Noah Kazis
Noah joined Streetsblog as a New York City reporter at the start of 2010. When he was a kid, he collected subway paraphernalia in a Vignelli-map shoebox.
Before coming to Streetsblog, he blogged at TheCityFix DC and worked as a field organizer for the Obama campaign in Toledo, Ohio. Noah graduated from Yale University, where he wrote his senior thesis on the class politics of transportation reform in New York City. He lives in Morningside Heights.
Recent Posts
Greetings From Walkable, Bikeable, Transit-Oriented Asbury Park, N.J.
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Think of a place that you can reach by train, that is densely developed and easy to get around by walking or biking. You’re probably thinking of a center city, or perhaps an inner-ring suburb. But in older regions of the country, there’s another place that has the fundamentals for living car-free: the beach. Built […]
What’s the Secret to World-Class Transit Systems? Congestion Pricing
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Top transportation officials from three global cities — London, Singapore and Stockholm — shared their experiences in expanding the use of transit at a panel at the Regional Plan Association’s annual conference last Friday. Eyeing those cities, it’s easy for Americans to get jealous. Singapore is doubling the size of its rail network in the […]
Independent Federal Report Confirms: Christie Lied To Kill ARC Tunnel
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It was never about cost overruns. It was never about New Jersey’s share of the price tag. Chris Christie’s decision to kill the ARC tunnel under the Hudson River was always about two, and only two, things: the governor’s unwillingness to raise the state’s rock-bottom gas tax and his desire to make a name for […]
Federal Transpo Policy Entering New Era, Say NYC Officials. Now What?
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It’s a new era for federal transportation policy, say the top New York City Department of Transportation officials tracking action on Capitol Hill. We just don’t know what kind of era it’s going to be. “If this was 1996 or 1985 it would be pretty clear where we would go with federal transportation policy, with […]
Talking Transit Funding With Construction Honcho Denise Richardson
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Transportation infrastructure is big business. With tens of billions of dollars at stake, nobody tracks the financial health of the nation’s transit and road systems more closely than the construction industry. And right now, the future of transportation funding nationwide is hazy indeed. To get some perspective on the state of transportation funding, we sat […]
Hawaiians Know: Friends Don’t Let Friends Listen To Randal O’Toole
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There are few things we enjoy more than a good smack-down of the anti-transit faux libertarian Randal O’Toole, except perhaps a good show of people power in support of sustainable transportation. Luckily, a new post from Network blog Say Yes to the Honolulu Rail System has both: The Hawaii News Now report on last night’s […]
There’s Nothing Free About a Freeway Extension
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There’s a double standard in American transportation. Propose a transit project, or even some extremely cheap bicycle or pedestrian improvements, and you’ll be met with a chorus of skepticism from politicians or local media about the high cost. Propose a highway project and few will even bat an eye at the price tag. Can you name […]
Cincinnati Neighborhood Group: Bring on the Market-Rate Parking
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Across the country, everyone’s looking to San Francisco when it comes to parking policy. Big cities like Los Angeles and New York City are moving toward their own versions of the pioneering SF Park system, which sets meter rates based on the actual demand for parking spaces. It’s not just big city governments that see […]
Six Northeast Republicans Join Nadler, Oppose Boehner’s Attack on Transit
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The House GOP bill, drafted with significant input from Speaker John Boehner’s office, would eliminate mass transit’s dedicated funding stream, first signed into law by Ronald Reagan in 1982. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former House Republican, has called it “the worst transportation bill I’ve ever seen during 35 years of public service.” Some congressional […]
Seattle Bridge Toll Eases Traffic. Will It Boost Transit, Too?
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Located on a pair of peninsulas, the city of Seattle isn’t so easy to reach from its eastern suburbs. Only two bridges cross Lake Washington. Newly-installed tolls across one of the two, the SR-520 bridge, have the potential to seriously reshape travel patterns in the region. Already, traffic on the SR-520 bridge appears to have […]
Chuck Schumer on Niagara Falls Highway: “Tear Down This Road”
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Most members of Congress are excited to cut the ribbon for a new stretch of freeway, but it’s a smaller set indeed that will stand up for the removal of a highway, no matter how neighborhood-blighting. As of yesterday, count New York Senator Chuck Schumer among their number. “Right now, the Robert Moses Parkway stands […]
Mica Drops Amtrak Privatization Plan In Call for Northeast Corridor HSR
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House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica backed off his controversial plan to privatize passenger rail on the Northeast Corridor today, announcing at a press conference that reforming Amtrak would suffice. Mica stood with New York Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler at a conference held by the US High Speed Rail Association to announce further […]