One Reason Federal Funding Is So Important to Transit

If you've been looking to Washington for a solution to the nation's transportation funding problems, it looks like you're going to be waiting a while.

State after state has been hammering out funding increases for transportation, while leaders in D.C. fail to even discuss the possibility of raising the federal gas tax, or any other viable source of revenue.

Given the federal quagmire, Eric Jaffe at Atlantic Cities recently explored what it would mean if transportation spending were "devolved" to local states and cities. After all, it's really at the city level where you tend to see some real imagination in transport policy.

Today, Yonah Freemark at the Transport Politic responds, saying that eliminating the federal role would likely hit transit riders especially hard in less affluent regions of the country:

Meanwhile, Freemark also says that under the Obama administration, the proliferation of local streetcar projects and the progress on passenger rail in the Midwest, uneven as it may be, are also evidence of the potential impact of federal transportation investment. With the governors in Ohio and Wisconsin freezing out federal funding for intercity trains, the Midwest rail example also highlights the unequal results and patchwork infrastructure that would result from putting states completely in control of transportation.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Cyclelicio.us explores the concept of a "net zero" gas tax. Bike SD reports that San Diego's city council has passed a unanimous resolution promising to"prioritize" bike infrastructure. And Suburban Assault explains "Cyclists in Suits," Texas's annual bike lobby day.