All posts from the month of September 2009
Today’s Headlines – 9/23/09
September 23, 2009By Transportation for America
The proposed three-month extension of the transportation bill is headed for a full House vote later today. (Streetsblog)
Creigh Deeds, Virginia’s Democratic nominee for Governor, laid out a comprehensive transportation plan that includes high-speed rail, bus rapid transit and smarter land-use policies. (Washington Post)
Deeds’ Republican opponent Bob McDonnell has expressed only token support for additional transit choices and refuses to consider new revenues. (Fairfax Times)
Iowa Governor Chet Culver will conduct a whistle-stop tour in southern Iowa today to promote federal stimulus spending on passenger rail. (Des Moines Register)
Local planners contemplate modest changes in zoning and building height to liven up a sleepy Northern California suburb. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Using some creativity to get around in Atlanta today
September 22, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
You’ve likely seen the news coverage out of Atlanta yesterday and today, where torrential rainfalls over the last week resulted in massive flooding in Atlanta and surrounding counties. A couple of enterprising folks made the best of the disastrous situation, finding another mode of transportation for getting around. This is the Krog Tunnel that runs under the CSX railroad tracks just east of downtown Atlanta. And it normally looks like this.
Wow.
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| 1200IMG_8209 Originally uploaded by Caroline E Smith |
| Krog Tunnel in Atlanta, GA |
Obama cites transportation’s role in greenhouse gas reduction at UN Climate Change Summit
September 22, 2009By Sean Barry
President Barack Obama stressed changes in transportation emissions at the UN climate change summit today.
“We’ve proposed the very first national policy aimed at both increasing fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gas pollution for all new cars and trucks — a standard that will also save consumers money and our nation oil,” Obama said.
The Obama administration should be commended for its bold action on new fuel economy standards for all American cars and trucks. But his transportation policy needs to be even bolder. Americans are yearning for new choices that relieve them at the pump and get them off of our clogged highways. While a measly one percent of the House climate change bill is allocated toward clean transit, Obama has the opportunity to make a strong stand for additional funds in the Senate version.
Obama concluded his remarks by calling for practical solutions and a willingness to put the needs of future generations over the quick-fixes of today.
“For if we are flexible and pragmatic, if we can resolve to work tirelessly in common effort, then we will achieve our common purpose: a world that is safer, cleaner, and healthier than the one we found; and a future that is worthy of our children,” he said.
Today’s Headlines – 9/22/09
September 22, 2009By Transportation for America
Census shows fewer Americans drove to work alone last year. (New York Times)
Americans are taking advantage of the “cash for clunkers” program to trade in their trucks and SUVs (Detroit Free Press)
Arlington (VA) has secured $1.5 million in stimulus funds to buy hybrid buses, upgrading from a diesel-powered fleet. (Washington Business Journal)
Southern California transit officials are stressing the need for additional transit options to reduce congestion. (Press-Enterprise)
Tell Congress to make a historic investment in high speed rail
September 22, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Congress is heading towards a decisive, historic moment on investing in high speed rail for America. But the outcome is far from certain.
In the next few weeks, Congress will decide whether or not to give the Department of Transportation $1.2 billion or $4 billion on high speed rail for the next year. $8 billion was allocated for planning and implementing clean, efficient, high speed train travel in the economic stimulus earlier this year, and with another $4 billion, we’d be making a historic $12 billion investment in high speed rail to help us move into the 21st century, unclog our congested airports and airspace, and provide a new clean, efficient alternative for speedy travel between major metro areas.
Sometime in the next week or two, Congress will decide whether or not to give DOT the amount in the House version of the bill ($4 billion), or the Senate version ($1.2 billion).
Tell Congress to keep $4 billion in the bill at www.fourbillion.com
Transportation for America is partnering with U.S. PIRG, Virginians for High Speed Rail, and the Midwest High Speed Rail Association to send a message to Congress that now is the time to make a historic investment in high speed rail.
Want the wonky details? As you may remember, the Senate passed the bill that funds the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development last week. The bill that passed last week is what’s known as a (yearly) appropriations bill, where the budget for the department and the programs are finalized and officially given their money by Congress. The House passed their version of the DOT/HUD funding bill several weeks ago, so the differences between the two bills will be ironed out in a conference committee very soon. The House and the Senate will select conferees to reconcile the two versions of the bill, before sending a final bill back to the House and Senate for a last vote and then to President Obama’s desk.
