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4 Things to Know as Transportation Bill Negotiations Heat Up
Lawmakers in Washington are just beginning their latest attempt to craft the first long-term transportation bill in roughly a decade. The current bill expires in just a few months, on May 31, but in Congress that's an eternity. While it's a long way from go time, the contours of the debate are starting to become apparent.
February 18, 2015
Obama’s New Transportation Budget: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
With federal transportation funding on track to run dry by May 31, Washington lawmakers are gearing up again to reset national transportation policy... or, if that doesn't work out, to limp along indefinitely under the status quo.
February 2, 2015
What They’re Doing for Bike Safety in Wyoming: Mandatory Orange Vests
A bill introduced in the Wyoming statehouse would require cyclists to wear "two hundred square-inches of reflective neon" and carry a government-issued ID. The legislation would also require cyclists to have a rear light, even though another law already requires that, according to Jackson Hole News and Guide.
January 30, 2015
Washington Republicans: Put Seattle’s Highway-Borer Out of Its Misery
If nothing else, the politics of Seattle's deep-bore highway tunnel fiasco keep getting more interesting. With Bertha the tunnel-boring machine stuck underground and "rescue" efforts literally destabilizing city neighborhoods, a pair of Republicans in the Washington State Senate introduced a bill to scrap the project before any more money is wasted.
January 30, 2015
Koch-Funded Groups: Cut All Federal Funding for Walking, Biking, Transit
You know it's time to fight over the federal transportation bill when the fossil fuel-soaked elements of the conservative movement start agitating to stop funding everything except car infrastructure.
January 29, 2015
Cincinnati’s Eastern Corridor: The $1.4 Billion Road No One Seems to Want
The Eastern Corridor is an expensive state DOT highway project searching for a reason to exist.
January 27, 2015
Four Nice Touches in U.S. DOT’s New “Mayors’ Challenge” for Bike Safety
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.
January 23, 2015
Alabama DOT Wants to Gouge a Highway Through This Historic Town Center
The town of Eufaula, Alabama, population 13,000, is known for its historic buildings. Stately mansions, giant live oak heavy with Spanish moss -- it's exactly the type of place that comes to mind when you picture Southern small-town charm.
January 22, 2015
Why a Broke State DOT Could Be Great for Missouri
In August, Missouri voters roundly defeated a sales tax increase supported by road building interests that would have dramatically boosted funding for the state DOT. During the run-up to the election, state leaders laid it on thick in their appeal for more road money, arguing that the fallout would be disastrous for public safety if voters didn't approve the 0.75 percent sales tax hike.
January 22, 2015
Philly Urbanists Launch Political Action Committee to Shake Up City Council
In a move that may mark, in the words of Philadelphia Magazine, "New Philadelphia's political awakening," a group of Philly urbanists launched a political action committee earlier this month to support candidates who will reform local land use, transportation, and taxation policies.
January 21, 2015