Today’s Headlines

  • D.C. Metro crash casts a grim light on insufficient federal support for transit (Time)
  • LaHood: Looming highway trust fund bankruptcy will leave states in crisis … (WSJ)
  • … but the administration is proud of how quickly it’s allocated highway money (AP)
  • Rep. John Mica (R-FL) talks up the need for infrastructure investment (PBS)
  • DeFazio suggests paying for new transpo bill with a 0.02 percent tax on oil speculators (Infrastructurist)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Wiki Wednesday: Better Stimulus Through Highway Removal

By Ben Fried |
We know plenty of states want to use stimulus funds to expand highway capacity, but how many are looking to jolt their economies with a much-needed freeway teardown? So far as we can tell, the answer is none. Perhaps they should reconsider and take a page from this week’s StreetsWiki entry on highway removal: Streetfilms […]

Highway Lobby: Obama DOT’s Transpo Goals ‘Not Appropriate’

By Elana Schor |
The provisions the Obama administration wants to see added to an 18-month extension of current transportation law — adding up to $310 million for state and local planning — may look pretty minor to reform-minded voters. But they’re a bridge too far for the Washington highway lobby. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation […]

New Report: Road Funding From Non-Road Users Doubled in 25 Years

By Elana Schor |
(Image: Subsidyscope) The myth that U.S. roads "pay for themselves" thanks to user fees is a subject that’s likely familiar to many Streetsblog Capitol Hill readers — but just how much of the nation’s highway funding is provided by charging drivers? The answer may surprise even active critics of the current asphalt-centric transportation system. Between […]