Posts Tagged "featured"
What do Americans really think about spending on transportation?
Parade Magazine has a misleading poll up about transportation, asking their readers, “should America divert some funding from highways and bridges to invest in public transit?” There are a few faults with such a simple question, namely making it sound like there’s something written in stone determining that federal transportation money is “roads” money — instead of money that should be spent on whatever can best keep us moving and give us the most bang for our buck. Rather than asking Americans if we should “take” money from roads, what happens when you ask Americans the positive, “where should we spend our transportation money?”
Rep. Oberstar releasing outline of transportation bill Wednesday
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James L. Oberstar (Minn.) will release a white paper next week (6/17) to outline plans for the new surface transportation authorization bill. The news conference is scheduled for Wednesday, June 22, at 11:00 a.m. The event will be held in Room 2167 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The news conference also will be webcast live on the Committee’s website, http://transportation.house.gov.
Stay up-to-date on transportation with Streetsblog Capitol Hill
We’re happy to announce that our good friends at Streetsblog have launched Streetsblog Capitol Hill — a new site delivering news on transportation with an insider’s knowledge but an outside-the-beltway voice — to help make sense of the complicated process of making federal transportation policy. It’ll be a daily read for all of us here at Transportation for America, and we’ll be pointing you to their content from time to time. Drop by and say hello to Elana and their new team.
Today’s briefing on Complete Streets — and the view from Decatur, Georgia
With the Environmental and Energy Study Institute and a few of our key partners this morning, Transportation for America held a briefing on Capitol Hill about Complete Streets — and how putting complete streets into the next transportation bill will go a long way towards improving health, safety and livability for Americans. Decatur, Georgia Mayor Bill Floyd, one of the panelists, told the story of how building complete streets in Decatur have made the city safer and more livable for its residents and visitors.
Highway Trust Fund could need as much as $17 billion to stay in the black
News broke yesterday that the Obama administration is telling Senators that the Highway Trust Fund — that pays for the projects approved in the transportation bill — will go broke by August if an emergency infusion of at least $7 billion isn’t approved. The system is broke, but it’s also broken. We need a federal transportation system that works, not the same broken thing at twice the price.
Webinar Series: Transportation and the Economy
Can smarter transportation investments play a part in bringing about an economic recovery? Join us as we discuss the connections between transportation and economic opportunity tomorrow, Friday, April 29 from 1-3 p.m. EDT. Speakers will explore how the transportation sector drives the economy and creates employment opportunities for American workers. Topics will include the transportation sector’s ability to create good jobs and sustain global growth, and the use of transportation as a driver of neighborhood revitalization.
Transportation Secretary affirms smart principles for US transportation system
“Livable and Sustainable Communities” might not be at the top of the list of what one would expect to hear from the person in charge of how the Federal government spends our tax dollars on all forms of transportation — ports, railroads, highways, interstates, sidewalks, bike lanes and more — but that’s exactly what Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood named as a primary goal for DOT.
Good Magazine visualizes the United States of Transit Cutbacks
Good Magazine published their “transportation issue” last week, covering some of the current debates over where, why, and how to spend money. You might have caught the superb graphic of what makes a livable street that they produced for the issue in collaboration with our friends at Streetsblog. Today they posted this terrific visualization of our map of transit cuts.
Congress takes a step towards “completing America’s streets”
Complete streets are safe and accessible for everyone that needs to use them — cars, transit users, bicyclists, pedestrians, young, old, disabled, and everyone else. Over the last two days, Complete Streets bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate. Tell Congress to support these bills.
A day of air travel over North America, and what it means for rail
From Wired Magazine via Aaron of Streetsblog comes this amazing map and video that shows a day of air travel over North America. Using data from the Federal Aviation Administration and a service called FlightView that tracks airline travel each day, Artist Aaron Koblin created this Google map that shows 24 hours of airline travel on August 12, 2008. What does this have to do with rail travel?
It’s past time to elevate the national conversation about infrastructure beyond just the price tag. Learn more about T4America's three simple principles for federal transportation investment.
Read our new principles