All posts from the month of September 2010
Congessman Elijah Cummings fires up crowd at last night’s Equity Caucus launch
September 30, 2010By Sean Barry
The Capitol Hill room was packed and the energy palpable at yesterday’s launch of the Equity Caucus at Transportation for America. Three members of Congress — Barbara Lee of California, Corrine Brown of Florida and keynote speaker Elijah Cummings of Maryland — joined a diverse crowd of advocates for equity from a variety of backgrounds and organizations to talk about transportation, a “21st Century civil rights issue,” as described by PolicyLink President Judith Bell.
The Equity Caucus was formed to stress transportation’s role as a crucial link to ensuring opportunity for all, and recognizing that the choices made in Washington about what to build and where have an enormous impact on people’s health, employment and quality of life. Some of the nation’s leading civil rights, community development, faith-based, labor and transportation organization that are part of the caucus were represented at last night’s event, from groups like The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.
In his keynote address, Cummings — tired from a long day of votes on the House floor, but still fired up — praised the wide-ranging participants in the caucus.
“I’ve often said our diversity isn’t our problem, our diversity is our promise,” he said.
Cummings, who was introduced by two pastors from his Maryland district, singled out access to transportation as a crucial quality of life issue to his Baltimore constituents, and the difference between working and not working for many.
“A lot of people in my district — they could get a job, but they couldn’t get to the job,” Cummings said, adding that transportation is a vital link for all aspects of life. His constituents in Baltimore are “not necessarily trying to get to Disneyworld, they’re just trying to get to the local park.”
Gesturing to a childhood friend who was in the audience, Cummings noted that Baltimore’s bus system was crucial to his and his friend’s own success growing up by allowing them to access a better education, and the bus helped Cummings’ mother get to work and support her family as well. Getting transportation policy right is important, he said, even though most who benefit are people we will never meet.
Tom Woodruff, international executive vice president at SEIU and a leader in the Change to Win coalition, noted that “so many workers when they go to work rely on public transportation.” Woodruff also put equity in a startling context — the fact that United States is the richest nation in the world, but one-fifth of our residents are living in poverty. In addition to helping people get to their jobs, investments in transportation also have the potential to put tens of thousands to work at decent wages and good benefits.
Congresswoman Lee, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she would push for a transportation bill that promotes livable communities and is a “pathway out of poverty” for millions of Americans,and Florida’s Brown noted flawed arguments that public transit should pay for itself when “no transportation anywhere in the world pays for itself,” including road and highway projects.
Today’s Headlines – 9/30/10
September 30, 2010By Transportation for America
Current road and highway investments use misleading measurements and often makes things worse, according to a CEOs for Cities report. (Infrastructurist)
Portland Congressman Earl Blumenauer discusses livable communities. (Grist)
Urban studies theorist Richard Florida echoed critics of Detroit-like demolitions of inner-city buildings. (NRDC Blog)
Pennsylvania Avenue, America’s Main Street, has bike lanes but a dearth of racks. (Wa City Paper)
And, transporting Montanans in the future will require more than roads and bridges, the Billings Gazette editorialized. (Gazette)
New coalition launches to press for a transportation system that works for all Americans
September 29, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
We don’t often think about it and usually take it for granted but our transportation system is what connects all of us to our daily lives.
It connects us to schools, housing, health care, grocery stores, and most importantly, jobs. But millions of poor people and people of color live in communities where quality transportation options are unaffordable, unreliable, or just totally nonexistent. We believe this fact must change.
America should a place where everyone has access to opportunity, where everyone can get to work or a grocery store without breaking the bank or enduring long, brutal commutes. Everyone should have access to a variety of transportation options. The air should be clean and the streets safe for everyone, no matter their zip code, income level or skin color.
Isn’t America supposed to be the land of opportunity?
Today, Transportation for America is proud to join the nation’s leading civil rights, community development, racial justice, economic justice, faith-based, health, housing, labor, environmental justice, tribal, and transportation organizations to launch the Equity Caucus at Transportation for America.
Join us to take a stand for transportation policies that advance economic and social equity in America. Sign the transportation equity pledge.
Each year, the United States spends hundreds of billions of dollars on transportation projects. What we build, where we put it, who builds it, how we operate it, what energy powers it — all of these decisions have an enormous impact on our communities, economy, health, and climate. Today our investments have left many Americans behind.
We’re calling for transportation policies that build a nation where all people can participate and prosper. Together, we endorse these simple 4 steps toward making our transportation system work for everyone:
- Create affordable transportation options for all people.
- Ensure fair access to quality jobs, workforce development, and contracting opportunities in the transportation industry.
- Promote healthy, safe, and inclusive communities.
- Invest equitably and focus on results.
Join us in calling for a new direction for our nation’s transportation policy – one that ensures everyone participates and prospers. Sign the pledge and become part of the growing coalition of people fighting for transportation justice across the country.
Once a critic, now a supporter, Ohio Rep. helps make complete streets bill bipartisan
September 29, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) probably learned the hard way earlier this year that safe, accessible streets for bikers, walkers and all users don’t tend to have any party affiliation, and he is to be commended for proving his support for complete streets by signing onto the House complete streets bill last week, becoming its first Republican cosponsor.
