Ben Goldman
Recent Posts
New Survey Shows Overwhelming Support for Federal Investment in Bike-Ped
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At a press conference outside the Capitol this morning, where gusty winds nearly carried off the visual aids (if it weren’t for a few diligent supporters), bicycle advocates joined members of Congress to unveil the results of a new survey about federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. The telephone poll of 1,003 Americans, commissioned […]
New Equity Atlas Tells a Story About the Future of Denver (With Maps!)
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As more cities look to revive or expand their transit networks in the face of rising gas prices and maddening congestion, planners have had to remain vigilant to ensure that underprivileged communities are not displaced or adversely affected by the same transit improvements that could offer them numerous benefits. A few different techniques have emerged […]
As Chicago Forges Ahead With BRT, Congress Holds Up Key Rail Project
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The transportation news has been flying out of Chicago lately. Last week, in a 41-9 vote, the City Council approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago Infrastructure Trust, which will be used to build projects with private financing. Earlier this week, Emanuel and transportation commissioner Gabe Klein just unveiled a plan for a downtown bus rapid transit loop […]
House Transpo Conferees Set, First Committee Meeting Scheduled for May 8
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Last night, the names of the House delegates to the transportation bill conference committee were released. The 33 members — 20 Republicans, 13 Democrats — will join the 14 Senators already named to the panel, and will be tasked with hammering out a compromise before transportation policy expires on June 30. Here is the list […]
Let the Debate Begin: NYC, SF Snag Top Spots in First Transit Score Rankings
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Today, Walk Score — developer of the popular method for evaluating neighborhood walkability (and filling out NCAA tournament brackets) — announced its first ranking of cities by Transit Score, a measure of the “usefulness” of a city’s transit system. On a 100-point scale, New York and San Francisco took the top two spots with scores of […]
Getting to Know the Senate Conferees
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The Senate unveiled its list of conference committee delegates yesterday to a widespread lack of surprise. Ten of the 14 conferees are either chair or ranking member of a committee (or subcommittee) charged with writing part of the Senate transportation bill. Their job will be to defend their work from a House delegation that has […]
What Libertarians Talk About When They Talk About Transportation Reform
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There’s more than one way to approach transportation reform. One is to believe that an ideal transportation policy promotes the use of modes that are environmentally sustainable and which foster livable cities, while those that perpetuate overdependence on automobiles do neither. Then there is another camp, which approaches transportation from a micro, rather than macro, […]
Ladies and Gentlemen, Your 2012 Transportation Bill Senate Conferees
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The Senate has designated the 14 members who will represent the upper chamber on the transportation bill conference committee. The House will designate its own conferees soon, and the entire group will be tasked with reconciling the differences between the Senate’s two-year bill and the 90-day “dirty” extension passed by the House last week. Democrat conferees: […]
House Defies Veto Threat, Passes Drill-And-Drive Extension
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In a brazen but expected display of defiance — both of the President and of bipartisan efforts in the Senate — the House voted today to extend transportation policy through the end of September with several contentious policy changes attached. The bill, whose name (The Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, Part II) reads like the […]
Maryland Governor Stymied in Effort to Raise State Gas Tax
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Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland was dealt a setback last week when the legislature failed to approve a revenue package that would have shored up funding for transportation projects. Maryland has been at the forefront of a number of progressive planning issues in recent years, including a trailblazing statewide land-use plan. The difficulty in […]
Advocates: Mobilizing Transit Riders a Challenge, Even in Transit-Rich Cities
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With fewer Americans driving and transit ridership breaking records, you might think transit has plenty of muscle behind it. But while the numbers speak for themselves, the riders often don’t. That’s why local efforts to establish grassroots transit advocacy organizations are so important, said a panel of experts convened by the Center for Transportation Excellence this Wednesday. […]
What Happened to John Mica, Pro-Transit Republican?
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House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranking member John Mica knew the value of good transit. “I became a mass transit fan because it’s so much more cost effective than building a highway,” he told PBS in 2009. “Also, it’s good for energy, it’s good for the environment – and that’s why I like it.” Flash […]