Today’s Headlines

  • Regional partnerships are helping to maximize the impact of federal stimulus dollars (TNR)
  • Arizona craziness: Traffic safety officials allege man is evading 37 photo-enforced speeding tickets by wearing a monkey mask (AZ Republic)
  • National Transportation Safety Board bans staff from using cell phones behind the wheel (CNN)
  • The first study of the congressional climate bill’s benefits — not just its costs — shows that they’re pretty massive (WSJ)
  • Bad economy boosts local governments by lowering the amounts of construction bids (AP)
  • U.S. airlines are racking up a string of delay reductions (WSJ)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

White House Unveils Transit Safety Bill to Cautious Praise on the Hill

By Elana Schor |
Lawmakers on the House transportation committee today greeted details of the Obama administration’s transit safety plan with approval, but some sounded skeptical notes about the costs of state compliance with new federal rules even as transit agencies cope with billions of dollars in maintenance and repair backlogs. Washington D.C.’s transit safety oversight agency has less […]

Obama Aide Defends Transit Safety Plan as Different from Rail Rules

By Elana Schor |
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) chief Peter Rogoff today mounted a defense of the White House’s transit safety plan, assuring some skeptical members of Congress that he does not want to "replicate" inter-city rail safety rules that have taken flak for impeding the development of viable U.S. train networks. As of last year, D.C.’s Metro had […]

House and Senate Split on Approach to Obama’s Transit Safety Plan

By Elana Schor |
After a year marked by discord between the House and Senate over the timing of the next federal transportation bill, another split emerged yesterday over the timetable for taking up the Obama administration’s plan for federal involvement in transit safety oversight. Rep. John Mica (R-FL) opposes the White House safety plan, but he also wants […]

Senators Seek Rail Safety Funding in Aftermath of Metro Crash

By Elana Schor |
Mere hours after the Washington Metro system suffered a shocking accident, two senior senators released a letter to their colleagues asking for $50 million in grants to improve rail safety technology. The scene of yesterday’s D.C. Metro crash. (Photo: NYT) The letter was sent by two chairmen with a central role in transportation policy — […]

Senate Dems Unveil Auto Safety Legislation

By Elana Schor |
Democrats are moving quickly on their plan to take a unified approach to auto safety reforms in the aftermath of the Toyota recalls, with Senate Commerce Committee members releasing a new bill today that would quintuple the maximum existing penalties for carmakers who — like Toyota — fail to promptly notify the public of defective […]