All posts from the month of June 2009
Transportation for America applauds new inter-agency effort to connect transportation, housing affordability, and livability
June 17, 2009By Transportation for America
| CONTACT: Ben Grossman-Cohen 202-478-6185 bgrossman-cohen@mrss.com |
| Download: .pdf .doc |
Washington, D.C. — In a bid to ensure that environmental policy helps, and does not hinder, efforts to make our communities more livable, affordable and convenient, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has joined an unusual partnership with the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The move, announced Tuesday by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, is intended to “help American families … gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs,” and protect the environment along the way, according to an EPA statement.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson joined HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and DOT Secretary Ray LaHood before the Senate Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee Tuesday to testify about their joint Partnership for Sustainable Communities, an initiative to bridge inter-agency boundaries that sometimes impede progress.
Jackson told the committee that it makes sense for these three agencies to work together:
“Where you live affects how you get around, and how you get around often affects where you live. Both decisions affect our environment. Working together rather than independently, our three agencies can improve the environment, the transportation system, and homes and communities throughout the United States.”
“We’re encouraged to see these agencies working together to lead the way in meeting these national challenges head on,” said T4 America Director James Corless. “We all know that we can’t address climate change, dependence on oil, housing affordability or access to transportation choices independently. These issues are inextricably connected — and any effective solutions must be evaluated comprehensively and dealt with holistically.”
Daily Headlines — 06/17/09
June 17, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- The U.S. House prepares to release the transportation bill in the coming weeks, but legislators have little consensus how to finance the next six years of projects. (Wall Street Journal)
- Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN) looks to create “transit equity” in the new transportation authorization by adding more balance to the funding formulas for highways and public transportation. (BNET)
- A new federal provision would give transit agencies some relief for ballooning operating expenses. (New York Times)
- Virginia takes it sweet time in requesting stimulus funds for transportation projects. (Washington Post)
- Transit access could make Tyson’s Corner, outside Washington DC, from a sprawling center of employment to a walkable, convenient destination. (Time)
Planning for the future: Washington’s new Woodrow Wilson Bridge
June 17, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
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| A New Trail Originally uploaded by M.V. Jantzen. A bicyclist cruises along I-495/95 on the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge “active transportation lane,” leading to the rare sight of someone not in a car using the Capital Beltway. View more photos of the opening on Flickr from Eric Gilliland, director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (a T4 partner.) |
Two weekends ago, the 12-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian lane of the Woodrow Wilson interstate bridge over the Potomac River held its grand opening in Washington DC, filling with bikers and walkers who can now join the thousands of cars that cross the bridge each day.
The bridge, which connects Virginia and Maryland on the southern part of the Capital Beltway, is a vital transportation link in the region, where Interstate 95 (and the large majority of truck traffic) bypasses Washington, continuing north or south along the eastern seaboard.
Hundreds of bicyclists enjoyed a ride across the bridge for the first time ever last weekend, and the renovations to the bridge also added dedicated space for a future transit line — not something you see everyday on an interstate bridge in the United States.
Building a new bridge to replace the 1961 bridge had been discussed for decades, but the planning kicked into high gear in the 1990’s, with Maryland, Virginia, and the federal government all engaged in the process (DC relinquished control to the states.)
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| The King Street (Virginia) and Branch Avenue (Maryland) Metro stops are separated by just a few miles and the Potomac River, but require a long ride into DC to travel between the two on the Metrorail system. One day, Metro might cross the Wilson Bridge instead. |
Looking at a map of the Metrorail public transportation system, one can see that only a few miles separate the end of the green line in Maryland and the yellow and blue lines in Virginia. There was no active work to connect the two lines, but a handful of people in the planning process wondered about dedicating some space on the bridge for a future, useful Metro connection.
Parris Glendening, Governor of Maryland from 1995-2003, said that planning for a future transit connection was just common sense.
“Those stations are just a few miles apart as the crow flies, but no one in Maryland who has a choice is going to ride all the way up into DC to switch trains and ride all the way back out to Virginia — and end up only a few miles from where they started,” he said.
