Today’s Headlines

  • LaHood explains his texting ban for interstate truck drivers: "We don’t merely EXPECT you to share the road responsibly with other travelers – we REQUIRE you to" (DOT Press)
  • The Bay Area’s Transbay transit center snags $171 million federal loan (Feinstein Press)
  • New York-area experts debate the wisdom of national transportation objectives (Streetsblog NYC)
  • Two workers die in accident on Washington D.C.’s Metro system amid a season of debate over federal involvement in rail safety (WashPost)
  • Federal stimulus money helping to bring state-of-the-art hybrid buses to New Haven, Connecticut (NH Indy)
  • Ford plans to create an Explorer with 25% better fuel-efficiency, using Department of Energy grant money and Illinois tax credits to make it happen (Bloomberg)
  • Is Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) really breaking with his decades of support for the coal industry? (TNR)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
No. 2-ranked Senate Democrat admits there’s no plan yet for extending federal transport law (JOC) More coverage of Monday’s transportation bill press conference … with extra umbrage at the idea that it’s no longer called the "highway" bill (Logistics Management) Atlanta’s MARTA transit network is freeing itself from tax-shelter traps triggered by the financial crisis […]

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
The Obama administration is prepared to unveil its plan to set long-absent national transit safety standards (WashPost) Transportation construction companies say the stimulus isn’t helping their employment picture, call for a higher gas tax and an eventual transition to a VMT tax (Post-Gazette) Specter wants the federal government to stay out of the debate over […]

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
More coverage of yesterday’s release of transit and road projects "ready to go" for Congress’ jobs bill (WSJ, Det. News, WashPost, Free Press, Politics Daily) A crucial footnote in the debate over using bailout money on infrastructure: $1 for TARP isn’t $1 for budgeting purposes (Ezra Klein) Maryland governor cheers the prospects for a new […]

Oberstar Tackles Metro-Area Transportation Planning

By Elana Schor |
The debate over funding distributions between highways and transit tends to attract a lot of attention, but advocates are increasingly seeking other methods to achieve transportation reform — as my colleague Ben Fried showed in his recent interview with John Norquist, president of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Norquist has described the highways-transit dichotomy […]

A Modest Proposal: Ask Developers to Help Pay For Better Transport

By Elana Schor |
At today’s debate on conservative support for transit, developer Chris Leinberger had a modest proposal for lawmakers who are desperately seeking new transportation financing strategies in an era of diminishing gas tax returns: Ask real-estate developers to pay for projects that will increase their profits. Chris Leinberger at last year’s Walk21 conference. (Photo: M. Katz) […]