Highway Lobby: Obama DOT’s Transpo Goals ‘Not Appropriate’
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 Officials (AASHTO) has made its feelings known on the issue of a "down payment" on broader policy changes, as the Obama DOT put it in yesterday's release of transportation policy goals.
In AASHTO's view, Congress should save the highway trust fund from insolvency, and nothing else:
[R]eforms are not appropriate to be considered aspart of legislation to provide interim funding to stabilize the HighwayTrust Fund. Major shifts in transportation policy should be consideredin the comprehensive legislation currently under development in theHouse and Senate authorizing committees and not in legislative measuresto provide interim funding.
If only the group put that level of certainty behind its executive director's recent call for the nation to "grow up and raise taxes" to pay for infrastructure.
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
Friday’s Headlines Are Tired Out
Whether it's from degradation or the dust resulting from wear and tear, it's becoming increasingly clear that tire and brake emissions are harmful, perhaps even exceeding tailpipe emissions.
Study: What Road Diets Mean For Older Drivers
"After a road diet, all motorists seem to drive at a rate that feels comfortable to a mildly-impaired older adult."
Op-Ed: Why Is Fare Evasion Punished More Severely than Speeding?
A.B. 819 offers California the opportunity to decriminalize fare evasion and replace punitive measures with more equitable approaches.
Talking Headways Podcast: Local Culture and Development
We chat with Tim Sprague from Phoenix about supporting local culture through development projects and the importance of sustainable development and transportation.
City of Yes Yes Yes! Adams Calls for Elimination of Parking Mandates on ALL New Housing
Mayor Adams today announced the historic end to one of the city’s most antiquated — and despised — zoning laws requiring the construction of parking with every new development.
