Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Mary Peters

When $1 Billion Doesn’t Buy What it Used To — And When it Does

By Elana Schor | Oct 8, 2009 | 1 Comment

Since Washington’s economic recovery debate first began last fall, advocates for greater infrastructure investment have invoked one phrase more often than almost any other: "Every $1 billion spent on transportation creates 47,500 jobs." How many transportation jobs could this $1 billion create? (Photo: Infosthetics) Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) used that […]

Streetsblog Q&A: Bush DOT Chief Backs Transport Tech Funding

By Elana Schor | Oct 8, 2009 | No Comments

Former Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, who served for eight years in George W. Bush’s DOT, sat down with Streetsblog Capitol Hill yesterday to urge that Congress add a dedicated funding stream of $1 billion each year for transportation technology to the next long-term infrastructure bill. Since leaving office, Peters has transitioned to private consulting work […]

Chicago Loses NYC’s Congestion Pricing Money

By Ben Fried | Jan 9, 2009 | 3 Comments

Will Chicago get a second chance at federal funds for better bus service? Photo: celikins/Flickr Looks like New York legislators aren’t the only ones willing to pass up big money for transportation improvements if it means putting a fair price on private auto use. Back in April, the feds withdrew a $354 million grant to […]

Gasoline Shortages Fuel Panic and Rage in the South

By Brad Aaron | Oct 1, 2008 | 7 Comments

Here’s a disturbing story from the Associated Press on gas shortages in Asheville, North Carolina, where hot-tempered drivers are waiting in long lines to fill up, only to find in some cases that the pumps are tapped. Asks one flustered motorist: "What’s wrong with our government? Why are they letting this happen to us?" Maybe […]

The U.S. Wants to “Borrow” From Transit to Pay for Highways

By Aaron Naparstek | Jul 29, 2008 | 16 Comments

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said yesterday that due to declining gas tax revenues, the Highway Trust Fund would need to borrow money from its mass transit account to pay for road projects. Today’s big news story was buried at the bottom of page A17 in the New York Times: Gasoline tax revenue is falling […]

What Is “Mode-Neutral” Funding?

By Ben Fried | Feb 13, 2008 | 16 Comments

Different modes could be funded from the same pot, with allocations based on performance measures. The beginning of 2008 has seen a flurry of debate — at least in wonkish circles — over federal transportation spending. In January, the bi-partisan Surface Transportation Commission released a report two years in the making, "Transportation for Tomorrow," which […]

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