Congress to America: “Get a Car!”

Photographer and blogger Jay Mallin, whose video of Woodbridge, VA police ticketing injured pedestrians was picked up by Streetsblog NYC a year ago, has turned his attention to the congressional transportation debacle.

Mallin’s new video is entitled “Get a Car,” and is named for the apparent message of the House transportation bill, and, to a lesser degree, the Senate bill. “The new bills are called ‘transportation’ bills,” Mallin says, “but the reality is they would pretty much limit Americans to their cars.” Walking and biking, it seems to Mallin, “are strictly for kids” according to Congressmen like Bill Shuster, who claimed during this month’s marathon T&I markup that his fellow Pennsylvanians loved their kids as much as anybody, right before voting to eliminate the Safe Routes to School program.

Of course, walking and biking aren’t just for kids, and Mallin uses powerful stories to get that point across, like the car wash attendant who was killed while biking to work on a street with paltry sidewalks and no bike lane, and Raquel Nelson, who was charged with vehicular homicide after a drunk driver ran down her son as he tried to walk from a bus stop to his home on the other side of the street.

With its transportation legislation, Congress seems to have just one answer for Americans who struggle in a car-centric system: Get a car.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Transpo Bills Delayed in House and Senate as Congress Enters Recess

|
Both houses of Congress are in recess this week, putting off their mountain of unfinished transportation business until next Monday. The momentum carrying transportation bills forward in each chamber has eroded recently. Last week, the House split its transportation bill — the one that eliminates dedicated funding for transit, bicycling, and walking — into three […]

How the House and Senate Transportation Bills Changed Overnight

|
The sun rose this morning on a landscape considerably different from the one described by not one but two articles Streetsblog published yesterday. Senate Bill Gets Bigger, Better, But Harder to Move Senator Harry Reid took a lot of business into his own hands yesterday, unveiling his updated version of the Senate’s “two year” bill (it’s […]

1,000 Days With No Transpo Bill. How Much Longer Will the Wait Last?

|
Conference negotiations are continuing, Congressional staffers are getting no sleep, legislators could even lose their weekend if they don’t get this transportation bill done. Politico noted this morning a key fact that seems to be flying under the radar: the deadline isn’t really Saturday. It’s actually today, if House members are to have the requisite […]

House Speaker John Boehner Will Delay Vote on House Transpo Bill

|
First, John Boehner split his transportation bill into three smaller bills that deal with transportation, oil and gas drilling, and government employee pensions separately. Now, it looks like the transportation component won’t be voted on until after the President’s Day recess, according to Politico: Boehner’s office attributed the decision to two factors: One of the […]

House Bill Delayed, But Transit, Biking, and Walking Aren’t Safe Yet

|
Congress is in recess, and the House’s atrocious transportation bill has been dismembered and delayed, but if you want to preserve funding for transit and active transportation, don’t let your guard down yet. There’s still plenty to watch out for as the House and Senate attempt to reauthorize federal transportation programs. As we’ve reported, there are […]

House GOP Tries to Horse-Trade Senate Bill For Keystone Pipeline

|
In another desperate attempt to push forward their fossil fuel agenda, House Republicans have indicated that even though they’ve been incapable of passing a transportation bill, they’re willing to go to conference committee and pass the Senate bill. All the Senate Democrats have to do in return is approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Our sources […]