Examining the progress made — and still needed — in communities across the country
Reconnecting America today released a trove of data measuring access, walkability, affordability and livability in an ambitious report dubbed Are We There Yet? Creating Complete Communities for 21st Century America.
Transportation Vote 2012: San Diego mayoral candidates indicate strong commitment to investing in transportation options in a televised debate
In San Diego, a region facing significant growth on a congested transportation system, the two mayoral candidates signaled their commitment to expanding transportation options throughout the region in the years to come — but shrinking transportation funding will test that commitment.
Automatic budget cuts looming for transportation programs
As part of the last-minute deal to raise the debt ceiling earlier this year, a proverbial doomsday device was put in the room with the supercommittee charged with coming up with the cuts needed to lower the deficit, in hopes of getting them to reach an agreement: Come up with the required cuts/revenue increases to hit the mark, or else hefty budget cuts of 8.2 percent across the board to discretionary programs would go into effect on January 1, 2013 and last for ten years
How civic open data can help make us safer
A federal government commitment to open data — epitomized in a White House “datapalooza” last Friday — has catalyzed the development of apps and tools that can help enrich citizens’ lives and help keep them safer.
It’s not too late: join us today to learn about communicating transportation issues in 2012 and beyond
Are you curious how to talk about transportation best resonate with the general public? Do you want to know how to make sure that transportation gets covered during a busy news cycle in the period leading up to the 2012 election (and beyond)? Are you interested in increasing your outreach to local reporters? Join us […]
With cities and suburbs clamoring to build new transit systems, a new book showcases creative financing approaches for getting them built
The demand for public transit is at its highest point in 50 years, and more communities then ever before are looking for funds to build and operate rail and bus lines. Despite the challenges posed by ideological gridlock in Congress, dwindling federal gas tax revenues, and the elimination of earmarks, many communities are finding creative ways to move ahead.
Is metro Atlanta vote a bellwether for transportation funding?
The Atlanta region soundly rejected a penny sales tax to fund $7.1 billion in new transportation improvements for the traffic-snarled region. Coming on the heels of the passage of MAP-21, a federal bill indicating a shrinking federal role in transportation funding, many wondered: Will metro regions and localities be able to bootstrap their way out of congestion and mobility woes? Was the failure of Atlanta’s transportation vote a bellwether for votes in other states and metros?
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 […]
Atlanta transportation vote: “You pay it one way or another”
It took three tries in the Georgia legislature for metro Atlanta to win the right to vote itself a regional sales tax to fix its transportation woes, and another two years of a grinding political process to come up with a list of 157 highway and transit projects that just might do the trick. Now […]
Ten key things to know about the new transportation law
Download this Top 10 as a sharable PDF We’ll be honest: We were truly disheartened by the way the Senate’s solid transportation bill was mangled in the late-hour, backroom negotiations with the House late last month, and our early commentary showed it. Now that the President has signed MAP-21 into law, we are able to […]
1,000 days overdue: The clock literally runs out as House negotiators demand extreme provisions
Notice something funny about our “count up” clock, ticking off the days since the transportation law expired? It flipped to zero today, because we set it up to count only to 999 days. Because who would have believed in 2009 that we would be over halfway through 2012 with the prospects of a renewal just as […]
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.
Senate plan to give local communities more control in making their streets safer could be in jeopardy
It’s always hard to tell for certain what’s really happening on the inside during House-Senate conference committee negotiations on the transportation bill. Nearly all of the meetings are in private for the most part and confirming rumors and hearsay on what’s really happening is always very difficult. Which is one reason why you haven’t read […]
Final House-Senate bill must prioritize the repair of our bridges and roads
After months of hard work and thousands of calls and e-mails from many of you, we’re close to finally seeing a full transportation bill reach a final vote. A select group of House and Senate members are negotiating the final transportation bill right now in a conference committee, and they have immense power to affect the final product. Can you take a minute to tell your senators and representative to prioritize the repair of our roads and bridges during negotiations?
Saving a transit system and turning the tide for the future of a mid-sized city
Last month, the citizens of Baton Rouge, LA, voted to raise their taxes to preserve and expand their struggling bus system. To pass it, churches, faith-based groups and local organizers teamed up with businesses and institutions. As we’ve seen in similar local measures, they won by explaining exactly what taxpayer money would buy, building a diverse coalition and getting out the vote.
Kicking off “Transportation Vote 2012”
Local communities across the country are preparing to vote on the people, plans and projects that will set the tone for transportation progress in the months and years to come — with many communities already showing us how it’s done. Transportation Vote 2012 will help educate voters, advocates and candidates and keep abreast of transportation-related campaigns as they unfold.
U.S. communities step up, hoping a strong federal commitment to infrastructure will follow
As Congress is finally close to passing a transportation bill more than 953 days after it first expired, many places have charged ahead with transportation funding and construction and are taking steps to make those needed investments today. But will they be enough without the strong federal partner we’ve had for the last 50 years leading the way? That remains to be seen, according to this compelling new report from the Urban Land Institute
Senate budget restores some sanity to transportation programs
Just a few weeks after Rep. Paul Ryan released his House budget that proposed cutting or eliminating many important transportation programs, the key Senate committee’s budget for transportation (and housing) for next year contains some good news. This doesn’t mean that the fight is over for this year — this budget will still have to be reconciled with the House, which is no easy feat. And we’ll have a battle at that point once more. It’s been tougher and tougher in the last few years to pass actual budgets for these individual programs. This year will be no different, especially heading into an election this fall.
The House proposes painful cuts to transportation, but the Senate still has a chance to repair them now
Senate Appropriations Committee members list. Take action if you see your state listed. Alabama – Richard Shelby Alaska – Lisa Murkowski Arkansas – Mark Pryor California – Dianne Feinstein Hawaii – Daniel Inouye Illinois – Dick Durbin Illinois – Mark Kirk Indiana – Dan Coats Iowa – Tom Harkin Kansas – Jerry Moran Kentucky – […]
Young people leading the downward trend in driving, report finds
A fascinating new report from U.S. PIRG, “Transportation and the New Generation: Why Young People Are Driving Less and What It Means for Transportation Policy” examines a phenomenon many thought we’d never see: A drop in miles driven by those traditionally most eager to drive, young people recently eligible to drive. From the report: From World […]
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