Let’s tell them to send the president a bill with $4 billion for high speed rail.
Post this action on Twitter, or with other tools via the button below.
Help prevent cuts to high-speed rail funding
September 16, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
UPDATE: Victory! For whatever reason, Sen. Bond decided not to offer his amendment and it will not come to the floor for a vote. Thanks to all of you who took action by writing or calling your Senators.
In the last 24 hours we beat back a dangerous anti-bike/ped amendment from Senator Coburn. Now we hear that Senator Kit Bond of Missouri will make a desperate attempt to cut high-speed rail funding with yet another amendment to the HUD/DOT budget. We need to act fast — the vote is expected today.
We’re watching C-SPAN closely in the T4 America office as the Senate continues deliberating the Transportation and Housing budgets, considering amendments one at a time. The Senate can be a pretty wild place, with amendments popping up unexpectedly and without little notice.
Senate leadership wants to have this budget bill done by the end of the day, so if this amendment reaches the floor, they’ll vote on it today. Take action and tell your Senators to ensure that this vital funding for high speed rail stays intact.
Details on the anti-bike and ped amendments in the Senate
September 16, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
We wrote yesterday about dangerous amendments from Senators McCain and Coburn, asking you to take action to help preserve funding for desperately-needed bike and pedestrian facilities. We’re happy to report that Senator Coburn’s amendments were defeated today, preserving critical funding for bicycle and pedestrian facilities across the country. We thank you for taking the time to weigh in with your Senator. (The Coburn amendment failed to pass, garnering only 39 votes.)
The anti-bike and anti-pedestrian amendments Sen. Coburn offered would have allowed states to ignore a requirement (since 1991) in transportation law requiring states to spend 10% of their surface transportation budgets on what’s known as Transportation Enhancements (TE). Maybe that sounds like an unneccessary transport buzzword, so to simplify it somewhat, TE essentially covers the things that don’t fall under the much broader categories of highways or transit. TE includes things like bike trails, new sidewalks, complete streets, streetscape improvements, and converting abandoned rail corridors to rail-trails, among many others.
With that in mind, it was interesting to see how Senator Coburn characterized the amendment in the summary on Thomas:
To remove an unnecessary and burdensome mandate on the States, by allowing them to opt out of a provision that requires States to spend 10 percent of their surface transportation budgets on enhancement projects such as road-kill reduction and highway beautification.
So if you thought that TE funded things like the super popular Capital Crescent Trail in DC (used by commuters every day) or the Silver Comet Trail in Atlanta, Ga., you might be confused to read the summary and find out that it’s about “road-kill reduction.”
From our partners at Bikeleague.org, here’s a breakdown of the vote.
Democrats voting for Sen. Coburn amendment:
Klobuchar (MN)
Bayh (IN)
McCaskill (MO)
Feingold (WS)
Webb (VA)
Republicans voting against Sen. Coburn amendment:
Bond (MO)
Cochran (MS)
Voinovich (OH)
Collins (ME)
Murkowski (AK)
Snowe (ME)
Shelby (AL)
Take Action: Senators want to slash transit funding
September 15, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
As you may have read on Streetsblog yesterday, Senator John McCain has just proposed 20 amendments to a transportation funding bill that have one common theme: Breaking a federal promise to fund long-planned public transportation projects.
As one news report said, “McCain’s targets range from a light rail project in Sacramento, California to a bus-rapid-transit system in Washington state to a rail extension linking Washington, D.C. to Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia.” Other projects, both urban and rural, would be cut in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, North Carolina, and Utah.
Aside from one small, token bridge project, McCain’s hit list would leave billions in highway earmarks alone.
Senators are expected to vote TODAY on these amendments: Please write your senators now and tell them to vote NO on this assault on clean, oil-saving transportation projects – and to encourage their colleagues to do the same.
And that’s not the only threat.
Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma has proposed seven additional amendments to block the Department of Transportation from spending any money on clean transportation. Sen. Coburn would completely bar communities from using their federal funding to support bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
We have to stop this today: Tell your senators to vote against the McCain and Coburn amendments and stop this assault on communities that are building a transportation network for this century, rather than the last one.
