Federal grant brings Gulf Coast passenger rail ever closer to fruition
Gulf Coast passenger rail is closer than ever to returning. With state and federal funds already secured to make capital investments required to bring new and drastically improved passenger rail service back between New Orleans and Mobile, AL, a second vital federal grant to help operate the new service completes the other biggest part of the funding puzzle.
Driving less needs to be included in #CoveringClimateNow
We’re thrilled that over 220 media outlets have dedicated this week to #CoveringClimateNow. But when it comes to transportation, we’re worried that electric vehicles and improving fuel efficiency—two critical methods of reducing transportation emissions—will get more attention than the simple need to reduce driving overall. Transportation emissions are rising despite the gains we’re making in electric […]
Federal transportation policy is undermining any progress on climate
The conversation on climate change tends to focus on a few big things—electric vehicles, renewable energy, putting a price on carbon—but no matter how much progress we make on those fronts, Democrats and Republicans remain deeply committed to antiquated policy that undermines any action we take on climate change: spending billions to build new highways, encouraging more and more driving.
Reps. García and Pressley host briefing on transportation and climate, announce caucus
Last week, Representatives Chuy García (IL-4) and Ayanna Pressley (MA-7) co-hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill on the nexus of transportation and the climate crisis and announced the imminent launch of a caucus focused on creating a new vision for our transportation system.
USDOT touts major investment in infrastructure, but it all goes to highways
The INFRA grant program was intended to repair our crumbling infrastructure. So why is half of the money going toward expanding highways? The Trump administration recently announced $855 million in infrastructure grants through the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary competitive grant program. INFRA grants have been touted by this administration as a major way […]
Voters love Phoenix light rail. Does USDOT?
On Tuesday, voters in Phoenix resoundingly voted to reaffirm their support for the city’s transit expansion plans. But while the city can now move beyond this threat to its transit ambitions, the region joins scores of others still waiting on the Trump administration for federal transit funding.
10 questions every presidential candidate should answer about transportation and climate change
On September 4, 10 Democratic presidential candidates will participate in a town hall focused solely on climate change. We have a list of questions related to transportation that we want every candidate to answer. Climate change is undoubtedly a defining issue of our times, and the transportation sector is the single largest source of greenhouse […]
Indianapolis rolls out the red carpet for transit
More than a decade ago, local business and civic leaders in Indianapolis realized that for the city to remain competitive it needed to be better at moving people. Today, after an exhaustive planning process, changes to state law, and a successful local referendum where local voters raised their income taxes to invest in transit, the first major piece of Indianapolis’s transit upgrade is set to open.
The good, the bad, and the ugly in the Senate’s long-term transportation bill
Last month, the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works passed a long-term transportation policy bill. Unfortunately, billions of new dollars for the existing system overshadow its notable new programs, like a climate title and Complete Streets requirements. The transportation authorization bill, known as America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act (ATIA), includes a few new, notable, […]
Phoenix voters could take extreme action to kill rail transit
Later this month, Phoenix voters will decide whether to ban all future rail transit investment, putting an abrupt end to light rail expansions and dealing a major blow to the city’s and region’s efforts to create a sense of place, attract talent, and grow the economy.
Why we’re thrilled to support the Build Local, Hire Local Act
Last month, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) and Representative Karen Bass (CA-37) introduced legislation that would create transportation accessibility performance measures and a grant program to reconnect communities divided by highways. Last month, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative. Karen Bass (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, introduced the Build Local, Hire Local Act (S. […]
House oversight hearing on transit grants left unanswered questions
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held an oversight hearing on Tuesday, July 16, to question the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) about its ongoing failure to release billions of congressionally-appropriated funds for local transit construction projects in a timely fashion. We still have questions. While Acting FTA Administrator K. Jane Williams provided some answers to […]
Get to know Minnesota’s new Community Vitality Fellow Marcus Young
As announced earlier this week, Marcus Young, a behavioral artist, will be embedded within the Minnesota Department of Transportation for a year serving as an artist-in-residence in a program created by Smart Growth America. Marcus will be taking a fresh look at the agency’s goals to promote economic vitality, improve safety, support multimodal transportation systems, and create healthier communities.
In the Wall Street Journal: Our chairman advocates for long-distance rail
T4America’s chairman, John Robert Smith, starred in a mini-documentary from the Wall Street Journal about Amtrak’s proposal to cut long-distance routes. Smith made the case for saving these routes.
Marcus Young to be Minnesota Department of Transportation’s first Community Vitality Fellow
Transportation for America and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) are excited to announce MnDOT’s inaugural Community Vitality Fellow, Marcus Young. Young will be embedded within the agency for a year in its Saint Paul headquarters where he will serve as an artist-in-residence, taking a fresh look at the agency’s goals to promote economic vitality, improve safety, support multimodal transportation systems, and create healthier communities
Senate Transportation Infrastructure Act makes welcome additions but fails to change the status quo
Today the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act, a bill that will reauthorize the FAST Act once it expires in September 2020. T4America director Beth Osborne offered this statement: “This first attempt at reauthorization from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has some notable new additions worth praising, […]
Mayors tell the Senate that transit, biking, and walking are climate change solutions
Testimonies from mayors at a recent Senate hearing showed that cities understand that reducing driving and expanding other transportation options is key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and boosting local economies at the same time. Last week, the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis held their first hearing, which focused on what cities […]
House committee grills USDOT on transit funding delays
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held an oversight hearing to question the Federal Transit Administration about its ongoing failure to release billions of congressionally-appropriated funds for local transit projects in a timely fashion through the transit Capital Investment Grant program.
Federal transit funding delays cause real harm
USDOT has been slow-walking federal transit funding since the Trump administration took office and the U.S. House is finally holding an oversight hearing to hold them accountable. Here’s a look at one major way USDOT is making it look like they’re advancing transit grants when they’re really not and some of the impact that’s had on communities on the ground.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is holding an oversight hearing on USDOT’s failure to release transit grants
Transportation for America urges the House of Representatives to turn up the heat on USDOT for failing to release funding for transit grants during an oversight hearing on Tuesday, July 16.
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