Webinar Wrap: Public Health and Safety
Transportation for America hosted the fourth webinar in a series last Thursday, April 30. More than 270 people signed up to hear from health, safety and active transportation experts on the effects our transportation policy has on public health and safety. In coordination with the webinar, we’ve released the 5th in a series of policy papers, focusing on public health and safety.
Next Webinar May 14: Transportation in Small Cities, Towns, and Rural Regions
Please join Transportation for America’s interactive webinar on May 14 at 2 p.m. EDT to learn how federal leadership can reform transportation systems to benefit those in small cities, towns, and rural regions, and transform these smaller communities into centers of economic vitality, improved health, and livable places.
Transportation Secretary affirms smart principles for US transportation system
“Livable and Sustainable Communities” might not be at the top of the list of what one would expect to hear from the person in charge of how the Federal government spends our tax dollars on all forms of transportation — ports, railroads, highways, interstates, sidewalks, bike lanes and more — but that’s exactly what Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood named as a primary goal for DOT.
T4 America to testify on Capitol Hill this afternoon
Transportation for America will be on Capitol Hill today testifying before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on “The Future of National Surface Transportation Policy.” You can stream it live on the Committee’s website. Campaign director James Corless, along with Anne Canby of the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and a founding member of T4 America, will be testifying this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
“A small group of committed individuals can and often do make a difference.”
Policy may get made here in Washington, but transportation, mobility and safety are truly local issues. The kinds of transportation investments that we’re pushing for aren’t luxuries — they’re essential necessities that help Americans get where they need to go, safely and affordably. It’s high time that we made sure we invested in a transportation system that is safe and accessible for everyone. So why is access to transportation choices and safe, complete streets so important?
Rep. Oberstar stuck in traffic, misses release of report on public transportation
The Environmental Defense Fund held a news conference Thursday morning to release a new report profiling 10 innovative public transportation systems. Rep. Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, who heads up the House committee responsible for writing the transportation bill this year, was invited to give remarks. So where was Rep. Oberstar when the press conference kicked off Thursday morning on Capitol Hill? Stuck in gridlocked DC traffic, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Webinar Wrap: Housing and Development
Our third webinar took place last week, and almost 300 people attended the session to hear from development experts on the connections between transportation policy, real estate development, and affordable housing.
More on today’s high speed rail announcement
President Obama’s remarks from the press conference this morning have been posted on the White House blog. In his remarks, joined by Vice President Biden and Transportation Secretary LaHood, Obama appealed to our national pride and pointed to the benefits that high-speed rail would bring to all Americans: There’s no reason why we can’t do […]
Good Magazine visualizes the United States of Transit Cutbacks
Good Magazine published their “transportation issue” last week, covering some of the current debates over where, why, and how to spend money. You might have caught the superb graphic of what makes a livable street that they produced for the issue in collaboration with our friends at Streetsblog. Today they posted this terrific visualization of our map of transit cuts.
Reminder: Housing and development webinar this Thursday
We just wanted to remind you about our ongoing series of webinars, continuing this Thursday (4/16) at 4:00 p.m. EDT. The Transportation for America campaign, in partnership with the National Housing Conference, will conduct an interactive webinar with a terrific panel of experts discussing the complex relationships between transportation and housing.
Work for Transportation for America
There are several new open positions at Transportation for America that we wanted to bring to your attention. Feel free to pass them along to any qualified candidates you may know. You can always find any current open positions on our jobs page at https://t4america.org/jobs
Congress takes a step towards “completing America’s streets”
Complete streets are safe and accessible for everyone that needs to use them — cars, transit users, bicyclists, pedestrians, young, old, disabled, and everyone else. Over the last two days, Complete Streets bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate. Tell Congress to support these bills.
A day of air travel over North America, and what it means for rail
From Wired Magazine via Aaron of Streetsblog comes this amazing map and video that shows a day of air travel over North America. Using data from the Federal Aviation Administration and a service called FlightView that tracks airline travel each day, Artist Aaron Koblin created this Google map that shows 24 hours of airline travel on August 12, 2008. What does this have to do with rail travel?
Meridian, Mississippi Mayor urges a renewed effort to continue “uniting” the United States of America
Mayor John Robert Smith of Meridian, Mississippi helped Transportation For America officially launch our full platform last week. Mayor Smith provided a stirring keynote address, evoking Eisenhower’s vision of a connected America, while urging us to build the second half of our national system.
Transportation For America officially launches campaign platform
Today in Washington, D.C., Transportation for America held an event on Capitol Hill to formally announce our new coalition of more than 225 organizations and 17,000 individual members and to release the platform drafted with input from dozens of practitioners and stakeholders.
Attend our platform launch this Thursday at the U.S. Capitol
We will be releasing our full campaign platform for the upcoming transportation bill this Thursday on Capitol Hill, with some very special guests in attendance. If you are in the DC area, or can get here by Thursday, please join us for what should be an entertaining, informative discussion on the future of transportation in America.
President Obama: “I would like to see some long-term reforms in how transportation dollars flow…”
President Obama gave an interview to five columnists aboard Air Force One last week, talking at length about infrastructure, transportation, and the need to make serious reforms in transportation spending — hinting at how proper investments in transportation can help boost the economy while making the downpayment on a 21st Century transportation system we’re all hoping for.
Transportation Secretary LaHood on Obama’s recovery package
U.S. DOT Secretary Ray Lahood released his statement on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and he’s saying many of the right things. Of course, the true test will come when the states start deciding where to spend the flexible transportation dollars in the stimulus package. Will states choose to make a dent in the severely backlogged repair and maintenance needs before building new highways?
Summary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
For those of you who don’t check the “Campaign News” tab at top on a regular basis or get the full RSS feed, we posted our full summary of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. If you are interested in the full, detailed, numerical breakdown of transportation spending in the stimulus package, read Transportation For America’s full summary of the provisions and funding requirements for transportation in The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Though a Worthy Down Payment, Stimulus Raises Urgent Need for New Transportation Vision
Given the need for haste in crafting the bill, congressional and Administration negotiators were handcuffed by backward-looking, existing programs even as they tried to shape investments for a future of reduced oil dependency, greater opportunity for Americans to join the middle class and cleaner transportation choices. Despite some shortcomings resulting from current transportation law, Congress has adopted a bill that if properly enacted by state and local authorities, could be a down payment on a new direction for America’s infrastructure.