On behalf of our thousands of supporters from communities across the country who think that it’s important that our transportation network be safe and usable by everyone, we’d like to thank Rep. LaTourette for signing on to the Complete Streets Act of 2009, making the bill bipartisan in the House. He joins sixty other co-sponsors in supporting good transportation planning practices that ensure that the safety of everyone using the road will be taken into account – whether they are driving, bicycling, walking, or catching the train or bus.
For some strange reason at the federal level, complete streets have been unfortunately maligned as a partisan issue, with Republicans in Congress hesitant to formally support the principles in a bill, resulting in the strange dynamic of Congress being far behind the curve of their state and local counterparts where politicians and leaders of all stripes have supported complete streets from the state level on down to the big city, metro area, county and small town — no matter their party affiliation.
“With 23 states and more than 140 local governments adopting Complete Streets policies, it has become clear that this is not a partisan issue – and that this is a change in transportation priorities that Americans want to see nationwide,” said Barbara McCann, Executive Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition.
 |
| Charlotte Complete Streets-East Boulevard Originally uploaded by Complete Streets to Flickr. |
| Before its road diet, Charlotte’s East Boulevard was a four-lane, undivided road, that carried over 20,000 per day! Now, East Blvd–with its bike lanes, center turn lane, and curb ramps — is a complete street. Photo: Charmeck.org |
We’d certainly like to hope that Rep. LaTourette’s signature on the bill — a product of responding to the voice of his local constituents — will open the floodgates for more House Republicans to support a bill and an idea that has broad support across the country in the local areas they represent. We’re sure there are dozens of House Republicans who are supportive of this idea but have been hesitant to be the only member of their party on the bill at such a polarized time in D.C.
When Rep. LaTourette made his comments back in April of this year about biking and walking to Secretary LaHood in a hearing, he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of comments from residents of his district who agreed with the Secretary that it was high time to treat biking and walking as legitimate and equal forms of transportation.
So local advocates from Walk and Roll Cleveland worked with Mr. LaTourette to bring him on board, sharing information with him about the economic benefits of building infrastructure to serve bicyclists and pedestrians and local bicycle shop owners also visited him. It certainly didn’t hurt that the Ohio Department of Transportation has been showing interest in developing a statewide policy, according to the folks at the National Complete Streets Coalition, or that Cleveland’s metropolitan planning organization adopted a policy 7 years ago.
Members of the National Complete Streets Coalition were pleased with the development.
“In signing on to the Complete Streets bill, Rep. LaTourette has started what could become a significant step toward safer more user-friendly streets for everyone, whether they walk, drive or ride,” said AARP Senior VP for Government Relations and Advocacy David Sloane. “Many Ohioans have seen the benefits of Complete Streets policies in their hometowns; AARP looks forward to the rest of the nation sharing that opportunity.”
Are you represented by someone who hasn’t yet signed onto the Complete Streets Act of 2009? Follow the lead of these Ohio advocates and start calling your representative and organizing meetings to help them see that this idea has broad support back home where their votes are.
Being able to use a street safely — no matter your age, ability or mode of transport — isn’t a partisan idea. Help get that message across in Washington.
Learn more from the National Complete Streets Coalition.
Today’s Headlines – 9/29/10
September 29, 2010By Transportation for America
President Obama said he will push for climate legislation in 2011, conceding that it may have to happen “in chunks.” (Politico)
Health advocates are urging the EPA to move ahead with greenhouse gas reductions. (Hill)
Amtrak presented its vision for a $117 billion, 30-year high-speed corridor along the East Coast. (AP)
With support from Ohio Republican Steve LaTourette, the Complete Streets Act is now a bipartisan bill. (Bike League)
And, next year’s new and returning governors will need a plan for growth. (TNR)
Today’s Headlines – 9/28/10
September 28, 2010By Transportation for America
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vehemently defended California’s sweeping climate law. (Chronicle)
T4 America’s co-chair John Robert Smith discussed transportation challenges with Montana Public Radio. (MPR)
True energy reform means putting a price on carbon, says Delaware Senator Ted Kaufman. (Grist)
Michigan’s leading candidate for governor ruled out a gas tax increase. (Detroit News)
And, Texas gubernatorial candidate Bill White called for greater transit and housing options. (Mother Jones)
Today’s Headlines – 9/27/10
September 27, 2010By Transportation for America
Transportation is at the top of the agenda at this year’s US Conference of Mayors. (DOT Blog)
Road fatigue is a danger in need of increased attention. (WP)
The American Highway Users Alliance thinks roads should be more “forgiving” of distracted driving. (Streetsblog)
Dallas’ transit system is selling $729 million in bonds to expand its bus and rail system. (Bloomberg)
And, good design often decides whether people choose transit over their cars. (NRDC Blog)
DOT poised to move on a long-term transportation bill in 2011?
