State DOTs
Basics
Oregon Takes the Next Step in Moving Beyond the Gas Tax
Rep. Earl Blumenauer likes to say that Oregon was the first state to adopt a gas tax and it will be the first state to get rid of it. In 2006-2007, the state conducted a pilot study of alternative revenue collection methods, with an eye toward moving to a better system. This fall, they’ll do another pilot, fine-tuning their process for replacing the gas tax with a vehicle-miles-traveled fee.
August 3, 2012
How State DOTs Got Congress to Grant Their Wish List
Bike and pedestrian funding got slashed. Federal assistance for transit operations was rejected. Even the performance measures – arguably the high point of the recently passed federal transportation bill – are too weak to be very meaningful. For Americans who want federal policy to support safe streets, sustainable transportation, and livable neighborhoods, there were few bright spots in the transportation bill Congress passed last month.
July 24, 2012
Smart Growth America: States May Pave Over Their Own Good Intentions
Last week, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign revealed how states prioritize spending: 20 percent for transit, 2 percent for bike/ped, 38.5 percent for maintenance, and about 22.5 percent for highway expansion. Looking just at those last two numbers, that breaks down to 71 percent more spending on repair than sprawl-inducing new lanes.
July 23, 2012
How Does Your State Stack Up on Prioritizing Transit and Street Safety?
How's your state doing on bike and pedestrian investment? Transit? Bridge repair?
July 17, 2012
The Awful Truth About the Transpo Bill’s Bike/Ped Loophole
In the immediate, panicked moments after the MAP-21 conference report was released, I missed some of the nuances of just how bad a deal this bill is for bike policy.
July 12, 2012
MassDOT Mistake: How Not to Rebuild Main Street
Great Barrington has one of the best and most beautiful Main Streets in New England. After MassDOT cuts down the Bradford Pear trees that line the street during their Main Street reconstruction project it no longer will be. Let me explain why I say that.
July 10, 2012
Under Economic Impact Analysis, Highway Expansion Loses Appeal
Despite the common refrains about transportation spending creating jobs, most states don't actually give serious thought to the economic impact of transportation projects. More often than not, they're content to sink money into freeways despite a wealth of research that shows that transit, bikeways, and sidewalks deliver a much bigger economic bang for the taxpayer's buck.
June 12, 2012
Federal Transpo Policy Entering New Era, Say NYC Officials. Now What?
It's a new era for federal transportation policy, say the top New York City Department of Transportation officials tracking action on Capitol Hill. We just don't know what kind of era it's going to be.
April 5, 2012
To Change Your Community’s Streets, the Action Is in the Statehouse
Anxious about Congress messing up the federal transportation bill? There's a lot at stake in Washington, but consider this: 78 percent of transportation funds come from the state and local levels.
March 22, 2012
Streetsies 2011: The Local Edition
Yesterday, we started our year-end 2011 round-up. We lamented transit cuts in places where transit is more important than ever, cheered the successful ballot initiatives that will fund transportation lifelines, took a moment to explore the nuances of some difficult issues, and called out Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin for some hare-brained ideas about the best way to spend money.
December 29, 2011