Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Boondoggles

The Texas Transportation Commission could approve $600 million in road improvements for the Permian Basin this week, with little regard for the transit needs of the region.

Climate Change Fight Dies in Texas Oil Region

By Aaron Short | Aug 28, 2019 | 3 Comments

An oil-rich region of West Texas is about to get more than half a billion dollars in highway funds so it can continue to pump more crude and frack natural gas — perpetuating a cycle that is causing the destruction of human civilization.

Houston is seeking to extend its light rail and bus rapid transit system with a $3.5 billion bond that will be on the ballot in November.

Bond Voyage! Houston Faces $3.5B Transit Decision

By Aaron Short | Aug 19, 2019 | 2 Comments

Houston has a once in a generation opportunity to modernize its transit system this fall — and the city hopes to learn from Nashville's mistakes.

Federal Program Would Help Cities Tear Down Highways

By Angie Schmitt | Aug 14, 2019 | 5 Comments

A new pot of money would help undo the sometimes-racist legacy of urban highway construction.

Feds' Baby Steps Towards Climate Awareness

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 31, 2019

A lot more money for highways. A little more money for bikes and bridge repair. But what else is in the new Transportation bill moving through Congress?

This is a PTSA bus. Photo: City of St. Petersburg

Are Uber and Lyft the Future of Transit? Not So Fast

By Aaron Short | Jul 22, 2019 | 7 Comments

Cities that turn to technology companies to save their transit systems are bound to be disappointed by the outcome.

Virginia will expand Interstate 81, changes that will cost a whopping $2.2 billion and affect Civil War landscapes.

Boondoggle: Virginia’s Unlovable I-81 Expansion

By Gideon Weissman and Matthew Casale | Jul 1, 2019 | 14 Comments

Officials have pointed to safety as a key reason for the need to expand the highway. Yet, in 2010, state officials raised speed limits to 70 mph along much of I-81, a move that likely made the road more dangerous.

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