Elections
Basics
#MinimumGrid: Toronto Advocates Move Politicians Beyond Bike Platitudes
Michael Andersen blogs for The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets.
September 25, 2014
Missouri Says No to Amendment 7’s Monster Tax Hike for Roads
Last night, Missourians decided overwhelmingly to reject a ballot initiative that would have raised the sales tax by three-quarters of a cent to pay, almost exclusively, for roads. It would have been the largest tax increase in the state’s history.
August 6, 2014
Talking Headways Podcast: A Butterfly Flaps Its Wings In the Metro
The metro is coming to Loudon County, Virginia. Eventually.
June 13, 2014
It Could Cost More to Shut Down Cincy Streetcar Than Finish It
Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory is frustrated that all his work to bring the streetcar to fruition might be for naught, now that anti-streetcar John Cranley has been elected to take his place. “I’m from the tough part of town,” Mallory joked. “I will take the guy in a dark alley. I’m not afraid to use the threat of physical violence.”
November 21, 2013
UPDATED: Last Night’s Quiet Transit Victories
Yesterday was a relatively quiet election day for transportation-related ballot measures, but of the six transit initiatives that came before voters yesterday, five six passed, with a sixth seventh too close to call. That’s in line with last year’s 79 percent success rate -- 71 percent since 2000. When asked, voters overwhelmingly choose to raise their own taxes to improve public transportation.
November 6, 2013
Setbacks and Victories For Urbanism in Yesterday’s Mayoral Races
Mayoral elections broke both ways for livability in American cities yesterday: The results of some may slow progress on transit and street safety, while one-midsized city elected an executive who campaigned strongly on light rail expansion and bikeability.
November 6, 2013
How StreetsPAC Emerged as a Political Force in NYC
"Livable Streets has arrived as a political force," tweeted NYC Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson the morning after last week's all-important primary election. StreetsPAC -- a political action committee formed earlier this year to strengthen local candidates who support policies that improve walking, biking and transit -- endorsed the winner in 13 of the 18 City Council races in which it was active, and might pick up another victory pending the results of a recount.
September 16, 2013
Why Traffic Deaths Are More Common in Red States Than in Blue States
Public interest journalist Stuart Silverstein at FairWarning.org has uncovered the fact that red states (defined as those that went for Mitt Romney in the last election) have higher traffic fatality rates than blue states (those that went for Barack Obama). The correlation is striking, Silverstein says, but he's at a loss to explain it:
November 20, 2012
What Kind of Leadership Would Bill Shuster Bring to the Transpo Committee?
This is the first of two posts examining Rep. Bill Shuster's candidacy for the chairmanship of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. We'll post the second one, focused on his positions on bike/ped programs and funding issues, tomorrow.
November 14, 2012
Communities Vote to Tax Themselves to Support Transit
In addition to some of the high-profile measures that we covered already, Election Day brought many successes on some smaller ballot initiatives. According to the Center For Transportation Excellence, pro-transit campaigns had an 80 percent success rate this year at the ballot box, with more ballot measures coming up for a vote than any previous year.
November 9, 2012