Government Organizations
Basics
Four Republicans Who Might Work Across the Aisle on Transportation
UPDATE: An earlier version of this article included Robert Dold as the fifth potential aisle-crosser. I've since been informed that Dold lost his re-election bid this year. Charlie Bass and Judy Biggert, named briefly at the bottom for supporting the Senate transportation bill and Amtrak funding, also lost their elections, making this list even shorter.
December 4, 2012
Patty Murray as Senate Budget Chief: What It Means for Transportation
In transportation circles, all eyes are on Rep. Bill Shuster, who was just tapped to head the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the House. And you may have heard about how GOP leadership appointed a climate change denier to head the House Committee on Science. But on the Senate side, there's some good news for advocates of sustainable transportation coming out of the appointment process this week.
November 30, 2012
How States Are Adapting to MAP-21’s Changes to Bike/Ped Funding
The current transportation law dealt a few hard knocks to bicycling and walking programs. One big one was the restructuring of the Transportation Enhancements program into something called Transportation Alternatives, which has to fund more types of projects with less money.
November 28, 2012
Moving People or Moving Vehicles: How Should We Grade America’s Streets?
Darren Flusche is the policy director of the League of American Bicyclists.
November 27, 2012
GAO: States “Flexing” Fewer Federal Dollars to Transit
Supporters of livable streets may hear about the “flexibility” of transportation dollars and cringe – after all, that word often refers to the ability of states to use bike/ped money for road building. But flexibility can work both ways. Between 2007 and 2011, states devoted $5 billion in surface transportation funds -- known in some quarters as "highway money" -- to transit programs, according to the Government Accountability Office.
November 21, 2012
Which States Are Breaking Free From Oil Dependence? NRDC Ranks All 50
When it comes to helping their residents get around without breaking the bank, California, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, and New York are the top five states in the nation, while Nebraska, Alaska, Mississippi, Idaho, and North Dakota bring up the rear.
November 19, 2012
Streetsblog Readers Have Spoken: Janette Sadik-Khan For DOT Secretary
On Friday, we put this question to our readers: Who should be the next Transportation Secretary? And lucky for us, 323 of you had nothing better to do with your weekend than answer our poll.
November 19, 2012
Poll: Who Should Be the Next U.S. Transportation Secretary?
Ryan Holeywell over at Governing Magazine has put together a pretty comprehensive list of possible contenders for the top job at U.S. DOT, if Ray LaHood makes good on his word and splits for the private sector. It's unclear when he's leaving, or if he even really meant to say he was definitely leaving, but odds are there will be a vacancy over there pretty soon.
November 16, 2012
Weathering the Next 108-Year Storm
Deron Lovaas is the Federal Transportation Policy Director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. This article is cross-posted from his blog on Switchboard.
November 2, 2012
Why Recovery Aid Is Getting to Roads Faster Than Transit
As we reported yesterday, MAP-21 went into effect just in time for Hurricane Sandy, allowing the Federal Transit Administration similar emergency grant-making authority as FHWA. But Adam Snider at Politico reminded us this morning that the change is easier said than done.
October 31, 2012