Government Organizations
Basics
Houston Mayor Calls for “Paradigm Shift” Away From Highway Widening
Newly elected Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner gave a remarkable speech yesterday in Austin [PDF], calling on the state to change its transportation priorities and stop pouring billions into widening highways.
January 29, 2016
Highway Boondoggles: New Mexico’s Paseo del Volcan Extension
In a new report, Highway Boondoggles 2, U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group profile the most wasteful highway projects that state DOTs are building. The proposed Paseo del Volcan Extension, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a textbook example of a project intended to induce and subsidize suburban sprawl.
January 29, 2016
The Feds Want to Reform the Cult of “Level of Service”
"What you measure is what you get," the saying goes.
January 28, 2016
Highway Boondoggles: Washington’s Puget Sound Gateway Project
In a new report, Highway Boondoggles 2, U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group profile the most wasteful highway projects that state DOTs are building. Today we look at a classic -- Washington's $3 billion "Puget Sound Gateway Project."
January 27, 2016
The Feds Aren’t Crowing About the Record Amount of Driving in America
Gas is cheap again, and cumulatively, Americans are driving a record amount.
January 26, 2016
5 Things States Can Do to Bring Transportation Policy Out of the Stone Age
On its page commemorating the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower signing the Federal Aid Highway Act, the Federal Highway Administration offers a "Then and Now" chart showing how much America has changed since 1956. It's a little corny, but in 1956 Chuck Berry was a chart-topper, hula hoops were the new craze, and Cold War tensions were very high. The point is the country has changed a lot since then.
January 22, 2016
The Best and Worst of the New 5-Year Transportation Bill
Smart people are wading through the 1,300-page transportation bill that came out of conference committee earlier this week, and we're starting to get a clearer sense of how it will change federal transportation policy for the next five years.
December 3, 2015
Advice for State DOTs Looking for More Money: Spend Smarter
The Oregon Department of Transportation is in a tough spot after it tried to justify highway expansion projects by saying they would cut greenhouse gas emissions. ODOT's bogus claims helped sink a $350 million transportation funding package in the state legislature, and even some of the state's Republican lawmakers are calling for agency director Matt Garrett's head. What's a beleaguered state DOT to do?
November 30, 2015
Tell FHWA You Want Safer Designs for City Streets
Earlier this fall, the Federal Highway Administration proposed a major policy change: Instead of requiring roads that receive federal funding to be designed like highways, the agency would change its standards to allow greater flexibility. The implications for urban streets were huge -- with less red tape, cities would have a much easier time implementing safer designs for walking and biking. Now FHWA is accepting public comment on this proposal, and you can help ensure that it's enacted.
November 17, 2015
Just How Bad Is the Final House Transportation Bill?
Nobody was expecting the GOP-controlled House of Representatives to put together a transportation bill that did much for streets and transit in American cities.
November 5, 2015