(Continue Reading)
Updated news on the transportation bill outline release
June 16, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
After much back-and-forth on times and dates today, we think this information is pretty solid: Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar is holding an invitation-only press conference Wednesday, June 17th at 11 a.m. to talk with invited media outlets about the white paper and outline for the upcoming transportation bill.
24 hours later, on Thursday, June 18th at 11 a.m., he’s going to hold an open press conference (we’ll be there) to do the same thing all over again with everyone else.
We have heard that Chairman Oberstar is releasing a 12-page paper and a 100-page outline of the bill over the next two days and it’s likely that at least one of those — probably the shorter white paper — will be released Wednesday at 11 a.m for the first briefing.
As always, check in with our Twitter feed @T4America for the most up-to-the-minute news.
Despite new challenges, Americans continue flocking to public transportation
June 16, 2009By Andrew Bielak
This week, the American Public Transportation Association released their ridership numbers for the first quarter (January through March) of 2009, and confirmed something that we’ve been suspecting: Despite facing a dismal economy, deep cuts in service, and painful fare increases, Americans are continuing to use public transportation in near record numbers.
As we’ve been documenting on our transit cuts page and interactive map, nearly 100 transit agencies have already cut service, raised fares, laid off workers — or are considering cuts of some kind to cope with the severe budget crises facing counties, towns and cities across the country. Nevertheless, as the new report from APTA shows, total ridership reached 2.6 million in the first three months of 2009 — nearly matching last year’s record numbers — and proving that public transportation is critical to American’s livelihood, even if it has become less accessible and affordable for many.
While these cutbacks have caused many agencies to lose some riders, many others are doing more than just hanging on in these tough times:
- King County Department of Transportation in Seattle reported a 16.8% increase in light rail ridership, despite increasing fares earlier this year.
- The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston logged a 5.4% increase in ridership on its commuter rail system, in spite of a budget crisis that is prompting talks of a 15 to 20% fare increase, along with service cuts.
- The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System experienced a 5.3% jump in ridership on its bus system, despite eliminating numerous bus routes and cutting others earlier this year.
While this crisis is causing extreme hardship for many agencies, most of them (specifically, those that service metro areas with more than 200,000 people) are not allowed to use federal dollars to help run their buses and rail systems. Congress recently approved legislation that allows 10 percent of the stimulus funds to be used on operating assistance, but this will not continue once those recovery funds run out.
U.S. Representative Russ Carnahan of St. Louis — one of the cities hardest hit by transit cuts — is sponsoring a bill that would allow transit agencies to plug the holes in their operating budgets with federal dollars on a permanent basis. Let’s make sure we get behind Rep. Carnahan and the others are working to rebuild our economy with a revitalized transportation system.
Today’s Headlines — 06/16/09
June 16, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- The Baltimore Sun editorial board calls for a fresh start for our transportation system.
- Train executives see the link between climate change, energy, and transportation. (CNN)
- Zipcar founder Robin Chase speaks about ride sharing, transportation costs, and infrastructure. (Infrastructurist)
- A look at the worst cities for angry drivers. (Reuters)
What do Americans really think about spending on transportation?
June 15, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Parade Magazine has an article about transportation up on their website that includes an online poll. They question asks readers, “should America divert some funding from highways and bridges to invest in public transit?”
There are many problems with this question, but even with the false framing of this debate, results are currently split near the 50/50 mark. The most glaring issue with the poll is that it makes it seem 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.
Spending money on public transportation or other transportation options won’t prevent us from repairing and maintaining our existing roads and bridges. In fact, our roads and bridges aren’t in poor shape because we don’t spend enough on roads overall — it’s because we’ve neglected to maintain our existing roadways and instead spent taxpayer dollars on more new roads and highways, whether or not these were the best investments of our transportation dollars
Regardless of where we’ve spent money in the past or “what we used to do,” people are ready for something different.
