Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

Yesterday was a good day on Capitol Hill for the Streetsblog Network, as an amendment to the stimulus bill allocating $3 billion for public transit was passed by a voice vote on the floor of the House. Transbay Blog reminds us, though, that it's no time to rest on our laurels:

DSCN0993_1.jpgOne chamber down, one to go. Photo by Sarah Goodyear.

Winning that extra $3 billion for transit in the House package is an important victory, but it serves equally as a reminder of how much more we will need to invest in our nation’s transit networks to improve them robustly — in the way that we know we must to curb climate change and transform our cities into denser, healthier, more walkable places. $3 billion is hardly sufficient to address critical needs within individual metropolitan areas, let alone the entire nation.So while the amended House stimulus package is a victory, it is only a beginning of what must ultimately be
a paradigm shift in how this country thinks about mobility and funding mobility improvements.

As Transbay points out, the next opportunity for action will be in the Senate, which is currently negotiating its own version of the recovery bill. Transportation for America has issued a new action alert, a letter that you can use to tell your senators you want "a cleaner, greener transportation system for the 21st Century."

Also on the network today: LightRail AZ on the unlikely plan to transport prisoners via the new light rail system in Phoenix, Wisconsin's The Political Environment on air pollution and freeway expansion in that state, and Bike Portland on efforts to improve the bike-commute tax benefit.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Wednesday’s Headlines Think Globally, Act Locally

In a world where the federal government is aligned against all your goals, what else can you do?

February 5, 2025

Study: You’re Not That Much Safer In a 4,000+ Pound Car

For decades, American car buyers believed that bigger = safer. A new study finds that rule appears to have hit a ceiling.

February 5, 2025

Op-Ed: Reviewing America’s First (and Last?) Federal ‘Reconnecting Communities’ Pilot

The Biden administration exhausted the funds of the first-in-the-nation Reconnecting Communities program before they left office. But how did they spend the money — and what can we learn about how to do better next time, if advocates ever get another bite at the apple?

February 5, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Are a Sanctuary

The Trump administration's latest threat would withhold funding from many big-city transit agencies and transportation projects in some blue states with "sanctuary" policies on immigration.

February 4, 2025

This Automaker Is Attacking Sustainable Transportation Even More Than You Think

The world's largest automaker has been ramping up spending to put climate change deniers in Congress, and crushing support for all kinds of sustainable modes in the process.

February 4, 2025
See all posts