Author Archive
USA Today on infrastructure spending: what do Americans want?
USA Today had a timely graphic up yesterday, considering the continuing media coverage around President Obama’s recent proposal for infrastructure spending and a reformed long-term transportation bill. Though we can’t see the rest of the questions or the context, it affirms a few things we already know about Americans’ attitudes about transportation. They want more accountability, safer streets, and more transportation options so seniors can maintain their independence and low wage workers can get to jobs.
National Geographic on Dangerous by Design
We mentioned this on Twitter when the issue came out back in July, but National Geographic had a nice one-page feature on Dangerous by Design, our study from 2009 ranking metro areas on their relative danger to those on foot and bike, focusing on Florida’s overall risk based on having 4 of the top 10 most dangerous metros. In the last 15 years, more than 76,000 Americans have been killed while crossing or walking along a street in their community, and it’s high time that more attention was paid to this preventable loss of life that we far too often ignore or simple believe to be inevitable.
Access denied: gaining a disabled person’s perspective
We’ve talked a bit here for nearly two years about the need to make our streets safe and accessible for all users — whether young, old, walkers, bikers, drivers, or wheelchair users. Almost every time we post pictures like this or this showing inaccessible conditions on our streets, it’s a reminder of how shocking it […]
Walk Score expands into Transit Score; housing plus transportation costs
An exciting new service launched this morning from our friends at Walk Score will help people all across the country find out how transit-accessible a home or a neighborhood is while gaining a better understanding of the true cost of buying a home — the cost of housing plus transportation. Starting today, when you visit Walk Score you’ll also get information about nearby transit options, commuting details, and the expected cost of housing plus transportation. Welcome to Transit Score.
Blueprint America on complete streets in Atlanta
Do yourself a favor and check out this short video from PBS’ Blueprint America series that aired in just the last few days. The overall package is about “disappearmarks” — earmarks totaling millions in the last federal transportation bill that have never been allocated or spent, according to the Sunlight Foundation. But this from Atlanta focuses much more specifically on how unsafe, incomplete streets and outdated transportation planning has resulted in a major road in Atlanta (and countless others) where pedestrians take their lives into their own hands each and every day, just to get to work, school, or the closest bus stop.
What does the FREIGHT Act really mean for our freight and ports?
The new FREIGHT Act introduced by Senators Lautenberg, Murray and Cantwell would create a truly multimodal national freight program for the first time in the U.S. It recognizes that our freight system should move our goods from coast to coast while also being part of the solution for many of our most pressing problems: air quality, dangerous emissions, oil dependence, and congestion on our highways and interstates.
Video: John Robert Smith on helping politicos see the importance of passenger rail
In this short video, Former Meridian, Mississippi Mayor and current T4 America co-chair John Robert Smith talks about the project to build a new multimodal train station in downtown Meridian when he was mayor, proposed cuts to Amtrak that happened shortly afterward, and how a few key Senators championed funding for Amtrak after seeing how ordinary people outside of D.C. depended on that service.
“I don’t know what this talk around DC is about livability not having anything to do with rural areas…”
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 […]
Center for Public Integrity on the transportation lobby
The Center for Public Integrity’s Transportation Lobby project visited South Florida to discuss the grassroots impact of lobbying activity in the nation’s capital, featuring a nice mention of Transportation for America. Video is 7 minutes long, but well worth your time. Narrated by CPI’s Matthew Lewis.
Secretary LaHood on T4 America’s poll: “People want better options”
We got some superb media coverage last week on the release of our national poll and there’s an engaging discussion underway today on the National Journal experts blog, but we wanted to especially highlight a terrific post today from Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, on his official DOT blog.
Secretary LaHood says that our poll echoes the same drumbeat he’s heard all around the country from people in big cities, small towns and all the places in between during his first 14 months in office: “people want better options.”
New poll shows Americans strongly support public transportation; more walking & biking
American voters overwhelmingly support broader access to public transportation and safe walking and biking, according to a new national poll.
