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Cities eager to receive transit dollars from USDOT are receiving letters instead
Instead of approving projects and providing the money cities have applied for, USDOT is “allowing” cities to move ahead with construction on transit capital projects and incur costs that might one day be reimbursed by USDOT.
How cities can reduce traffic instead of just ensuring more of it
A new approach to addressing the potential transportation impacts of new development in urban areas, outlined in a new report by our State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI), could be a powerful recipe for reducing the demand for driving, while helping create more prosperous transit- and pedestrian-friendly cities.
With the 2018 fiscal year over, how much money has USDOT obligated to transit projects?
The 2018 fiscal year closed yesterday, wrapping up a year in which USDOT received more than $1.4 billion from Congress to invest in new transit construction and improvement projects across the country. With another infusion of cash coming (eventually) for FY 2019, it’s time for a look at how much USDOT still has on hand from 2018—as well as the unspent funds from FY 2017.
T4America joins a parade of letters to USDOT urging them to do their job and get transit projects moving
In a parade of letters, T4America joined a chorus of elected representatives going on the record to urge the US Department of Transportation to do their job required by the law and award funds to expeditiously advance [transit] projects, communicate more clearly with local communities about the status of their transit projects, and recognize that a bipartisan majority in Congress has twice rejected their wishes to eliminate the transit capital construction program.
“Deciding what kind of city we want to be” with the Smart Cities Collaborative
While fighting to stay ahead of a transportation and mobility landscape that changes by the day, 70+ people representing 23 cities gathered in Pittsburgh last week for the third meeting of our Smart Cities Collaborative to band together to solve problems and learn from each other.
USDOT has become the biggest obstacle in the way of delivering transit projects on time and on budget
Our updated Stuck in the Station resource shows how USDOT was already slow-rolling transit funding well before Congress gave them another $1.4 billion 157+ days ago to build or expand transit systems across the country.
Gov. Accountability Office: The FTA “runs the risk of violating federal law”
With the release last week of Stuck in the Station, we detailed how the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has been delaying the distribution of $1.4 billion to help build and expand transit systems across the country. 153 days (and counting) after Congress handed billions to USDOT and the FTA, they finally spoke up last week.
Fundamentally flawed bill to govern automated vehicles springs back to life
After being shelved earlier this year in response to widespread concerns about its hands-off approach to automated vehicles, a Senate bill that would leave cities, states, and the public in the dark while handing the keys to the self-driving auto industry has returned in the 11th hour, with the Senate considering a move to expedite its passage by attaching it to a huge must-pass aviation bill.
Trump administration has effectively halted the pipeline of new transit projects
Last March, Congress provided the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) with about $1.4 billion to help build and expand transit systems across the country. 142 days later and counting, FTA has obligated almost none of these funds to new transit projects. Our resource—Stuck in the Station—will continue tracking exactly how long FTA has been declining to do their job, how much money has been committed, and which communities are paying a hefty price in avoidable delays.
On National Walking Day, too many Americans are still having to endure unsafe streets
While we missed recognizing National Walking Day last week while the Complete Streets conference was happening in Nashville, we wanted to come back this week and revisit a post from 2012 looking at what’s actually keeping more people from walking in many of our metro areas.
Three communities selected to receive training to help improve transportation projects through arts & culture
Transportation for America is pleased to announce that Bozeman, Montana; Buffalo, New York; and Mariposa County, California have been selected to receive State of the Art Transportation Trainings. These three communities will each receive tailored technical assistance to equip them to utilize arts, culture and other creative approaches for solving specific transportation problems.
TIGER grants focus on rural areas, recognize the value of complete streets, and ignore transit
Just a month after the Trump administration proposed a budget that would eliminate the competitive TIGER grant program entirely next year, the US Department of Transportation announced the winners of this year’s awards. This year’s winners show a clear shift in priorities — this round is decidedly rural or small town in nature and nearly devoid of transit projects. However, the winners also show that this administration recognizes how smaller-scale complete streets projects bring tremendous value to local communities.
Eight things to know about the president’s budget and infrastructure plan
After promising the release of an infrastructure plan since the early days of his administration over a year ago, President Trump finally released his long-awaited plan for infrastructure investment. Since he did it on the same day he released his budget request for the next fiscal year, it’s worth considering them together and asking: what do these proposals mean for infrastructure?
Eight questions to ask about infrastructure during tonight’s State of the Union
The President has been telling us that infrastructure is a top priority since the campaign. Tonight, in his State of the Union address, all signs in point toward the President providing a preview of his infrastructure plan followed shortly by a public release. If enacted, this plan could reshape our communities. As we listen tonight, how should we evaluate what we hear from the President on infrastructure?
Reflecting on all we learned during the first year of our Smart Cities Collaborative
After wrapping up the first year of our inaugural Smart Cities Collaborative at the end of 2017, we look back on all the progress cities made and reflect upon how they’re all collectively shaping the future of transportation by working together.
Applications are open for the second year of our Smart Cities Collaborative
Last year, Transportation for America launched the Smart Cities Collaborative to build a forum for collaboration and provide direct technical assistance to cities advancing smart mobility policies and projects. Today we’re announcing the launch of a second year of the Collaborative and calling interested cities to apply. The Collaborative was launched in an effort to […]
Beautiful animations help illuminate the power of creative placemaking
Creative placemaking in transportation is an emerging, powerful way to integrate artists to deliver transportation projects more smoothly, improve safety, and build community support. But the practice can also be difficult to describe with words alone, so we commissioned an artist to illustrate the concepts visually.
Helping 16 cities navigate the tech-driven transportation revolution
In 2016, T4America launched the Smart Cities Collaborative, a learning and support network to help leaders from 16 cities proactively use technology to make their cities safer, more accessible, equitable and prosperous for all. Will you help us continue working with more cities in 2018? Donate to T4America
Helping Des Moines get more from its transportation money
Through the support of the Kresge Foundation, T4America is helping the Des Moines Area MPO better measure and assess their transportation spending to bring the greatest return possible for citizens. When it comes to decisions about what transportation projects to build and where, the general public’s perception is that those decisions are made in a […]
Wrapping up an amazing year with the 16 cities in our Smart Cities Collaborative
A few weeks ago, leaders from 16 cities met in Los Angeles for the last of four meetings in our inaugural yearlong Smart Cities Collaborative.
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