T4America Blog

News, press releases and other updates

Celebrating 20 years of Complete Streets

A calm tree-lined street in Brooklyn, NY hosts one lane of car traffic, a bike lane, street parking, and a median to shorten the crosswalk distance for pedestrians.

The term “Complete Streets” was coined two decades ago, and while a lot of progress has been made, the fight for safe streets is far from over. To commemorate 20 years of the Complete Streets movement, we’ve rounded up some resources that can help you keep up the fight.

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It’s nearly impossible to understand how our tax dollars are spent on transportation

Highways overlap over a desert landscape in Arizona

T4America used artificial intelligence to find out how states are spending money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Two findings are clear: More money alone will still fail to produce change, and it’s far too complicated to figure out where our transportation dollars are going.

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Demand a greener future for transportation. Tell your senator to support the GREEN Streets Act.

A hazy orange sunset descends over rows and rows of cars traveling down a highway

New legislation introduced by Senator Markey, the GREEN Streets Act, seeks to establish goals for emissions reduction and resilience in our transportation system, marking a pivotal step in alleviating the climate crisis on our roadways. Tell your senator to cosponsor this legislation.

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The IIJA is a climate time bomb. Will states defuse it?

28 Feb 2024 | Posted by | 0 Comments | , , ,
A highway dotted with cars cuts through the natural landscape, creating a scar that mirrors the environmental harm of ever-increasing highway expansions

Despite the transportation sector being the biggest emitter of U.S. greenhouse gasses, our AI-powered analysis of over 57,000 infrastructure law-funded state projects shows that over a quarter of the law’s formula dollars are funding highway expansion projects that will drastically increase emissions. Will states reverse course with the last two fiscal years of funding? 

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Restoring Buffalo’s “Emerald Necklace”

A park extends down the center of two narrow streets

Humboldt Parkway, once home to vibrant public space, was destroyed by the Kensington Highway, displacing over 600 families and leaving a concrete gash through Buffalo’s network of city parks. With federal support, the Kensington Expressway Project aims to reconnect the community.

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Tell your senator, now is the time for Complete Streets!

Close-up of Capitol building

Two new bills introduced to Congress by Senators Ed Markey and John Fetterman make Complete Streets a minimum design mandate, redefining our road design standards and ensuring funding for the implementation of Complete Streets projects. Let Congress know these bills can’t wait!

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Supercharge your community’s quick-build safety demonstration projects with Safe Streets for All

Overhead photo of a three-lane street in Chattanooga, TN, where a quick build demonstration project has resulted in additional crosswalks, activated sidewalks, and bollard-protected bike lanes

Because of a mistake by Congress in the 2021 infrastructure law, 40 percent of the new $1 billion-per-year Safe Streets for All program must be directed to planning rather than constructing tangible infrastructure projects. A clarification that the planning grants can support quick-build safety demonstration projects presents an enormous opportunity for cities and towns to directly tap the available $400 million and experiment with low-cost temporary street safety projects.

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Takeaways from the Smart Growth Electrification Roundtable

A group of people in formal business attire sits in a conference room listening to a member of the roundtable speak

On January 23, 2024, Transportation for America, in partnership with the Bicameral Electrification Caucus, organized a roundtable discussion on Capitol Hill on the vital connection between smart growth and transportation electrification, and the strategies that need to be prioritized to achieve transportation equity and decarbonization goals in the next transportation reauthorization. When it comes to decarbonizing transportation it’s not about either-or. We need both electrification and more mobility choices to meet our emissions targets.

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Three years in, what can Biden still accomplish for transportation?

Joe Biden sits ponderously at his desk, pen in hand.

In November 2020, we sent the incoming Biden administration a memo outlining executive actions and long-term legislation we urged the new president to initiate. After three full years in office, modest progress has been made—but there’s still a long way to go.

