Transportation For America Elisa Ramirez, Author at Transportation For America

Author Archive

Time to tip the scales in favor of more transportation options

8 Oct 2024 | Posted by Elisa Ramirez | 0 Comments | active transportation, invest in the rest, Invest in the Rest Week 2024, principles, transit

Principle #3: Invest in the rest. For 60 years we've invested hundreds of billions of dollars in highways. Now it's time to invest in the rest to create a complete transportation network so more Americans can safely travel by foot, bike, bus, or train. Cartoon of a man exiting a sad looking vehicle and entering a beautiful image of a street filled with crosswalks, wide sidewalks, and bus lanes

For decades, federal highway funding and funding for all other types of transportation (public transit, opportunities to walk and bike) have been severely unbalanced. In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, pedestrian deaths, and traffic, the Department of Transportation must invest in more transportation alternatives.

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Building housing near transit takes change at every level

22 Jul 2024 | Posted by Elisa Ramirez | 0 Comments | equity, housing, land use, TOD, transit

An eastbound Green Line train pulls into a station alongside apartment buildings.

Advancing equitable transit-oriented development requires all hands at the community level, but leadership at the state and federal level can also help propel change.

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We need to expand the conversation on transportation safety

10 Jul 2024 | Posted by Elisa Ramirez | 0 Comments | fatalities, safety, safety over speed, transit

A cyclist travels down a busy highway on their way to Baltimore.

We can’t significantly address safety concerns if we’re not looking at the most dangerous modes of transportation.

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The East Link showcases progress and enthusiasm for public transit

11 Jun 2024 | Posted by Elisa Ramirez | 0 Comments | Bellevue, light rail, transit, Washington State

Crowds form to hop on East Link line trains on their first day running in downtown Bellevue

On April 27, 2024, Sound Transit opened up the East Link light rail line for riders to connect from Redmond to Bellevue, and ultimately to Seattle. The new rail line was met with noticeable excitement and underscores the need (and eagerness) for improved and additional public transportation.

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Two years in, progress still needed for reconnecting communities

8 May 2024 | Posted by Elisa Ramirez | 0 Comments | equity, reconnecting communities

Black and white aerial image of a highway separating a neighborhood from a row of businesses

In March 2024, the Office of the Secretary at USDOT announced awards for the Reconnecting Communities Program. This program is intended to improve access to daily needs and repair past harms by removing or mitigating divisive infrastructure, particularly in disadvantaged communities. This year, funding was expanded from last year’s awards, but will these funds meet the program’s goals?

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