Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Obama’s Stimulus: Too Much Emphasis on Roads and Bridges?

There's a lot of reaction from members of the the Streetsblog Network to President-elect Obama's address this weekend. Some transit advocates, like The Transport Politic, are putting a positive spin on it, and Ryan Avent at The Bellows says, "it’s really amazing to see the wave of public intellectual criticism [for] Obama’s potential stimulus plan." Avent adds, in another post:

I have yet to see is any evidence that Obama intends to embark on amajor program of new road construction. And until we see definitiveevidence of something like that, transit supporters really ought tocalm down.

But others -- like Cap'n Transit -- are hearing the refrain "roads and bridges" way too many times. Trains for America puts it this way:

We here at TFA, along with practically every other blog about non-autotransportation, have been holding our breaths waiting for anything atall substantive about how the Obama administration is going to takeadvantage of this unique time to refocus attention on our overcrowdedand underfunded transit systems.

What do you think?

Also on Streetsblog.net today, a post from The Overhead Wire about the lack of transit power brokers with the political will of Robert Moses.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Safe Streets, Workers Rights, Crash Victims Targeted By Big Tech In Super Bowl Ads

Some Super Bowl commercials are ads. And some are warning shots.

February 10, 2026

This Bill Would Give Your Community More Money To Build Its Own Transportation Future

States monopolize federal transportation funding even though local and regional governments oversee most of our nation's roads. It's time for that to change, a new bill argues.

February 10, 2026

Tuesday’s Headlines Go Car-Free

Here's what cities can do to encourage residents to ditch their cars and cut their carbon footprint.

February 10, 2026

Stop Designing Streets for the ‘Average’ Driver

...and start designing them for real people who get around in many ways.

February 10, 2026

Traffic Safety or Culture War? Trump’s Desire to ‘Own The Libs’ Undermines Safety

Why is the federal government truly playing politics over rainbow crosswalks when human lives are at stake?

February 9, 2026

Monday’s Gilded Headlines

Get ready for some really tacky-looking transportation projects.

February 9, 2026
See all posts