Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Performance Measures

How State DOTs Got Congress to Grant Their Wish List

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 24, 2012 | 1 Comment

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 […]

A New Bill Passes, But America’s Transpo Policy Stays Stuck in 20th Century

By Tanya Snyder | Jun 29, 2012 | 11 Comments

The House of Representatives approved the transportation bill conference report this afternoon by a vote of 373 to 52. [UPDATE 4:00 PM: The Senate has also approved the bill, 74-19.] This is a bill that’s been called “a death blow to mass transit” by the Amalgamated Transit Union, “a step backwards for America’s transportation system” […]

From a Reader: Seven More Questions For the Transportation Conference

By Tanya Snyder | May 17, 2012 | 3 Comments

Last week, I published a list of seven questions I had as the Transportation Conference Committee started meeting. I was examining the politics, not the policy. Turns out some readers wanted to hear more about the policy. I asked the Cap’n what his questions would be. The reply: Meanwhile, reader Ryan Richter sent in his […]

Lessons From the Former Chairman: Oberstar on Ending the Interstate Era

By Tanya Snyder | Oct 14, 2011 | 2 Comments

Streetsblog had a chance today to ask the former Democratic chief of the House Transportation Committee, Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, about life since the 2010 election, when he lost by a hair to Republican Chip Cravaack. He said he’s spending his post-Congress time traveling to France, getting paid to say things he used to […]

Transpo Committee Dems Submit Deficit-Reduction Ideas to Super Committee

By Tanya Snyder | Oct 13, 2011 | 2 Comments

Tomorrow is the deadline for Congressional committees to advise the super committee on how they’d like to see the deficit reduction plan formulated. The Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee submitted theirs today [PDF], divided into three sections: “Creating Jobs,” “Eliminating Waste, Fraud and Abuse,” and “Promoting Efficiency and Reform of Government.” For […]

EPA Publishes Guide to Performance Measures for Livability

By Tanya Snyder | Aug 17, 2011 | No Comments

In the vein of several other recent reports that have highlighted significant transportation reforms that can be made now, with or without a reauthorization bill, the EPA has published guidelines for states and MPOs to make livability plans a reality [PDF]. They illustrate how using performance metrics can lead to better-designed transportation networks, especially when […]

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