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A key policy change will help local communities give their residents better access to transportation jobs
For more than 40 years, federal policies have prevented local residents from benefiting from the well-paying jobs that come with federally funded transportation projects. The USDOT just made a move to change that with a new pilot program.
States continue to take action to solve transportation funding crises
This year started with a transportation bang for many states across the country. In the last few weeks, four states in particular have made major strides in funding transportation and infrastructure projects as gas prices continue to remain low.
West coast port closures example of the worst case scenario
The eight-month labor dispute that left fully loaded container ships anchored off the west coast for weeks caused an “epic” back-up that underscored just how critical the smooth movement of freight is to the nation’s economy.
Rep. Shuster and Sec. Foxx address the importance of local control in today’s Twitter town hall
In what was billed as the “first Twitter town hall with a Congressional committee chair and a cabinet secretary,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster sat down together and held an hour long Twitter town hall meeting to hear questions from the public about the reauthorization of the country’s transportation law and the upcoming insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund.
TODAY at 12 p.m. EST: Tweet your thoughts to Secretary Foxx and Chairman Shuster
As we inch closer to MAP-21’s expiration date and the insolvency of the nation’s transportation trust fund, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is partnering with Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) to host a Twitter “Town Hall” today at 12 p.m. EST to hear from the public on the issue.
Lessons from recent successes: Winning State Funding for Transportation
Growing again after a long economic slump that left a huge backlog of unmet needs, a dozen or more states are moving now to raise revenue for transportation. What can they learn from the other states that acted in the last year or two? Our new report, out today, draws out seven key lessons.
Governors step out in favor of raising transportation revenue
States across the country are facing huge deficits in their own transportation budgets — a problem compounded by the uncertainty over the support they’ve always received from the federal transportation fund, which is now just months away from insolvency. However, over the last month or so, at least nine governors have highlighted plans to raise new state transportation revenues in their State of the State addresses, marking the issue as a top priority.
Transportation for America’s year in review
As 2014 draws to a close, we are taking a look back at our five most popular posts over the last year.
As Michigan legislators race the clock on a transportation deal, other states plan initiatives
We tapped a nerve in November with the Capital Ideas conference in Denver. More than 30 states sent representatives – some of whom went right back to their states and got to work helping their communities make progress.
Three metro planning leaders help make T4America’s MPO guidebook launch successful
Transportation planning is hot, hot, hot! Or so it would seem, after more than 700 people registered for last week’s online seminar to launch The Innovative MPO, a guidebook for metropolitan transportation planning.
GOP Rep. Petri joins bill to raise the federal gas tax
The Highway Trust Fund, our nation’s key infrastructure funding source, has been teetering on the edge of insolvency for the past few years, with legislators from both parties unable to secure a long term funding source.
Northeast Ohio plans ahead for a new network of transportation options
How can a place like the Cleveland region attract and retain talented young people, and how can good transportation options help? That was a core question posed to our Beth Osborne when she was invited to keynote a multimedia event dubbed “Cleveland Connects: Getting Around”.
Join T4America this Thursday to unpack the transportation ramifications of tomorrow’s elections
Voters will make decisions on November 4 that will resonate deep into the future. Join us Thursday as we provide the inside scoop on how the elections will affect MAP-21 reauthorization and ever-dwindling highway trust fund revenues, and how important state and local transportation measures fared.
Leaders say St. Petersburg transit measure key to economic success
Voters in Pinellas County, Florida, which includes St. Petersburg and borders Tampa, have the chance to approve a one percent sales tax next week that will raise $130 million per year. The money will kickstart a 24-mile light rail system, improve and expand their bus system by 65 percent, build bus rapid transit lines, and increase important regional connections.
Rhode Island’s first statewide ballot measure to support transit
Rhode Island’s first ever statewide transit ballot measure would issue $35 million in bonds to invest in the state’s transit infrastructure and improve bus service statewide, including new and reworked transit hubs that can bring together different modes.
Texas looks to voters to ensure billions for highway funding
Facing a population and economic boom sufficient to give Texas seven out of the top 15 fastest growing cities, state legislators are looking to voters to direct more revenue to build more highways, but without raising new fees or taxes.
Voters in two states consider measures to restrict funding to transportation uses
Facing the uncertainty of stable federal transportation funding and often unwilling to raise their own taxes to fund transportation, some states have seized upon the idea of protecting their transportation revenues for transportation uses. On Nov. 4, Maryland and Wisconsin voters will be deciding on similar measures that would put transportation funds into protected accounts that can’t be appropriated for non-transportation uses.
Helping interested communities make better use of land around transit lines and stops
A new pilot program from the Federal Transit Administration will help communities make better use of land around transit lines and stops. For those interested in applying, T4America recently pulled together several experts in a session to help them understand how to best take advantage.
Transit still more popular with millennials, despite their upbringing
One of the deepest studies of attitudes about public transportation, published yesterday, finds that core fundamentals like speed, reliability and cost are far more important to millennials than wi-fi or smartphone apps. They’re open to riding it even more, but like everyone else, find that there just aren’t enough neighborhoods being built that have great transit options.
Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts follow the trend: voters support transportation revenue increases
As voters have been proving over and over during primary season this year, raising taxes or fees for transportation isn’t a political death sentence – no matter the party or political affiliation. In the past two weeks, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire’s state legislators faced their first primary since voting to pass bills to raise additional revenue for much needed transportation and infrastructure projects.
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