Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor
Aug 4, 2009

GOP Senate leaders starting to embrace a delay in new "cash for clunkers" money … (WSJ)

… but that may not matter, now that Feinstein and Collins have stopped calling for stronger fuel-efficiency standards (Fox News)

Headed into August recess, the climate-change demands pile up for Boxer & Kerry (ClimateWire)

Lu Young, namesake of the 2005 "SAFETEA-LU" transportation bill, passes away (ADN.com)

Orange County, CA, using stimulus money for highway-widening (Streetsblog LA)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

We’re Still Living in the SAFETEA-LU Era For Three More Months

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 10, 2012

Something that escaped my attention until recently is the fact that MAP-21 is really only a 24-month transportation bill. Folded into the bill is an extension of SAFETEA-LU for another three months, until September 30 — the end of this fiscal year. The bill was signed into law last Friday and it expires September 30, […]

What Happened When Istanbul Opened Streets to People

By Brad Aaron | Jul 22, 2015

By the end of the 20th century, the Historic Peninsula of Istanbul had a serious pollution problem. Writing for TheCityFix, Tu?çe Üzümo?lu says air quality was so bad that historic sites and monuments were degrading. When a UNESCO study identified poor transportation infrastructure as a factor, the local government pedestrianized streets throughout the district. Ten […]

What’s Wrong With SAFETEA-LU — and Why the Next Bill Must Be Better

By Yonah Freemark | Apr 27, 2009

Editor’s note: This year’s reauthorization of the federal transportation funding bill will be one of the most important opportunities in history for the nation’s advocates of livable streets, sustainable transportation and smart growth. But it’s going to be a complicated process. We’d like to demystify it for you, and to that end we’ll be featuring […]

The Consequences of Political Foot-Dragging

By Tanya Snyder | Sep 7, 2011

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is meeting tomorrow to discuss a four-month extension to the current transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU. The map above is from a short but powerful document the Federal Transit Administration put out this week explaining “The Impacts of Failing to Extend Surface Transportation Funding” [PDF]. How much transit work would grind […]

Stimulus Bill Is a Step Forward for Pedestrians, Cyclists & Cities

By Ben Fried | Feb 18, 2009

Within the $27.5 billion allocated for "highways" in the stimulus bill signed by President Obama yesterday, there is some good news for pedestrians, cyclists and cities. I spoke with Michelle Ernst, staff analyst at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, to get a sense of how the new legislation compares to the 2005 federal transportation bill, known […]

Rep. LaTourette Tells Transit Advocates to Ask Congress for What They Need

By Tanya Snyder | Mar 16, 2011

Transit officials spent the day on Capitol Hill yesterday, meeting with Congressional offices as part of the American Public Transportation Association’s legislative conference. Transportation Committee Chair John Mica suggested they ask members for a six-year bill. Secretary Ray LaHood urged them to ask for support for President Obama’s “big, bold vision” for transportation. Rep. Steve […]