2010 Capitol Hill Round-up: Cast Your Vote for the Streetsie Awards
Which lawmakers have been naughty in 2010? Which have been nice? Who deserves goodwill from supporters of sustainable transportation, and who should get nothing but a lump of coal?
This is your chance to decide. The Streetsie awards are a Streetsblog tradition, offering the bests and worsts of the year, determined by Streetsblog readers.
Voting opens now and stays open till December 30. We’ll announce the winners January 3.
Lawmaker Who’ll Be Missed the Most in the 112th
- Rep. Jim Oberstar (86%, 75 Votes)
- Senator Chris Dodd (13%, 11 Votes)
- Senator Byron Dorgan (1%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 87
Most Short-Sighted Governor or Governor-Elect
- Chris Christie (New Jersey) (55%, 50 Votes)
- Scott Walker (Wisconsin) (32%, 29 Votes)
- John Kasich (Ohio) (9%, 8 Votes)
- Rick Scott (Florida) (4%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 91
Most Important Action Congress Failed to Take in 2010
- A robust, reform-heavy, six-year transportation reauthorization (46%, 41 Votes)
- Climate legislation with billions of dollars for clean transportation and land use planning (33%, 30 Votes)
- Consensus on a gas tax increase or shift to a VMT fee to finance transportation (19%, 17 Votes)
- Livable Communities bill to formalize agency partnerships on sustainability and fund innovative grants (2%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 90
Best TIGER Grant
- St. Paul Union Depot Multi-Modal Transportation Hub to bring Amtrak, intercity and local buses, light rail, taxis, and bikes together in the heart of downtown (32%, 25 Votes)
- Philadelphia Area Pedestrian and Bicycle Network to complete a 128-mile network of bike/ped facilities, including primary commuter routes (29%, 22 Votes)
- New Haven Downtown Crossing to convert Route 34 from a limited access highway to urban boulevards (21%, 16 Votes)
- New Orleans Streetcar-Union Passenger Terminal/Loyola Loop to provide transportation options in the central business district and link to the Amtrak terminal (14%, 11 Votes)
- Tower 55 Multi-Modal Improvement to alleviate a major traffic and rail bottleneck (and improve safety) in Fort Worth, Texas by adding an additional rail track (4%, 3 Votes)
Total Voters: 77
(you can find a PDF with a complete list of TIGER I grantees here and TIGER II grantees here)
Best Moment for Transportation Reform
- LaHood’s "Tabletop Speech" and declaration of “the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of the non-motorized" (39%, 32 Votes)
- TIGER grants released, providing over $2 billion to states for innovative transportation projects (22%, 18 Votes)
- DOT dumps Bush-era practice of evaluating New Starts proposals only on cost; looks at congestion, environmental impacts, economic benefits (19%, 16 Votes)
- Feds begin redefining affordable housing to include transportation costs, illustrating the greater affordability of urban areas despite higher home prices (17%, 14 Votes)
- Centers for Disease Control says transportation reform is health reform, points to myriad connections between health and mobility (4%, 3 Votes)
Total Voters: 83
Best Cause for Optimism
- All young people want are iPhones, not cars (44%, 35 Votes)
- Bike-sharing goes viral: DC launches the nation’s biggest program, New York announces one that makes it look trivial (35%, 28 Votes)
- Dan Maes, who thinks bicycles are a step toward UN control and worldwide socialism, bites it in Colorado governor election (11%, 9 Votes)
- First Lady Michelle Obama recognizes the importance of biking and walking in the fight against childhood obesity (10%, 8 Votes)
Total Voters: 80