By living closer to jobs and school, city dwellers cut down on carbon emissions. (Chicago Sun-Times) Health researchers note that obesity and climate change have many of the same roots — including an auto-dependent lifestyle. (Grist) The unpredictable nature of climate change could have dangerous effects on our transportation system. (ClimateBiz)

The Economist looks ahead at the transportation bill and talks to T4 America Campaign Director James Corless. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asks for an 18-month extension on the current transportation bill, as Rep. James Oberstar releases an outline of a new one. (Wall Street Journal) Streetsblog breaks down Oberstar’s outline. A new study shows that [...]

Full Transportation Bill Outline (.PDF) For those readers brave enough to wade into 90 pages of policy detail, we know have Rep. James Oberstar’s full outline proposal for the next transportation bill. At a press conference to discuss the release this afternoon, John Mica, the Republican Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said [...]

UPDATED: The 11 a.m. press conference has been moved to 2 p.m. A 10-page summary of the transportation bill draft is out this morning from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The bill outline, entitled the “Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009,” is available at right, alongside a second document that describes the myriad programs which being recommended for consolidation under the new bill.

This morning on Capitol Hill, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood proposed an 18-month extension of the current SAFETEA-LU transportation authorization bill. Beyond simply extending the current bill, LaHood indicated that he wants to include some reforms in the 18-month extension — including a focus on metro areas, extensive cost-benefit analysis, and a commitment to “livable communities” — but was short on other specifics.

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 [...]

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 [...]

Rep. James Obertsar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told Congressional Quarterly this week that he will not pass an extension of the federal transportation bill if the new bill is not finished when the current law (SAFETEA-LU) expires on Sept. 30. (From today’s print edition. Not publicly linkable) Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman [...]

Last week, the Transportation for America campaign took a huge step by releasing The Route to Reform: Blueprint for a 21st Century Transportation Policy, a comprehensive, detailed set of recommendations for Congress and the Obama administration as they lay the groundwork for the upcoming transportation bill. Since then, we’ve held a big event on Capitol [...]

As Congress moves towards the reauthorization of our transportation program, we can expect that one of the biggest challenges the federal government will face will be figuring out just how to pay for our vast transportation needs. After all, as Americans continue to drive less, revenues from the gas tax — which hasn’t been raised [...]