Transportation Policy
Basics
Defining the ‘Public’ in Public-Private Partnerships
In a must-read piece for the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), Matt Lewis digs deeper into the network of cities and towns that employ D.C. transportation. He begins with a thought-provoking anecdote:
January 22, 2010
How Will Obama’s Sustainability Team Spend Its $150M? A Preview
Before the U.S. DOT gave some early clues as to how the agency would craft its new transit funding rules, deputy housing and urban development (HUD) secretary Ron Sims answered another question that's been on the minds of transit and local-planning wonks: How will the Obama administration's three-agency partnership for sustainable communities spend its $150 million in funding for this year?
January 21, 2010
U.S. DOT Previews How New Transit Rules Could Define ‘Livability’
When the Obama administration announced an ambitious revamp of transit funding rules to, as the Transportation Secretary put it, "take livability into account," urban planners and transit advocates alike were pleased -- but also uncertain.
January 21, 2010
Dodd and DeLauro Vow to Get Infrastructure Bank Done This Year
Supporters from every corner of the transportation universe joined Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) today at a press event aimed at jumpstarting a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB), which the two Connecticut lawmakers vowed to steer to passage this year.
January 20, 2010
For D.C. Area Residents, a Worthy Take on the Year in Transport
When the Washington Post devoted an entire transportation column to the "best and worst" of 2009 -- its content written by interest groups with a stake in adding more lanes for more cars -- Streetsblog Network member blog Greater Greater Washington (GGW) took the initiative and sent in its own retrospective.
January 19, 2010
Obama Quietly Gets Federal Agencies Involved in Transport Planning
When President Obama signed an executive order in October requiring federal agencies to craft strategies for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, he described the mandate as Washington "lead[ing] by example" on the pollution-reduction front.
January 19, 2010
CBO Echoes Obama’s Candor on the Pitfalls of ‘Shovel-Readiness’
During last month's White House jobs summit, President Obama carved out some common ground with critics of his first stimulus law's $47 billion in infrastructure spending -- which was distributed mainly by the book through state DOTs. "The term "shovel-ready," let’s be honest here, doesn’t always live up to its billing," he acknowledged.
January 19, 2010
Could a Green Bank Hitch a Ride on the Jobs Bill?
Fans of a National Infrastructure Bank (NIB) that would help leverage private-sector funding for transportation projects are still hoping for Hill action after the House declined to add the idea to its $154 billion jobs bill. But the NIB isn't the only new financing strategy on the table, as Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) reminded President Obama yesterday.
January 15, 2010
Enviro Group Sees State DOTs’ Transport Predictions — and Raises Them
Just before New Year's, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Washington voice for state DOTs that's often dubbed the "road lobby," counted down 10 hot topics for 2010.
January 15, 2010