New York Senator Chuck Schumer stumping for $2 billion transit aid bill
Last week, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, a top Democrat in Washington and influential policy player, spoke out forcefully in favor of the Public Transportation Preservation Act, a $2 billion lifeline for the nation’s transit agencies. The Act would provide emergency operating aid for buses, subways and other systems throughout the country and would give a significant boost to the tri-state region.
Making Normal, Illinois the new “norm” for transportation planning
Last week, Transportation for America Director James Corless was in Normal, Illinois, a town of 45,000 and recipient of a $22 million grant for a new city transportation hub, touting the project as a model for smarter federal transportation spending in the next six-year transportation bill.
Video: John Robert Smith on helping politicos see the importance of passenger rail
In this short video, Former Meridian, Mississippi Mayor and current T4 America co-chair John Robert Smith talks about the project to build a new multimodal train station in downtown Meridian when he was mayor, proposed cuts to Amtrak that happened shortly afterward, and how a few key Senators championed funding for Amtrak after seeing how ordinary people outside of D.C. depended on that service.
Farewell to a reliable D.C. transportation reporter
We noted this on twitter earlier today and yesterday, but we would be remiss if we didn’t also say thank you to Elana Schor and Streetsblog for her terrific year of coverage on transportation issues under the Capitol dome and elsewhere in D.C circles.
Dozens of bicyclists ride to USDOT Friday to tell Secretary LaHood “thanks”
Transportation for America was proud to co-author and circulate a letter thanking Secretary Ray LaHood for USDOT’s policy statement elevating walking and biking in national policy. Last Friday, several of us at T4 cycled with a handful of national partners to DOT Headquarters across town to thank the Secretary in person.
“I don’t know what this talk around DC is about livability not having anything to do with rural areas…”
Earlier this week, we hosted 15 of our partners from rural areas across America for a two day “fly-in” focusing on the transportation needs of rural areas and small towns. We hosted a briefing at the Capitol in the morning and then these partners from all over the country, from Virginia to California, took the […]
T4 America’s rural and small town partners take their transportation message to Capitol Hill
Tuesday’s Congressional lobby day hosted by Transportation for America on the needs of rural and small-town America displayed a growing urgency for transportation options, livable communities and good access to jobs and opportunity — as great as one would find in any of our nation’s urban and metropolitan centers.
American Public Health Association outlines hidden health costs of transportation
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama earlier this year was a down payment on expanding health coverage and lowering costs. But the work does not stop there. A truly comprehensive approach to health must account for transportation’s role in how we move and our levels of physical activity. The American Public Health Association tackles just that in a new report titled “the Hidden Health Costs of Transportation.”
Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” report says walking and biking key to healthier kids
Earlier this month, we highlighted two reports on the integral link between health and transportation. First Lady Michelle Obama’s recent Let’s Move report on childhood obesity goes one step further — endorsing a new surface transportation bill that encourages more walking and biking.
Guest post: public transit made accessible in Mississippi’s capital city
In the midst of discouraging news from hundreds of transit agencies across the country facing difficult choices in the midst of budget crises (see our map), we bring some encouraging news from Mississippi, and an update to a story we’ve covered previously in this guest post.
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