Stimulus Forces Consideration of Transportation Priorities

11:20 AM EST on January 13, 2009

What are this society's transportation priorities? As Twin Cities Streets for People points out, the stimulus package is forcing governments and citizens across the country to confront that question. We've got their most recent post on the subject today on the Streetsblog Network.

Photo by lonely radio via Flickr.

Like many, the folks at TCSP are looking for signs of hope from Rep. James Oberstar's proposal to lengthen the time frame for stimulus projects to qualify for funding, thereby opening the door for more transit improvements. They also point to a recent post on the Obama administration's transition website, Change.gov, as a source of optimism:

Incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs also indicated that transit would be an important part of the economic stimulus package.
“Transit and intercity rail projects will be a major component of the president-elect’s infrastructure program,” Gibbs said, answering a question posed on the transition’s website, (www.change.gov). “Not only will they provide jobs to help get this economy moving again but they will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, cut the amount ofcarbon in our atmosphere, clean our air, and more importantly, improve the quality of life for millions of Americans.”

The Transport Politic links to another encouraging video on the Change.gov site:

[It] provides us a heartening reprieve from the incessant “roads and bridges”rhetoric of Mr. Obama himself, which seemingly precluded any interestin alternative transportation. This clip, on the other hand, implicitlysuggests that investment in mass transit is a good alternative to thecongestion in our cities.

Also on the network: The Urbanophile reviews "Retrofitting Suburbia" and Bike PGH asks, "Can transit grow neighborhoods?"

And, as always, more.