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Better build another highway: The Legacy Parkway story

A long highway surrounded by grasslands and hills, with a narrow black trail curving to the left

Gently curving through wetlands southeast of the Great Salt Lake, Utah’s Legacy Parkway has been characterized as an example of a state DOT making a principled compromise to craft a transportation solution balancing transport modes and ecological needs. However, the legacy UDOT had truly left behind was a connection for the new West Davis Corridor, an ongoing project continuing the march through the remaining marshes and farmland of the Salt Lake Valley.

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Why we need the Stronger Communities Through Better Transit Act

A diverse set of passengers (women and men, young and old) rides a bus down a sunny street

Representative Hank Johnson (GA-04) reintroduced the Stronger Communities Through Better Transit Act, which would establish a federal funding program for transit operations, providing $20 billion in annual funding over four years ($80 billion) to expand the service of buses and trains. We are joining the National Campaign for Transit Justice, the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) and the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) in support of this bill.

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Perspectives and takeaways from my first time at TCamp

9 Jan 2024 | Posted by | 0 Comments |

TransportationCamp DC took place at George Mason University Arlington Campus on January 6. As one of 300 attendees in person – with an additional 100 joining virtually – I witnessed the beauty of what can happen when people come together to have conversations about transportation and policy reform and the future of transportation infrastructure across […]

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Frequently asked questions about TransportationCamp DC

21 Dec 2023 | Posted by | 1 Comment | ,

TransportationCamp DC is an annual opportunity to connect with experts, practitioners, and students all at once. It’s coming back on Saturday, January 7, 2023 at George Mason University’s Arlington campus. Here are the top five things you need to know about the popular “unconference.”

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Press statement: Newly updated MUTCD doesn’t go far enough to protect pedestrians

press release

Washington, D.C. (Dec. 20) — Yesterday, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released the 11th Edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), a document “that governs how traffic control devices communicate the design intent to the road user to safely and efficiently navigate the roadway system.” Smart Growth America and Transportation for America […]

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Green Light for Climate Action: Unveiling the impact of the GHG Emissions Measure rule

The United States Capitol Building.

By mandating emissions tracking and target setting, the GHG Emissions Measure addresses an urgent need for climate action. And while this popular rule is an important first step, its success hinges on immediate and effective action at the state and local levels, which would signify a shift towards a cleaner, and greener, transportation landscape. On […]

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Avoiding Derailment: The Freights First Act in Perspective

Amtrak’s eastbound Texas Eagle train departs Dallas.

There is no denying that there are persistent issues that impact reliable freight service and the efficient delivery of goods nationwide. Yet, despite the discussion of the myriad service issues that affect the supply chain, Amtrak and passenger rail have not been identified as a cause of disruption, and have, in fact, been conspicuously absent […]

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Transportation for America Applauds Long-awaited USDOT GHG Rule

press release

The GHG emissions measure will require U.S. states and territories to measure and report transportation-related emissions on federal roadways. WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 27) — Last Wednesday (11/22), the Biden Administration released the U.S. Department of Transportation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) rule. The rule requires all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto […]

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Transit’s physical cliff: Climate change

A passenger train crosses a bridge near coastal California cliffs

California and New York State Legislatures voted to save transit from the fiscal cliff in 2023. While a win for transit can be a win for the climate, changing conditions across the country demonstrate the need for transit to find ways to be both fiscally and physically resilient.

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Catching the e-bike wave

A man with dark hair and sunglasses rides a Capitol Bikeshare bicycle down a painted bike lane near a treelined sidewalk.

Electric bikes have enormous potential to deliver affordable, clean, healthy and space-efficient transportation to the masses, but the feds and too many other leaders are passing up this opportunity in favor of electrifying the status quo.

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Don’t curb your e-thusiasm: Charging and the curb

An electric scooter charges at the curb in front of a warmly lit storefront at night

Electric vehicle charging at the curb presents unique challenges to meet equity, accessibility, and eligibility for federal programs.

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