Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about 2009 Transportation Bill

Deja Vu Again: One-Man Senate Filibuster Imperils Federal Transport Law

By Elana Schor | Feb 26, 2010 | 10 Comments

A familiar script for Washington infrastructure watchers began to unfold last night on the Senate floor, as House-side resistance to a 10-month extension of existing federal transportation law prompted Democratic leaders to seek a quick deal on a one-month stopgap — the fourth such short-term move in six months. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) (Photo: CNN) […]

Voinovich Secures Dem Promise to Hold a Senate Vote on Transpo in 2010

By Elana Schor | Feb 23, 2010 | No Comments

Compelling infrastructure news out of the Senate last night: The long-delayed successor to the 2005 federal transportation law could come to a vote sooner than the spring 2011 timetable sought by the Obama administration, thanks to a promise secured by Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) in exchange for his vote in favor of the Democratic jobs […]

A Vow to ‘Bring Republicans to the Table’ for a New Transport Bill

By Elana Schor | Feb 8, 2010 | 1 Comment

Despite Senate Democratic efforts to move quickly on a new jobs bill that includes infrastructure investment and takes steps towards solving the nation’s transportation financing dilemma, Congress has just two more weeks of work until time runs out on the latest short-term extension of the five-year-old law governing federal transport policy. "We will bring Republicans […]

White House Budget Includes $530M for Local Sustainability, $1B for HSR

By Elana Schor | Feb 1, 2010 | No Comments

The White House officially unveiled its $3.8 trillion budget for the fiscal year 2011 this morning, seeking $1 billion to continue its high-speed rail investment and $530 million for the transportation leg of the Obama administration’s inter-agency push to promote sustainable planning on the local level. White House budget chief Peter Orszag challenged employees to […]

How Would Mr. Spock Design U.S. Transportation Policy?

By Ben Fried | Jan 26, 2010 | 3 Comments

If U.S. transportation policy was a species from "Star Trek," you’d have to go with the Tribble: lacking any discernible purpose except to reproduce the same form with suffocating regularity. The result is a transportation network marked by car-dependence, exorbitant gas consumption, and high rates of crash-related injuries and death. Would logical transportation policies have […]

State DOTs: We Back National Transport Goals — If We Get to Write Them

By Elana Schor | Jan 13, 2010 | No Comments

Congressional efforts to set national goals for the American transportation system are stalled for now, but the U.S. DOT said today that it is preparing for an eventual transition to a world where performance targets are the norm for transit, roads, bridges, and ports. (Photo: UVA) "National goals should be set by U.S. DOT in […]

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