DOT
Basics
If You Come, They Will Build It: Notes on Livability From Rail~volution
Those looking for hope in this era of transit service cuts took heart from the words of William Millar, President of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), at Rail~volution yesterday. In his keynote speech, Millar reasons to hope for a better future -- despite the fact that 84 percent of APTA members were cutting service, raising fares, laying off personnel, or delaying projects this year due to budget cuts.
October 21, 2010
TIGER II Leaks Begin: New Haven’s Highway-to-Boulevard Project a Winner
We reported earlier today that Ray LaHood is keeping mum about the TIGER II grant winners until the middle of next week, but the info is beginning to drip -- and it's members of Congress doing the leaking.
October 15, 2010
TIGER II Grants to Be Announced Next Week
Applicants for the U.S. DOT's TIGER II grants are on pins and needles awaiting a decision... and even awaiting a decision about when there might be a decision.
October 15, 2010
Drawing Ideas From Reformers, Obama Gets Behind 6-Year Transpo Plan
President Obama told reporters today that he’s committed to a six-year plan to rebuild 150,000 miles of roads, lay and maintain 4,000 miles of railways, restore 150 miles of runways, and create a national infrastructure bank.
October 11, 2010
Without a Plan, Sprawl Will Continue to Hollow Out Cleveland Region
If you want to get a sense of how devastating sprawl has been to the urban areas of northeast Ohio, head over to Woodlawn Avenue in East Cleveland. Between the rows of boarded up buildings, a house collapses onto itself. Graffiti pays homage to dead loved ones — “R.I.P. Fife.” Nearby, stuffed animals have been stapled to a telephone pole in a memorial, presumably, to a dead child.
September 13, 2010
Livable Communities Act Clears Senate Committee
The Senate Banking Committee voted 12-10 yesterday in favor of the Livable Communities Act, legislation that would bolster the Obama administration's initiatives to link together transportation, housing, economic development, and environmental policy.
August 4, 2010
Streetsblog Q&A: Bush DOT Chief Backs Transport Tech Funding
Former Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, who served for eight years in George W. Bush's DOT, sat down with Streetsblog Capitol Hill yesterday to urge that Congress add a dedicated funding stream of $1 billion each year for transportation technology to the next long-term infrastructure bill.
October 8, 2009
Feds Still Forcing Transit Agencies to Bow to Private Charter Buses
Streetsblog Capitol Hill reported yesterday that the U.S. DOT would end a Bush-era mandate to reward new transit projects for using private contractors -- but a similar pro-privatization rule for bus service remains in effect, preventing local transit agencies from competing with private charter companies.
September 3, 2009
A Last Word on ‘Cash for Clunkers’
One thing the government's CARS program -- a.k.a. "cash for clunkers" -- has clearly stimulated is commentary. For a policy involving a shade under $3 billion in federal spending, it has enjoyed no shortage of media coverage.
September 2, 2009
Obama Admin Declines to Consider New Funding for Transportation
Having entertained legislators' own ideas about how best to fund future transportation spending, the House Ways and Means committee turned to representatives from the administration and key interest groups today to hear their thoughts on the matter.
July 23, 2009