Today’s Headlines — 03/31/09
March 31, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- Road work in Baltimore will bring some serious congestion downtown. (Baltimore Sun)
- Colorado’s stimulus-funded roadwork appears to avoid any serious sprawl. (Colorado Independent)
- The dismal economy pushes road builders to offer some extraordinarily low bids. (New York Times)
- As dreams of homeownership slip away for millions, renting moves to the mainstream in far-flung suburbs. (Wall Street Journal)
Today’s Headlines — 03/30/09
March 30, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- Chicago Transit Authority solicits advice from its users on how to improve the quality of its system. (Chicago Tribune)
- Arizona looks at the exorbitant — and often unnoticed — overall costs of transportation for its residents. (Arizona Republic)
- A New York City transit user looks at the some of the more hidden costs of bus service cuts. (New York Times)
- China struggles to match its automobile growth with ambitious new transit construction. (New York Times)
Wrapping up the first Webinar: Transportation and Social Equity
March 26, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
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| Download the first in a series of policy briefs from T4: Transportation and Social Equity: Opportunity Follows Mobility (pdf) |
Our first webinar in a series of them was held earlier this week, and it was a great success. Nearly 100 advocates and supporters signed up for a session on Transportation and Social Equity.
Our transportation system should provide everyone — regardless of age, income, race or disability — with viable transportation options. So there are significant issues with a system that doesn’t extend opportunity to everyone in the same manner.
Judith Bell, president of PolicyLink, led an informative discussion about ways in which transportation policies and programs affect low income, minority, and other often marginalized populations.
Nathaniel Smith, Director of Partnerships for Equitable Development at Emory University and Ron Achelpohl, Assistant Director of Transportation for the Mid-America Regional Council, spoke about local actions in Atlanta and Kansas City respectively to make equity considerations a fundamental part of the transportation planning process. Laura Barrett, National Policy Director for theTransportation Equity Network, discussed advocacy efforts at the national level — particularly around equitable stimulus spending.
For those of you who attended the session, we wanted to make sure that you don’t miss the first in a series of policy briefs from Transportation for America. This first brief (available for download now), Transportation and Social Equity: Opportunity Follows Mobility, covers three basic ideas:
- The current system is failing low income communities
- Transportation is at the center of opportunity.
- The nation’s transportation investments can be a powerful force for social and economic equity.
Download it now and feel free to pass it along to friends and colleagues. And be sure to join Transportation for America to help us tell Congress that our transportation investments should extend opportunity to all Americans — regardless of race, class, or gender.
Webinar resources:
- Audio and video recording of the entire webinar (click to launch in a new window)
- A summary of the questions asked and responses (Coming soon)
- T4 Policy Brief on Transportation and Social Equity (pdf)
- Register for more upcoming webinars
Webinars and town hall meetings: Deepen your engagement
March 26, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Congress will make significant investments in transportation this year — but where and how we choose to invest will have deep impacts on our housing and job markets, public health, energy needs, climate, economic competitiveness, and nearly every other pressing issue facing our country today.
To help explain these connections, we’re launching two initiatives — a series of webinars with top experts in the field and an ambitious national town hall program — to help you learn more about transportation’s effect on everyday issues and share your community’s vision for transportation with the campaign.
Town Hall Meetings
It’s time for a new, 21st-Century vision for transportation that will be safer, healthier, cleaner, more equitable and smarter so that our nation can compete and thrive in the future economy. It’s time to leave behind our current, 1950s-era federal transportation program.
But we need you and your community to help us tell Congress and President Obama what America needs. We want to bring your voice, your vision for the future of transportation to them. We want to tell them about the projects you want in your town, your goals for community’s travel and living options, or your needs for getting employees and goods to your business.
To develop your community’s vision, hold a town hall or a simple house meeting in your community. Afterward, you can submit your community’s ideas to become part of the national vision for our new transportation in the 21st Century. We want to hear your voice — tell us what you want.
Soon, we’ll be launching a new town hall page that will make it easier to find a meeting near you or hold a meeting of your own in your community. And after meetings conclude, we’ll be posting and chronicling the ideas and vision generated from your meetings around the country to paint the picture of what America wants for our 21st Century transportation system.
Learn more about town hall meetings
Webinars
The first webinar, on Transportation and Social Equity, happened earlier this week, but there are at least five more happening soon.
The upcoming webinar (April 2) on Climate Change and Energy Security should be one of the most popular, with an outstanding panel of experts discussing how various modes of transportation impact our environment and energy security, and how our land-use patterns affect how much we drive and our air quality.
If you miss a webinar but still want to explore the issue, you’ll be able to read a summary, listen to the full audio, and most important of all, download a policy brief that gives a solid overview of the issue, sprinkled with great facts and data to illustrate the connections to transportation.
Check back soon with the webinars page below or here on the campaign blog for those materials as they are posted.
Learn more and register for a webinar
Today’s Headlines — 03/26/09
March 26, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority approves major fare increases and service reduction, which could cause some on Long Island to stop taking the bus. (New York Times)
- Gas prices begin a slow climb upward. (Wall Street Journal)
- Planetizen looks at what $1.3 billion in stimulus funding can do for Amtrak.
AARP joins Transportation for America
March 25, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
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| Photo courtesy of Dan Burden |
You might remember the headlines as the United States passed the 300 million mark in population just a few years ago. Sounds hard to believe, but we will reach the 400 million mark in population somewhere between 30 and 40 years from now. But did you know how much older America will be then? Nearly 1 in 5 Americans are expected to be over age 65 by the year 2030.
With our country becoming older, it is imperative that we think about transportation investments that will serve all Americans — not just the young or mobile.
