Originally uploaded by pgengler to Flickr. The New York Times resolutely defended high-speed rail in an editorial this morning, characterizing the elimination of remaining funds for the program this fiscal year as “harebrained.” The budget deal reached by the White House and Congress zeroed-out the $1 billion allocated for high-speed rail in fiscal year 2011 [...]

High-speed rail investment has the potential to yield great economic and environmental rewards for California, but only if communities make smart decisions about land-use and growth at and around new stations. A new report prepared by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association offers prescriptions for how communities can prepare for rail investments.

Yesterday, the leaders of California’s population centers issued a call to the incoming Congress to update the nation’s transportation program to address their citizens’ 21st-century needs, from upkeep of roads and bridges to a cleaner, more efficient transit network. As a new Congress prepares to take up a multi-year infrastructure bill, 65 California mayors, supervisors and other elected officials joined together to send a united message, releasing a signed letter sent to Senator Boxer.

Residents of the San Francisco East Bay won big in last week’s TIGER grants, with $10.2 million slated to go toward giving the East Bay the largest bike path network in the United States and giving residents not only top-notch recreational trails, but viable new options for regular daily travel in the region.

Under Sun Microsystems’ Employer Commuter Benefits Program, employees can work from one of several campuses or from home, and company-sponsored shuttles are available to transport them. Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. (From our series of 14 case studies.)

Under Oakland’s GreenTRIP program, developers are accountable for how their projects will impact the community’s transportation needs. Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. (From our series of 14 case studies.)

San Francisco-based Getaround Inc. utilizes a smartphone application to help match customers with underutilized cars, increasing options for non-car owners without adding more vehicles to the road. Our new report on smarter mobility demonstrates how existing and emerging technologies can squeeze more capacity from over-burdened highways, help commuters avoid traffic delays and expand and improve transportation options, all while saving money and creating jobs. (From our series of 14 case studies.)

Photo courtesy of Compass Blueprint There are many reasons smarter growth makes sense. By building more sustainably and closer to where people work and shop and plan, we reduce hours stuck in traffic and make it easier to reach life’s necessities. But there is something even more important at stake: our health. According to new [...]

Thousands rallied last Friday at the Los Angeles City Hall to tell Washington to help speed up LA’s 30/10 Plan –- a plan to build 12 major local transit projects in 10 years rather than 30. The plan would spur economic growth and protect the environment, create 166,000 jobs, ease congestion, and reduce air pollution and dependency on oil.

Earlier this week, we hosted 15 of our partners from rural areas across America for a two day “fly-in” focusing on the transportation needs of rural areas and small towns. We hosted a briefing at the Capitol in the morning and then these partners from all over the country, from Virginia to California, took the [...]