All posts from the month of March 2009
Today’s Headlines — 03/18/09
March 18, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- New York State leaders struggle to mount the political capital needed to support mass transit.
- Brookings Institution fellow and real estate expert Chris Leinberger lauds efforts being undertaken in Sacramento to revitalize communities with walkable, urban development. (Sacramento Bee)
- Transit riders across the Bay Area face the prospect of fare hikes. (San Francisco Examiner)
- The New York Times examines the costs of owning and operating a vehicle.
Today’s Headlines — 03/17/09
March 17, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- Detroit creeps closer to having a regional rail system. (Detroit Free Press)
- New York’s state legislature considers a short-term bailout of the beleaguered MTA. (New York Times)
- USA Today looks at how $8 billion included in the stimulus could help jumpstart a high-speed rail system.
- Struggling U.S. automakers are still looking to get more federal money. (Washington Post)
Today’s Headlines — 03/16/09
March 16, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- Transportation expert Daniel Sperling sees a future with a “richer menu of transportation options.” (Miami Herald)
- Washington Post columnist Fred Hiatt argues that a mileage tax is the most logical step for charging motorists for the roads they use.
- Road builders look to the stimulus to revive a struggling industry. (New York Times)
- Transportation secretary Ray LaHood offers some encouraging words for the nation’s cyclists. (U.S. DOT)
- A look at the potential to remake the American suburb. (Time)
- A new report shows that the presence of parks near homes encourages kids to walk more. (U.S. News and World Report)
Today’s Headlines — 03/13/09
March 13, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- The stimulus helps New York moves ahead on big, transformative transit projects. (USA Today)
- The New York Times looks at the increasing popularity of bus rapid transit.
- Experts say that the current low gas prices aren’t likely to last through the summer. (Reuters)
Congress takes a step towards “completing America’s streets”
March 12, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
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| Before and after of a complete street. Tell Congress to support complete streets. |
Did you know that almost half of all the trips we take each day are under three miles? So why aren’t more of us walking or biking for some of these shorter trips each day? Frankly, most of our streets just aren’t designed for safe and comfortable use by everyone — and almost all of us are pedestrians at some point during each day.
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.
Introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin in the Senate, and Rep. Doris Matsui in the House, these bills need our support — and more congressional sponsors. (Sen. Tom Carper and Rep. Ellen Tauscher, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and Rep. David Wu are the current co-sponsors.)
Complete streets make it possible for children to walk and bike to school safely, give seniors more security traveling to appointments, and provide everyone with safer, greener and more convenient ways of getting around without their cars.
Photos of La Jolla, California before and after by Dan Burden
For the last few years, local governments have been the ones leading the way. More than 80 state and local governments have passed ordinances mandating that new road construction provide a full menu of transportation options to meet the needs of everyone using the road. As you can see from the quote from Mayor Diaz in Miami at right, mayors — and the cities they lead — have seen and experienced the immeasurable benefit that complete streets provide for their communities.
Now we need Congress to take the next step.
| “Rates of childhood obesity have tripled in recent years, and mayors clearly understand that this is due in large part to the lack of a pedestrian infrastructure. In opening streets to multiple modes of transportation, we are enabling a more active lifestyle by providing the option to get out of cars. America’s mayors strongly endorse transportation policies that integrate transportation, energy, environmental and public health.” |
| – Mayor Manuel A. (Manny) Diaz, President, US Conference of Mayors, Miami |
With these bills in Congress, we have a chance right now to make sure our streets are safe and inviting for everyone who uses them — not just those driving cars.
The Complete Streets Act (H.R. 1443 and S. 584) would direct state and metropolitan transportation authorities to adopt and implement complete streets policies for upcoming federally-funded transportation projects.
Complete streets provide a full menu of transportation options to meet the needs of everyone using a road — pedestrians, cyclists, the disabled, and users of public transportation. They are cost-effective because they save money on retrofits and reduce congestion, improving conditions for existing businesses and attracting new development. They help us reduce our oil dependence by making it easier for people to leave their cars at home. And complete streets improve safety for everyone and encourage healthy and active lifestyles, saving all taxpayers money in future health care costs.
From the National Complete Streets Coalition release:
The gradual conversion to complete streets will reduce crashes, deaths, and injuries, particularly the almost 5,000 annual fatalities and 70,000 injuries among vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists, including older Americans and children. Studies have found that designing for pedestrians by installing raised medians and redesigning intersections and sidewalks reduces pedestrian risk by 28 to 40 percent, and some treatments reduce automobile crashes as well.
More resources:
» Press release from Rep. Matsui’s office.
» Press release from Sen. Harkin’s office.
» More about Complete Streets from T4 coalition member The National Complete Streets Coalition.