Transportation for America is proud to announce that the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has joined the campaign as a partner, bringing their 40 million members into the fold, joining us to push for reforms to our federal transportation program. From their press release:
“AARP is delighted to join T4America, the Transportation for America Campaign, an impressive group of organizations, elected officials and businesses with the shared goal of building a modernized infrastructure to support livable communities where people can live, work and play. America is aging rapidly and transportation policy and spending must acknowledge this demographic shift. The upcoming transportation authorization can help the nation prepare both for its graying years and a greener future by making roads safer for drivers of all ages and also offering more user friendly options for pedestrians and transit users.
It’s worth noting that AARP is not all about retiring seniors. Around half of their 40 million members are still working.
Empty-nesters are growing in numbers, and more of them are seeking out places where they can live without driving constantly, while still having good access to culture and amenities.
And today, 1 in 5 Americans over age 65 either choose not to drive, or are unable to drive. 600,000 people over age 70 stop driving every year. 50 years ago, this perhaps wasn’t quite the barrier it is today because seniors lived in places where life as they know it did not have to end the moment they stopped driving.
With many retirees and seniors living in our auto-dependent suburbs of the last 50 years, how are they going to stay mobile and get where they need to go?
It is a big issue for AARP. They wrote a letter to Congressional leaders on behalf of their 40 million members last week asking Congress to draft a 2010 budget that can “promote livable communities” through smarter transportation spending, with a special call to support the Complete Streets legislation currently in the House and Senate.
It has become clear that our nation can no longer rely solely on gasoline taxes to fund both needed repairs to our aging highways and bridges while providing for expanded and more energy-efficient mobility options. Regardless of the approach Congress selects to fund future transportation spending, we urge that significant funds be targeted to expand our nation’s public transportation systems, expand paratransit programs and services for special needs and rural populations, and promote use of safety design features that can make our roads and intersections safer for drivers and pedestrians. We also urge the adoption of Complete Streets policies to make our streets safe and convenient for users of all ages and abilities regardless of mode of travel.
We welcome AARP to the coalition as we work together to create a 21st Century transportation system for all Americans.
Resources:
- Read their press release
- Read their letter to Congress (3.1 mb pdf)
- Tell Congress to support Complete Streets Legislation
Today’s Headlines — 03/25/09
March 25, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- While legislators in Albany debate funding plans, transit riders in New York City ready for painful service cuts and fare increases. (New York Times)
- Residents in North Carolina signal possible support for a sales tax increase to fund better transit. (Triangle Business Journal)
- As the U.S. slowly works to improve its passenger rail system, Japan blazes ahead with a planned 310 mph train. (Los Angeles Times)
- Transit-oriented development carves out a new path in New Haven. (New York Times)
Today’s Headlines 03/23/09
March 23, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- Association of American Railroads CEO Ed Hamberger writes about the potential benefits of shifting freight traffic from highway to rail. (Washington Post)
- Planned stimulus spending in Texas could usher in new sprawl outside of Houston. (New York Times)
- Transit agencies in New York and elsewhere face an unprecedented number of budget challenges. (Wall Street Journal)
Today’s Headlines — 03/20/09
March 20, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- U.S. News & World Report highlights the multitude of transit cutbacks happening across the country.
- U.S. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood chooses his words carefully when talking about the administration’s policies on transportation issues. (New York Times)
- LaHood and U.S. Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan announce a new partnership between their departments aimed at better integrating housing and transportation and creating more livable communities. (Streetsblog)
U.S. Transportation and Housing Secretaries testifying about livable communities today
March 18, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Updated: Read the DOT release following the hearing here.
We noticed an encouraging announcement from Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on his blog this morning, following on the heels of yesterday’s post highlighted on the Streetsblog Network. Yesterday he said “we are absolutely committed to more livable, sustainable communities by reducing congestion, by building housing near transit, by supporting all modes of transportation.”
Secretary LaHood will be testifying on Capitol Hill today with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan about a new joint effort that might put some legs to those values from yesterday’s post.
According to today’s posting on Secretary LaHood’s blog, the two of them will be unveiling an initiative to “revitalize our downtowns, foster walkable neighborhoods, and bring people, employers, and housing closer together through public transportation.”
It’s been encouraging to hear the “livability” buzzword coming from the transportation department on a regular basis — not to mention as a centerpiece of President Obama’s platform. Of course, realizing this quality of “livability” in our communities will require significant changes in transportation spending, underscoring the importance of this year’s transportation bill before Congress. Because “livable communities” are not what we’ll get if we do exactly what we’ve done for the last 50 years.
From the rest of his post:
Fostering livable communities is a key aspect of President Obama’s urban policy agenda and Vice President Biden’s Middle Class initiative. The way we design our communities has a huge impact on our citizens’ social, physical, and economic wellbeing. Yet many Americans live in neighborhoods without sidewalks or access to public transportation.
Therefore, one of my highest priorities is to work closely with Congress, other Federal departments, the nation’s governors, and local officials to help promote more livable communities through sustainable surface transportation programs. By focusing on livability, we can help transform the way transportation serves the American people—and create safer, healthier communities that provide access to economic opportunities.
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- Obama’s 2011 budget gives a lift to livability and transportation
February 2, 2010 - President Obama hails high-speed rail as “the infrastructure of tomorrow”
January 28, 2010 - High speed rail grantees awarded, was your state included?
January 28, 2010 - Building America’s Future brings bipartisanship to rebuilding the country
January 21, 2010 - Cleaner buses can create jobs, improve the environment
January 14, 2010
- Obama’s 2011 budget gives a lift to livability and transportation
The United States of Transit Cutbacks
Driving is down and transit ridership is at record highs. Yet transit agencies across the country are considering layoffs, service cuts and fare hikes. Find out more and learn what you can do to help at t4america.org/transitcuts
Transportation: In your eyes
Send us your transportation-related photos.
