Author Archive
TIGER brings joy to Normal, IL, as Uptown Station opens on time and on budget
This is a guest post by Kathleen Woodruff, T4America’s Illinois Statewide Field Organizer. Over 11 years in the making, the July 14 grand opening of Normal, IL’s multi-modal transportation center brought together T4A partner organizations, local officials, USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood and US Senator Dick Durbin. The project, designed to revitalize the downtown and provide transit […]
Weight of the Nation series highlights transportation’s potential to help fight obesity
HBO’s new film series highlights the shocking state of our country’s obesity levels and worsening health, highlighting the impacts of the transportation systems we build and where we live on those alarming trends. An influential public health expert weighs in for T4 America on the movie and the connections to transportation.
Supercommittee failure to reach agreement could lead to deeper transportation cuts
The so-called deficit supercommittee, a bipartisan group of 12 lawmakers tasked with agreeing to $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, was supposed to unveil its recommendations this week for an up-or-down vote in Congress. But the group, established in a down-to-the-wire debt ceiling deal between President Obama and Congressional Republicans this past summer, looks like it […]
Transit and TIGER funding preserved in compromise spending bill
Leading negotiators in the House and Senate released a compromise spending bill to fund the U.S. Department of Transportation, alongside several other departments, through the end of the current fiscal year in September 2012. The measure is known as a “minibus” because it collapses several appropriations bills into one package, The conference agreement between the […]
Transportation for America Response to Senate EPW Reauthorization Bill
After the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee moved their draft transportation bill (MAP-21) out of committee with a successful bipartisan vote this morning, T4 America Director James Corless offered this statement: “The bipartisan passage of the MAP-21 bill in the Senate EPW Committee this morning provides a significant opportunity to move forward on a […]
AP says attacks on transportation enhancements are “exaggerated and misrepresented”
On Friday, we highlighted the disingenuous attempt from some in Congress to tie the need to repair our bridges to the elimination of a tiny program to make it safer to walk or bike on our streets and roads. Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and John McCain of Arizona have been […]
With Congress in limbo, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder puts promising transportation ideas on the table
More state and local officials are coming to grips with the fact that they cannot wait for Washington to act on infrastructure investment and repair. After two years of short-term extensions, a new transportation bill may or may not happen in the next six months. From a vantage point closer to their constituents, local leaders […]
Events across the country last week bring sense of urgency to bridge repair
Many communities are taking a close look at Transportation for America’s deficient bridge rankings by metro areas released last week. People are telling their representatives to invest in our infrastructure — and Washington is listening, with President Obama and rank-and-file members of Congress expressing urgency about repairing our crumbling assets. At an event held at the […]
New Report Ranks Deficient Bridges by Metro Areas
This new report from T4 America ranks metropolitan areas on the condition of their bridges, and finds that more than 18,000 bridges in our largest metropolitan areas are rated “structurally deficient.” This new look at the bridge data from earlier in 2011 finds that just a quarter of deficient U.S. bridges, located in these 102 metropolitan areas over 500,000 people, carry 75 percent of all traffic crossing a deficient bridge each day.
Transit benefit once again slated to be cut in half — tell Congress to move
Last November, we posted an action alert on the potential for millions of Americans to see the cost of their commute suddenly rise. Congress wisely chose to extend to $230 per month tax benefit for transit as part of the 2010 package extending the Bush tax cuts, continuing transit parity with the $230 deduction available […]
T4’s Andrea Kiepe writes about reaction to Minneapolis bridge collapse, potential for making repair a priority
T4 America’s Minnesota Field Organizer Andrea Kiepe penned a moving piece for the Infrastructurist this week about how the tragic Minneapolis bridge collapse four years motivates her work for transportation reform and investment today. It’s a timely subject too, given the recent decision by the governors of Kentucky and Indiana to shut down the Sherman […]
Proposal to fix bridges by taking away safety money won’t solve the problem
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) got a lot of play in the media for joining President Obama in Kentucky last week and unveiling his own plan to prioritize bridge repair by taking away a tiny amount of funding that helps improve safety for people walking or biking and redirecting it to bridge repair. But Senator Paul’s proposal is built on a series of false premises.
President Obama’s Ohio visit again highlights the vast and growing need to address America’s aging and deficient bridges
President Obama’s visit to the Brent Spence Bridge bordering Ohio and Kentucky today calls much-needed attention to the urgency of bridge repair and rehabilitation throughout the country. Those needs are clearly visible in these detailed state-by-state reports and county level bridge data — including an interactive, searchable map of every deficient bridge in America.
Today is the “Don’t X Out Public Transportation” day of action
15 events around the country today highlight the devastating impact of the House’s initial transportation proposal that would make a 35 percent cut to public transportation. Today is the “Don’t X Out Public Transportation” day of action to highlight the crippling impacts of the proposed 35 percent cut to public transit. The events are being held in 15 cities in cooperation with the American Public Transportation Association and a number of key partners to let Congress know that deep cuts mean Americans losing their jobs or their ability to get to their jobs, as well as groceries and essential services.
Closure of Ohio River Bridge Highlights Need for Robust Investment in Infrastructure
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels’s prudent decision to close the 49-year-old Sherman Minton bridge over the Ohio River between Louisville, Kentucky and New Albany, Indiana last Friday after cracks were found in support girders, is powerful evidence that our country’s infrastructure needs cross both party lines and state lines and that we need strong federal investments in fixing our country’s infrastructure.
Governor Cuomo signs Complete Streets legislation as New York Times surveys pedestrian safety in Orlando
NY Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision to sign complete streets legislation is a step forward for pedestrian safety, though a Times report out of Orlando yesterday illustrates how much further we have to go. The status-quo for most people on foot or on bike around the country is woefully unsafe and insufficient, though perhaps nowhere more so than in Florida.
“Passengers” documentary features diverse voices on transportation
A newly-released documentary available both on radio and online surveys a variety of Americans about their perspectives on the nation’s public transportation system. “Passengers,” as the program was dubbed, aired on WAMU (D.C.’s NPR affiliate), a number of public radio stations in most major U.S. markets and nationwide on NPR World and NPR’s Sirius XM […]
T4 America will address Senate panel on senior transit access
Transportation for America Director James Corless will testify before a key Senate panel this week about the need for better and expanded transit options for seniors. The Wednesday hearing of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development comes on the heels of T4 America’s recent finding that 15.5 million older Americans will […]
New York Complete Streets clears legislature, awaits Governor Cuomo’s signature
Complete streets legislation passed both the New York State Senate and Assembly unanimously this week and awaits Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signature. Once the legislation becomes law as expected, New York State will follow in the footsteps of hundreds of other states and municipalities that have already started prioritizing the needs of all users on their […]
Seniors and transit report generates widespread coverage and discussion
Last week, we released Aging in Place, Stuck without Options, documenting the more than 15.5 million Americans 65 years and older who, by 2015, will live in places with poor or non-existent public transportation. The report ranked metro areas according to the percentage of seniors projected to face poor transit access, and asked: How do […]
Our three principles
It’s past time to elevate the national conversation about infrastructure.
Learn more about our platformLatest From The Blog
Helping communities at every stage
Dec 18th, 2024
Five for ’25: What to expect on transportation…
Dec 11th, 2024
Meeting the moment after the 2024 elections
Nov 27th, 2024
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