» Guest post from Barbara McCann with the CS Coalition at the Infrastructurist
» Read the press release from the National Complete Streets Coalition. (pdf)
» Questions? Ask away in the comments. Some experts might stop by to answer.
Today’s Headlines — 03/11/09
March 11, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- While bus ridership in Queens has increased by 28.4 percent over the last ten years, budget problems could usher in deep cuts in service. (New York Daily News)
- Conflicting needs and priorities put local and state officials at odds over transportation spending in the stimulus. (USA Today)
- Parade looks at the the challenges of keeping America’s aging infrastructure in good condition.
- A study from the Environmental Protection Agency shows new housing construction shifting towards urban areas. (USA Today)
Today’s Headlines — 03/10/09
March 10, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- Federal officials offer their full commitment to funding the Metro extension to Dulles Airport in Washington DC.
- Transportation and Infrastructure Chair James Oberstar endorses a gas tax increase and mileage tax. (New York Times)
- Stimulus funds for transit flow to states and cities. (Reuters)
- Atlanta’s MARTA records the biggest jump in ridership of any major transit system in the U.S. in 2008, while facing major service cuts in 2009.
Do you know how transportation policy affects housing? Oil? Climate? Economic opportunity?
March 9, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Here is your chance to find out.
Transportation is the second biggest federal discretionary spending category — second only to defense spending. Where and how we choose to invest in transportation 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.
Though these connections run deep, many Americans see transportation as a separate program existing on its own because the connections haven’t always been well understood or explained.
To better understand and examine these connections we will be holding a series of online discussions throughout March, April and May with several of our key partners. Hear from experts about how reforming federal transportation spending is connected to meeting our urgent national goals of reducing America’s oil dependency, helping the nation compete and thrive in the 21st century, and bringing opportunity to all Americans.
The first four sessions are open now, so visit the webinars page to see the list of sessions and sign up for one today. Open sessions include:
- Economic Opportunity
- Social Equity
- Climate Change and Energy Security
- Housing and Development
Today’s Headlines — 03/09/09
March 9, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- Public transportation ridership soared to new highs in 2008… (New York Times)
- … But with the national economy mired in recession, local transit agencies are facing a tough year ahead. (USA Today)
- President Obama looks to the future of transportation in the United States, with an eye on high-speed rail. (Washington Post)
- With stimulus dollars flowing to the states, the best potential use of transportation funds is, in many cases, still under debate. (Washington Post)
Transit reaches new heights in 2008
March 9, 2009By Andrew Bielak
 Minneapolis, MN light rail photo by Metro Transit |
For the millions of Americans who waited for a bus last year to find it filled to capacity or boarded the subway train and saw it packed with fellow commuters, one thing should come as no surprise: 2008 was an incredible year for public transportation.
The American Public Transportation Association now has the numbers to prove it, and if anyone is doubting that people across the country are looking for cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient ways to get around their communities, they should probably take a look at these figures:
- Americans took nearly 10.7 billion trips on public transportation in 2008, a four percent increase over 2007 and the highest level since 1956.
- Public transportation use increased 38 percent since 1995 — nearly triple the growth rate of the population of the United States.
- Total vehicle-miles traveled dropped in 2008 by 3.6 percent, according to the U.S. DOT.
Incredibly, these record numbers are being met with one trend at transit agencies across the country — service cuts, layoffs, and fare increases — that’s hitting Americans in their pocketbooks as they look to lead the way on creating a 21st century transportation program. When tied to our preferences for more and better options and recent growth in the urban cores of our large metropolitan regions, the surge in transit ridership should sends an overwhelmingly powerful message to Congress and the Obama Administration.
David Goldberg, the communications director for the Transportation for America campaign, gave us a clear idea of what that message should be in a statement to the New York Times:
“This is the leading edge,” Mr. Goldberg said, “of a continuing surge in demand for public transportation and more walkable neighborhoods as the population ages, convenience and access become more critical and gas prices remain volatile.”
While heightened investment in our transportation system is absolutely critical to help us rebuild our economy and our infrastructure, money alone will not solve our problems. We need a commitment — from Congress and the White House — to move beyond the current, 1950s-era federal transportation program and build an American transportation system that will help us compete and thrive today and tomorrow.
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- Oppose House bill that slashes public transit funding, falls short on repair and axes bike & pedestrian safety
February 7, 2012 - T4 coalition announces opposition to House energy and transportation bill
February 6, 2012 - House committee ignores broad opposition, decimates transit funding anyway
February 3, 2012 - Massive letter opposing House leadership attack on transit sent to Capitol Hill
February 3, 2012 - House leadership making unprecedented assault on public transit
February 2, 2012
- Oppose House bill that slashes public transit funding, falls short on repair and axes bike & pedestrian safety
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