Rather than asking Americans if we should “take” money from roads, what happens when you ask Americans a more basic questions: “Where should we spend our transportation money?”
Earlier this year, Transportation for America and the National Association of Realtors did just that in our own poll. (Background on the poll here and here). The bottom line? An overwhelming majority of Americans believe restoring existing roads and bridges and expanding transportation options should take precedence over road-building alone.
Given that the U.S. population will increase by one-hundred million people by 2050, which of the following transportation approaches do you prefer to accommodate this growth?
| Build and improve rail systems, such as commuter rail, light rail, and subways | Build new highways and freeways | Not sure |
| 75% | 20% | 5% |
I’m going to mention types of transportation, and I’d like you to tell me which one or two you think are not getting enough attention and emphasis from the federal government.
| Trains or light rail systems | Roads | Buses | Bike paths or trails | Sidewalks | None | Not sure |
| 56% | 27% | 21% | 15% | 14% | 2% | 3% |
Many communities experience traffic congestion. I’m going to read you two statements about traffic congestion and I’d like you to tell me which of these is closer to your view: A) Some people say that we need to build more roads and expand existing roads to help reduce traffic congestion. B) Some people say that we need to improve public transportation, including trains and buses, and make it easier to walk and bike to help reduce traffic congestion. Which of these is closer to your view?
| Improve public transportation | Build more roads and expand existing roads | Not sure |
| 67% | 27% | 6% |
Which of the following proposals is the best long-term solution to reducing traffic in your area?
| Improving public transportation | Developing communities where people do not have to drive as much | Building new roads | Not sure |
| 47% | 25% | 20% | 8% |
As the federal government makes its plans for transportation funding in 2009, which ONE of the following should be the top priority?
| Maintaining and repairing roads, highways, freeways and bridges | Expanding and improving bus, rail, and other public transportation | Expanding and improving roads, highways, freeways and bridges | Not sure |
| 50% | 31% | 16% | 3% |
Rep. Oberstar releasing outline of transportation bill Wednesday
June 15, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
This just in. From a press advisory we received:
T&I Chairman to Release Blueprint for New Transportation Authorization Bill 6/17
WASHINGTON — 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.
The authorization bill is currently being drafted and will replace the current authorization, SAFETEA-LU, which is due to expire on September 30. Oberstar has promised that the new authorization will transform the way the federal government invests highway, safety, and transit funds.
WHO: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar (Minn.)
WHAT: News Conference to release blueprint for new surface transportation authorization bill
WHEN: Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: Room 2167, Rayburn House Office Building, Independence Ave. at South Capitol St. S.W., Washington, D.C.
Today’s Headlines — 06/15/09
June 15, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- New York Times takes an in-depth look at California’s complex plan for high-speed rail…
- …And talks to DOT Secretary Ray LaHood about helping Americans drive less and creating livable communities.
- Domestic and international flights dropped by 9.1 percent from March 2008 to March 2009. (Streetsblog SF)
- Officials in Los Angeles County consider implementing congestion pricing to manage traffic and pay for transportation projects. (Los Angeles Times)
Today’s Headlines — 06/12/09
June 12, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- Boston’s Metropolitan Area Planning Council unveils a new plan for smarter development. (Boston Globe)
- Gas prices reach an eight-month high. (USA Today)
- The Energy Information Administration projects a steep drop in oil output around the world. (Grist)
- Transportation and housing costs for families can’t be disentangled. (Arizona Daily Star)
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- Saving a transit system and turning the tide for the future of a mid-sized city
May 15, 2012 - U.S. communities step up, hoping a strong federal commitment to infrastructure will follow
May 10, 2012 - Graphic: A closer look at the Senate MAP-21 vote by state
March 27, 2012 - Fixing the House bill: Cutting regulatory burdens and bureaucracy
March 15, 2012 - Fixing the House bill: reducing air pollution by providing more travel options
March 13, 2012
- Saving a transit system and turning the tide for the future of a mid-sized city
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