Recent Streetsblog USA posts about State Legislature

Amtrak hopes to restore its Sunset Limited line connecting New Orleans and Mobile within two years.

Roll Tide! Amtrak to Return to Gulf Coast

By Aaron Short | Jun 12, 2019 | 5 Comments

It's one of the few Amtrak projects that Republicans support, citing its potential for economic development in the region and for making it easier for tourists and business leaders to get around.

North Carolina Lawmakers Try to Sabotage Durham-Orange Light Rail

By Angie Schmitt | Sep 17, 2015 | 14 Comments

State lawmakers in North Carolina launched a sneak attack this week on plans for light rail between Durham and Orange County — and nobody’s sure exactly who’s behind it or why they did it. Leaders in Durham and Orange are counting on the state to deliver about 10 percent of the funding for the $1.5 billion, […]

What They’re Doing for Bike Safety in Wyoming: Mandatory Orange Vests

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 30, 2015 | 32 Comments

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. Brian Schilling, coordinator of Jackson Hole Community Pathways, told […]

Washington Republicans: Put Seattle’s Highway-Borer Out of Its Misery

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 30, 2015 | 14 Comments

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. While putting a halt to […]

Study: Corrupt States Spend More on Highways

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 6, 2014 | 14 Comments

A new academic study helps explain the enduring political popularity of expensive transportation boondoggles like Birmingham’s $4.7 billion Northern Beltline and Kentucky’s $2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges. According to research published in the journal Public Administration Review, states with higher levels of public corruption spend more money on highways and construction. The study found highway and construction projects and police programs […]

Cycling So Popular in Georgia That Lawmaker Carl Rogers Wants to Ban It

By Angie Schmitt | Oct 7, 2013 | 80 Comments

Responding to a cycling boom in northern Georgia, a bill introduced in the state house would require bicyclists to purchase license plates and limit how and where they ride. House Bill 689 was purportedly introduced in response to complaints from north Georgia drivers, whose chief grievance seems to be that it is inconvenient to encounter […]

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