September 24, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
When President Obama made his announcement on Labor Day about investing in infrastructure, most media outlets focused in directly on the $50 billion amount that would be spent up front to jumpstart infrastructure investment — something we already noted last week. But he also talked about the need for a reformed long-term transportation reauthorization, the full six-year bill that would provide certainty for job creation and the economy.
Here’s a quote from the release that accompanied the President’s speech:
The President proposes to pair this with a long-term framework to reform and expand our nation’s investment in transportation infrastructure. Since the end of last year, when the last long-term surface transportation legislation expired, these investments have been continued on a temporary basis, even as the trust fund to finance them has fallen into insolvency. If we are to enjoy the benefits that come from a world-class transportation system, Congress must enact a long-term reauthorization that expands and reforms our infrastructure investments and returns the transportation trust fund to solvency.
So the million dollar question has been, when will we see this bill? With Congress unlikely to pass anything of substance between now and the election and an already full docket for the likely lame duck session to follow, what is the administration or USDOT saying about moving a bill forward?
As much progress as has been made by the House transportation committee thus far, introducing a full bill proposal all the way back in July of 2009, both chambers have been waiting for the White House to declare the transportation bill a priority and to put their significant weight behind it. Now it sounds like that day could be just a few months away.
In a meeting with advocates this week, Secretary LaHood said that they have the go-ahead from the White House to move a six year bill in 2011, with a full proposal accompanying the President’s budget request for FY12 in February, according to USDOT sources.
The question remains as to whether or not that will be a full bill, or merely the administration’s principles for a bill, but in either case, this is at least a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel for our long wait for a transformational transportation bill. Which, we remind you, expired one year ago in just a few days. (See the clock above on our web site.)
Today’s Headlines – 9/24/10
September 24, 2010By Transportation for America
President Obama’s high-speed rail plan is riding on the result of several gubernatorial races this fall. (AP)
Transit ridership is up for the first time since 2008. (Transp Nation)
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood discussed how community college changed his life. (DOT Blog)
T4 America co-chair John Robert Smith stressed rural transportation needs during an appearance in Billings, Montana. (Billings Gazette)
Congress may pass a scaled-down energy bill. (Politico)
And, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa is continuing to push the forward-looking 30/10 transit plan. (Reuters)
Diane Rehm Show considers “Creating Livable Cities”
September 23, 2010By Sean Barry
|
| Charlotte Complete Streets-East Boulevard Originally uploaded by Complete Streets to Flickr. |
| Before its road diet, Charlotte’s East Boulevard was a four-lane, undivided road, that carried over 20,000 per day! Now, East Blvd–with its bike lanes, center turn lane, and curb ramps–is a complete street. Photo: Charmeck.org |
The Diane Rehm show, which regularly receives more than 2.1 million listeners on its home of Washington-based NPR affiliate WAMU, tackled the topic of “Creating Livable Cities” during last Thursday’s broadcast.
Rehm was also joined by, among others, Barbara McCann, the director of the National Complete Streets Coalition. McCann noted that 23 states and 137 local jurisdictions across the country have adopted Complete Streets policies to turn the tide on the outdated single-minded approach to road construction that meets the needs of only those behind the wheel.
Describing some of the roadblocks to making America’s streets accessible to all users, McCann said it “varies by city.”
In some places, it’s just a doubt that anyone will do anything other than drive in places where driving is the only way people generally get around. Many sunbelt cities that grew up only with the car. Other places there’s a real debate about who gets the road space and the allocation of space beyond the automobile. And in other places, they have questions about costs. But in every community that’s moving forward on this, they really embrace the vision of wanting to do things differently. They accept that it’s going to take awhile and then they start to reap the benefits.
On the political front, former Pittsburgh mayor Tom Murphy noted that too often “people are locked in the status quo.” Part of that status quo is embedded in decades-old zoning laws that strictly separate where people live, work and shop. Those rules — sprawling residential areas with auto-oriented commercial growth on the fringe — are the norm for many metropolitan areas, but “cities increasingly now are changing the rules,” Murphy noted, citing suburban Bethesda near Washington, D.C., as a “great example” and a “place where you can live, work and play and you got good transit.”
So where does this leave us politically, and how does the advocacy work of folks like the Complete Streets coalition tie in? Murphy said the Obama administration is “grappling” with these issues in the course of working through infrastructure legislation. At stake in the next transportation bill are the severely limited funds that do go toward biking and walking, with some groups wanting to direct all funding away from these projects.
The transportation lobby wants to take all that money back to build more roads. And so there’s a huge battle that goes on that really begins the drive the conversation all over the country.
Unfortunately for them, making streets safe and accessible for all users is popular from coast to coast in cities and towns of all sizes.
You can read the entire transcript or listen to the broadcast here.
-
- 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 - House Ways and Means proposal to end guaranteed funding for public transportation undoes bipartisan agreement since Reagan
February 2, 2012 - Pedestrian deaths, blaming the victim: headphones edition
January 19, 2012
- House committee ignores broad opposition, decimates transit funding anyway
Connect with T4 America
Interactive Features and Reports
T4 America on Twitter
