DOT
Basics
Grabbing a Thin Reed, Republicans Attack DOT Over Stimulus Grant Process
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood likes to remind critics that there have been no reports of “boondoggles” or “sweetheart deals” related to transportation stimulus funds. He’s proud that the money has been put to the uses it was intended for.
April 11, 2011
Government Shutdown Would Be a Punch in the Gut to Transit Agencies
A powwow between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, President Obama, and House Speaker John Boehner last night failed to yield a compromise that would put a budget in place before the government shuts down at midnight tonight. The failure of yet another attempt to negotiate makes a government shutdown all but inevitable.
April 8, 2011
Florida Gov. Rick Scott Chooses Politics Over Constituents, Rejects HSR Funds
Florida Governor Rick Scott announced today he would forfeit $2 billion in federal grants to build a high-speed rail line between Orlando and Tampa.
February 16, 2011
10 New Rail, BRT Projects Selected for Funding by DOT
From bus rapid transit in Michigan to light rail in Arizona, ten new local transit projects are in line to receive federal capital funding under the President's 2012 Budget proposal.
February 15, 2011
Top DOT Officials Preview the Push for a Transportation Bill
Before President Obama made his call for infrastructure investment in the State of the Union address last night, an impressive panel of about a dozen DOT officials addressed the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting to divulge what they could about the reauthorization of the long-term national transportation law.
January 26, 2011
Bicycle Advocates Thank LaHood, Talk Strategy
This was a big week for bike advocates: They had a pow-wow with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, launched a new coalition, and refined their strategy for the 112th Congress.
January 14, 2011
Would an Infrastructure Bank Have the Power to Reform Transportation?
Our report yesterday on transportation financing may have left you with a few more questions. We started with a look at TIFIA, which provides credit assistance for infrastructure projects. Many observers see the program as limited by its position inside the DOT and its opaque decision-making process.
December 7, 2010
Why Reformers Should Care How We Pay for Transportation
TIFIAs and TIGERs and NIBs -- oh my! The alphabet soup of infrastructure funding mechanisms can be alienating even to committed transportation advocates. But with the power of the gas tax diminishing and elected officials refusing to raise it, other financing options are taking on increasing importance. If you're interested in reforming our transportation system for the 21st Century, it pays to know the differences between them.
December 6, 2010
What Does It Take to Win a Planning Grant From the Feds?
Reconnecting America has crunched the numbers on which projects won planning grants from the feds last month. Planning awards were announced through three programs: Sustainable Communities Regional Planning (SCRPG), Community Challenge, and TIGER II.
November 10, 2010
Could Common Design Standards Bring Back U.S. Transit Manufacturing?
The Portland area is the only place in the country that manufactures streetcars these days. United Streetcar, in the suburb of Clackamas, opened last year to build Portland's streetcars -- and to serve as a lesson, perhaps, that rail transit manufacturing doesn’t all need to happen overseas.
October 22, 2010