T4 America co-chair testifies before Senate on rural transportation
Mayor John Robert Smith, T4 America co-chair and President of Reconnecting America, testified before a Senate committee today about the transportation challenges facing rural areas and small towns — and offered six practical suggestions for how the federal government can help them meet these challenges head-on. Far from being left behind or left out of federal transportation policy, Mayor Smith’s testimony provides a clear road map for boosting the economies of Main Streets across America.
Atlanta-area transit system 14 days from shutting down, 2 million rides disappearing
Clayton County, one of metro Atlanta’s five core counties, will terminate all transit service in 14 days. The transit service, which provides over 2 million rides each year on buses “full to bursting” with riders, according to MARTA CEO Beverly Scott, will shut down service entirely, leaving the 50% or more of C-Tran riders with no regular access to a car stranded.
U.S. Transportation Department makes good on promise to ensure our streets are made safer
Sec. LaHood issued a new directive yesterday that officially shows DOT’s support for improving safety for walking and bicycling — treating them as equal modes of transportation. Last fall we released a report chronicling the 76,000 preventable pedestrian deaths over the last 15 years on streets unsafe for walkers or bikers. Today, DOT made some progress on the issue.
Transit grants out the federal door, but what about the cuts?
Secretary LaHood is (rightfully) touting the news on his blog this morning that the FTA met their deadline for distributing 100% of the transit grants from the stimulus package. That’s great news, but it should be accompanied by the sobering reminder that these public transportation systems that get people to work each day couldn’t use that money to keep from having to cut service at a time when it’s needed the most.
Transit riders in Atlanta face massive cuts, “wholesale restructuring” of service
Transit riders in Metro Atlanta will soon require a new system map, because the current map is about to be ancient history. Of course, this would only apply to those who still have a bus or train to wait for after MARTA potentially cuts a shocking 25-30 percent of all their service.
Opposition to Senate extension results in looming shutdown of federal transportation programs
A single Senator kept the Senate from passing an emergency one-month extension of the current transportation bill today, leaving it to expire over the weekend and threatening the flow of money to transportation programs. So come Monday or Tuesday, federal transportation agencies from the Department of Transportation to the Federal Transit Administration will be furloughing employees and in a state of near shutdown.
Sen. Reid promises Sen. Voinovich to move a full six-year bill in 2010?
Republican Senator George Voinovich from Ohio might be looking to put a little public pressure on Majority Leader Harry Reid in a release touting the Ohio Senator’s vote in favor of moving the Senate jobs bill forward late Monday. In a statement posted on his site, Voinovich explains his reasons for supporting the jobs bill in the Senate, touting the job-creating benefits of investing in transportation. But it also appears that the Senate leader let Sen. Voinovich know that he’d bring a six-year bill to the Senate floor for a vote in 2010:
Will the TIGER grants reinforce metropolitan areas?
Rob Puentes of the Brookings Institution, writing for New Republic’s The Avenue, wrote a post this morning examining where transportation stimulus dollars have been directed. You can’t get too far reading the Brookings Metro Program without seeing a notable statistic: the 100 largest metro areas contain two-thirds of our population and produce 75 percent of […]
Mayor John Robert Smith on why transportation matters to him
Check out this short video of Mayor John Robert Smith, T4 America co-chair and former Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi, in which he discusses his very personal reasons for choosing not to seek a fifth term as mayor and move to Washington, D.C. to be a part of this effort to change the course of our country’s transportation system.
Our three principles
It’s past time to elevate the national conversation about infrastructure.
Learn more about our platformLatest From The Blog
A need to rethink how we assess the…
Apr 2nd, 2025
Shifting gears: Gender equity in transportation
Mar 25th, 2025
USDOT’s new memo requires a review of competitive…
Mar 14th, 2025
I cannot find the zoom link, I registered…
Jan 6th, 2024
A rare look behind the curtain of Transportation…
Jul 28th, 2023
In what Harrison Ford said was his most…
Jul 25th, 2023
Good example, walking to the local taco place…
Jul 24th, 2023
