fund would need to borrow money from its mass transit account to pay for road projects. Today’s big news story was buried at the bottom of page A17 in the New York Times: Gasoline tax revenue is falling […]

“Traffic” Author Tom Vanderbilt on Leonard Lopate Today at Noon

By Aaron Naparstek | Jul 29, 2008 | No Comments

Author Tom Vanderbilt will be on Leonard Lopate at noon today, WNYC, 93.9 FM. Streetsbloggers will want to tune in. Vanderbilt takes all of the geeky and arcane transportation studies that we love to bandy about here on Streetsblog — induced demand, shared space, modal bias, you name it — he puts them together in […]

$36,000,000,000 for Corn. $0 for Transit.

By Aaron Naparstek | Jul 25, 2008 | 16 Comments

The House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would provide emergency funding to local transit systems facing simultaneous increases in ridership and fuel costs. The legislation is now stalled in the Senate and the Bush Administration has expressed concern that "transit operators risk becoming permanently reliant upon this type of assistance." Meanwhile, when it […]

Wanted: A Progressive DOT Director for Washington D.C.

By Aaron Naparstek | Jul 24, 2008 | 8 Comments

Washington D.C.’s Transportation Director Emeka Moneme is resigning, opening up a window of opportunity for that city’s active livable streets movement. Greater Greater Washington’s David Alpert is pointing Mayor Adrian Fenty to New York City’s recent experience in choosing a new DOT Commissioner: Mayor Bloomberg chose Sadik-Khan, and now we have separated bike lanes, brand-new […]

Why Is David Gantt Still Running the Assembly Transpo Committee?

By Ben Fried | Jul 24, 2008 | 9 Comments

The Times published a great reminder today about last month’s bus camera vote in the Assembly Transportation Committee, which weakened the city’s plans for Bus Rapid Transit. The editorial page wonders why David Gantt, who for years has obstructed life-saving, transit-enhancing traffic enforcement measures, is still in charge of the committee: Mr. Gantt is a […]

How to Ease Pain at the Pump Without Deepening Oil Dependence

By Ben Fried | Jul 23, 2008 | 8 Comments

As the drumbeat for domestic drilling grows louder, can the Democratic leadership come up with a better alternative than tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve? Over at the Huffington Post, Shelley Poticha and Geoff Anderson of Transportation for America propose a few ideas that will actually pay dividends. Pols who are serious about reducing the impact […]

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