Today’s Headlines

  • Congressional field hearing in Chicago brings out the midwest’s biggest high-speed rail backers (WBAY)
  • Local D.C. urbanism blogger (and Streetsblog Network member) David Alpert to testify before congressional committee today on transit safety and funding issues (GGW)
  • GOP Rep. Petri backs VMT fee to ultimately replace the gas tax (Examiner)
  • One big winner in Europe’s volcano-induced aviation shutdown: reliable railways (Prog. Fix)
  • As transit protests come to Atlanta, the Georgia state legislature nears a deal on a referendum to raise sales taxes for new transport funding, with the GOP governor’s support … (Biz Chronicle)
  • … and St. Louis, home of the advocacy group sponsoring the protests, starts talks in restoring service cuts after voter approval of a new half-cent sales tax (Globe-Dem)
  • Infrastructure is about more than just shoring up roads and rails — and the nation’s food system also needs an overhaul (Grist)
  • D.C. government requires more parking spaces in new mixed-use development project, sparking concerns (Voice of the Hill via Yglesias)

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Today at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, four members of New York’s congressional delegation joined the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in decrying House GOP efforts to drastically alter how the federal government supports transit in cities. Under the House’s plan, instead of receiving a roughly 20 percent cut of the federal gas tax, […]

Today’s Headlines

By Elana Schor |
Oberstar agrees to back Senate jobs bill after getting a written promise from Senate majority leader that $932 million in pre-earmarked transportation funding will be redistributed (Politico) Cost inflation and fears of higher ticket prices are already dogging California high-speed rail (LAT) Ohio River Bridges project, dubbed one of the nation’s "highways to nowhere," might […]

Of Course the GOP Transportation Platform Is a Catastrophe

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In the past few years, Congressional Republicans tried and failed to turn the federal transportation program into a highways-only affair. Still, the GOP isn’t giving up on eliminating federal funds for transit, walking, and biking. Donald Trump may have made his name building on the most transit-rich real estate in the nation, but he hasn’t changed the […]

If Not for Trump, Last Night Would Have Been Great for Transit

By Angie Schmitt |
Last night had the makings of a historic election for transit. Voters in cities as varied as Raleigh, Indianapolis, and Los Angeles turned out to support ballot measures to dramatically expand bus and rail service. But the election of Donald Trump and the retention of GOP majorities in both houses of Congress cast a pall of uncertainty over transit agencies […]