Author Archive
New Amtrak president supports the return of Gulf Coast passenger rail
Though overshadowed by the President’s budget proposal to make deep cuts to passenger rail, there’s encouraging momentum for the opposite, including a commitment by Amtrak to restore long-distance service to the Gulf Coast, and the broader freight-dominated rail industry speaking out for the expansion of passenger rail service.
Seven things to know about President Trump’s budget proposal
There is no good news for transportation in President Trump’s first budget request to Congress. We take a look beyond the headlines and unpack seven things you need to know about this first salvo in the annual budget-making
Talking about transportation in the Trump administration with the “CodCast”
Beth Osborne, senior policy advisor for T4America, sat for an interview on one of the best-named podcasts around — The CodCast — to talk about the uncertainty of just what transportation means in the Trump administration.
President Trump’s federal infrastructure priorities likely to be revealed this week
There’s no need to wait months for President Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure package to discover the transportation priorities of this president — they’ll be clearly telegraphed with the release of his first annual budget later this week. For months there’s been endless discussion of the President’s $1 trillion pledge to “build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and […]
Do our federal transportation priorities match the rhetoric we use to justify more spending?
With the Trump administration readying both an annual budget and discussing a possible large infrastructure package, Transportation for America this morning urged a key Senate subcommittee not to stop investing in programs that promote innovation, encourage collaboration and maximize benefits for local communities.
How are metro areas prioritizing health and building more biking and walking projects?
Though there’s booming demand all across the country to build more projects that can help residents get out and bike or walk — whether for exercise or just for getting around safely from A to B — it can be an uphill battle to do so. How are metro areas upending the conventional wisdom and building more projects that help improve their residents’ health?
New national survey examines how metro areas use performance measures to evaluate their spending
Thanks to action taken by Congress, metro areas will be required to use a data-driven process to measure the performance of their transportation spending. But some metro areas already go far beyond the modest new federal requirements. T4America’s new national survey of over 100 metro planning agencies examines the current state of the practice — and where it’s headed.
A highly cooperative spirit is taking root within the 16 cities in the Smart Cities Collaborative
Just a few blocks from the Capitol dome in Washington, DC, the 16 members of our Smart City Collaborative gathered together again two weeks ago to learn, share wisdom and find ways to collaborate on thoughtfully solving their transportation challenges with new and emerging technologies.
Learn more about USDOT’s final congestion rule and the rest of the final performance measures [webinar]
The new requirements released last week by USDOT for how states and metro areas will have to measure traffic congestion were just part of a larger package of new performance measures. Join us next week to unpack the congestion rule and the rest of the suite of new measures.
USDOT rewrites congestion rule in response to outpouring of feedback
At long last, USDOT has finalized new requirements for how states and metro areas will have to measure traffic congestion and in the final rule — responding to the outpouring of comments they received — they backed away from most of the outdated measures of congestion that were proposed.
Big questions largely avoided during the first confirmation hearing for Trump’s Secretary of Transportation nominee
Trump’s appointee to serve as Secretary of Transportation had a confirmation hearing yesterday before a Senate committee, and though she was light on specifics, there were some illuminating questions from Senators and answers from Secretary-designate Elaine Chao.
How one state is using transportation to boost their economy — a story of success from Massachusetts
Massachusetts’ economic development success is attributable in part to the leadership of the past two gubernatorial administrations — one Democratic, one Republican — and their efforts to focus state investments on improving public transit, repairing critical infrastructure and developing walkable communities.
While other cities try to replicate Houston’s successful bus network overhaul, Maryland’s plan for Baltimore falls short
At a time when other cities are redesigning their bus transit service and aggressively investing in public transportation overall to provide more consistent, predictable service to serve residents and employers, Baltimore — thanks to the state of Maryland — is attempting to get the most out of its bus system with only marginal new investment and changes in service that won’t do much to improve access to jobs, schools, or opportunity.
Helping governors save money and attract talent through a fresh approach to transportation
A new guide released today by Transportation for America shows governors and their administration how a fresh approach to transportation is fundamental to creating quality jobs and shared prosperity while running an efficient government that gets the greatest benefit from every taxpayer dollar.
Our Smart Cities collaborative kicked off with an inspiring two-day gathering
On the morning after the presidential election, thanks in part to the support of the McKnight Foundation, representatives from 17 cities gathered in Minneapolis for two days to kickstart our yearlong collaborative focused on proactively shaping cities through transportation and technology.
Wrapping up Capital Ideas: Making the case for smarter state transportation policy
After two days of hands-on expert advice — and hopefully a whole lot of encouragement — state and local leaders from all over the country are returning home from our second Capital Ideas conference better equipped to advance creative and innovative transportation funding and policy reforms to make the most of limited infrastructure dollars.
Billions in transit measures approved Tuesday — unpacking the 2016 election results
Though we’ll be waiting to see where the federal chips land with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration and the congressional committee changes, Tuesday night’s biggest transportation news was the fact that local voters across the country approved scores of ballot measures that raise new local money for transportation improvements.
What should the next administration do when it comes to transportation?
One of the biggest challenges for the incoming presidential administration is to make the economy work for individuals and families of all income levels. This short new guide of federal policy recommendations is designed to help the new administration accomplish just that.
[VIDEO] How did Utah build miles of transit and raise state transportation funding?
How did Utah leaders and citizens stare down a recession while raising new state revenues for transportation and making a range of investments to accommodate projected population growth and bolster the economy and quality of life? On day two of our Capital Ideas conference on November 16-17, Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes will be on hand to answer that question and others.
Help show just how dangerous our streets can be for people walking
This fall, our colleagues at the National Complete Streets Coalition will release Dangerous by Design 2016, a report that will again rank the nation’s most dangerous places to walk using the Pedestrian Danger Index. This year’s report will dive deep into how income, race, and place play an outsized role in how likely people are to be killed while walking. And they’re looking for your help when it comes to illustrating just how bad it can be out there.
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