Take action now, and share and post this action to your Facebook profile or your Twitter stream with the share button below.
What does a Colorado brewery have in common with T4 America?
September 2, 2009By Transportation for America
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| Bike Originally uploaded by Transportation for America |
| New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins Colorado encourages their employees to bike to work by providing ample parking and other incentives. |
Why is a craft beer brewing company hosting a T4 America town hall meeting on transportation?
Because our fine partners at New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado believe strongly in sustainable, people-powered transportation. (Check out their statements regarding sustainability.) New Belgium has a long track record of supporting bicycling, whether it’s their annual Tour De Fat festival (which sends all profits to environmental and bicycle advocacy groups), their employee bike parking (closer to the brewery and more plentiful than car parking), or their commitment to provide a fat-tire cruiser bike to every employee on their one year employment anniversary.
Earlier this year, New Belgium signed onto the Transportation for America campaign as a partner, and on August 18th, they hosted a town hall meeting on the topic of transportation.
New Belgium is bucking the conventional wisdom for a business in some ways. It’s much easier for a business to keep quiet on controversial issues of policy, fearing a hard stance might alienate customers, but New Belgium wears their sustainable, bike-oriented message on their sleeve, making it a part of their identity — and also a cornerstone of their success.
Read on for a summary of the Fort Collins town hall meeting.
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| Stephanie Originally uploaded by Transportation for America |
A brewery might not be the first place you’d expect to go to hear a lively, intellectual discussion between elected officials and their constituents about the future of transportation. But when the forum got cranked up, not even the Fat Tire Amber Ale, Mothership Wit Organic Wheat, or other unique brews being offered could divert the attendees’ focus from talking about the future of transportation in Northern Colorado and the rest of the state.
The broad interests represented by the event’s co-hosts — The Sonoran Institute, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Colorado Association of Transit Agencies, CoPIRG, LiveWell Colorado, New Belgium Brewery, and Transportation for America — blended a well-rounded, informative discussion.
Participants imagined what more efficient or high speed regional or national rail would do for Colorado’s economic competitiveness. Clear Creek County Commissioner Harry Dale referenced several feasibility studies to help participants envision connecting Wyoming and New Mexico via high-speed rail within Colorado’s I-25 corridor. State Representative Kefalas urged a more expansive vision to connect Colorado to a larger national system. He shared how his firsthand experience riding Germany’s expansive and efficient rail system helped him see the benefits of a regional — and national — network of rail.
The forum not only explored new transportation possibilities, but plans and legislation that are already underway. Participants were updated on the Mason Corridor, a five mile north-south dedicated byway exclusively for pedestrians, cyclists, and a bus rapid transit system (BRT) that will connect downtown Fort Collins with the thousands of people who attend or work at Colorado State University.
Carla Perez, Governor Bill Ritter’s transportation policy advisor, highlighted a recently-passed piece of legislation known as FASTER (Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation & Economic Recovery). FASTER is a funding plan that will generate approximately $250 million annually for transportation infrastructure and 10,000 jobs.
Kristin Kirkpatrick, a prevention specialist at the Coalition for Activity and Nutrition to Defeat Obesity, shared the startling statistic that while Colorado is one of the fittest states in the nation, it also has one of the fastest growing rates of obesity. She stressed the importance of making smart transportation investments that will help foster healthy lifestyles, echoed by State Representative Randy Fischer as he emphasized the link between transportation infrastructure and land use.
Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet’s district directors summarized the connections between Colorado’s state and federal policy agenda and gave some federal legislative updates.
At 8pm, when the forum officially ended, it was clear the event was a success. Captured by the discussion, most people, including several elected officials, stayed long after the forum concluded to continue exploring Colorado’s transportation future.
Our thanks to Sophie Glass from our partners at the Sonoran Institute for summarizing the event. Will Handsfield and Taylor Lavender from Transportation for America also contributed to this summary.
PBS Blueprint America looks at freight, rail, and trucks
September 1, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
PBS continued their excellent Blueprint America series with an episode on NOW last Friday night examining the issue of freight movement in America. Watch it below or over at the terrific Blueprint America site.
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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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