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Ben Fried

@benfried

Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.

Recent Posts

What if Roads Really Did Have to Pay for Themselves?

By Ben Fried | Jul 23, 2010 | No Comments
Pittsburgh’s bus system is far from the only subsidized transportation in Pennsylvania. Photo: Port Authority Pittsburgh area residents are reeling from the news this week that their transit agency, the Port Authority of Allegheny County, may cut 35 percent of its total service in January — and raise fares — unless the state of Pennsylvania […]

Sympathy for the Careless Driver

By Ben Fried | Jul 22, 2010 | No Comments
Photo: Daily Breeze One of the stories that’s been percolating all week on the Streetsblog Network stars Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a new role: urban cyclist. On Saturday, Villaraigosa was riding in a bike lane on Venice Boulevard (his first bike trip as mayor), when a cab driver cut him off, forcing him […]

Night of the Living Highway Extension

By Ben Fried | Jul 20, 2010 | No Comments
Tacoma resident Evan Siroky got a rude reminder of what’s in Washington State DOT’s project pipeline yesterday, reading in the local paper that officials are looking to revive plans to extend state route 167 as a limited access highway. The new highway segment would reach the Port of Tacoma, and Siroky writes on member blog […]

We’re Hiring: Help Lead Streetsblog’s National Coverage

By Ben Fried | Jul 12, 2010 | No Comments
Editor’s note: Our search for a national reporter to take over Streetsblog Capitol Hill wouldn’t be complete without putting out a call to the audience with the greatest passion for livable streets and sustainable transportation policy — our readers. To apply, send a resume, cover letter, and relevant clips to jobs [at] streetsblog [dot] org. […]

Accounting for the Economic Payoff of Streetcars and Buses

By Ben Fried | Jul 9, 2010 | No Comments
Lots of reaction from Streetsblog Network members to yesterday’s big transit grant announcement. They’re thrilled in Fort Worth and Cincinnati, where the FTA distributed the maximum $25 million for new streetcar lines. They’re disappointed in D.C., where the request to fund a streetcar segment linking up with Metro lines was denied. When a billion dollars […]

Feds Announce Winners of $293 Million in Transit Grants

By Ben Fried | Jul 8, 2010 | No Comments
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FTA chief Peter Rogoff announced the winners of $293 million in competitive grants for bus and streetcar projects today. The biggest chunks of funding will help build streetcar projects in Cincinnati, Charlotte, Fort Worth, and St. Louis, as well as rapid bus corridors in New York and Chicago. All told, […]

Ohio DOT Can’t Fathom Bike-Ped Access on Downtown Cleveland Bridge

By Ben Fried | Jul 8, 2010 | No Comments
Ohio DOT says this concept drawing of a bike-ped path on the Innerbelt Bridge does not convey a realistic expectation. Image: GreenCityBlueLake We’ve got an update today on a storyline we’ve been following for months: The Ohio Department of Transportation’s refusal to build a path for biking and walking when they replace Cleveland’s I-90 Innerbelt […]

Yes, You Can Move the Needle on Public Support for a Gas Tax Hike

By Ben Fried | Jul 7, 2010 | No Comments
Public support for increasing the federal gas tax rises if revenues will be spent to combat global warming. Graphic: Mineta Transportation Institute Last week, USA Today reported rather gleefully that the U.S. gas tax has never been lower. Having remained unchanged at 18.4 cents per gallon since 1993, American drivers are now paying half as […]

The Freedom to Not Drive

By Ben Fried | Jul 6, 2010 | No Comments
The thought of the day comes to us from the island of Oahu, where Doug Carlson writes the "Yes to Rail" blog. Carlson advocates for construction of the Honolulu rail system, recent recipient of a key approval from the Federal Transit Administration. Over the July 4th weekend, he wrote: Traffic backed up after a collision […]

Federal Bike-Ped Funding Sets New High, With Much More Room to Grow

By Ben Fried | Jun 16, 2010 | 3 Comments
Graph: FHWA [PDF] Federal funding for pedestrian and bicycle projects reached a new high last year, according to a report released today by the Federal Highway Administration. In terms of dollars, federal investment in walking and biking more than doubled compared to the previous high, set in 2007, thanks largely to an infusion of $400 […]

A Farewell to Elana Schor, and a Note About Our National Coverage

By Ben Fried | Jun 3, 2010 | No Comments
As regular readers of the Capitol Hill blog already know, yesterday marked Elana Schor’s last day covering the national transportation policy beat for Streetsblog. On behalf of the Streetsblog staff in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, as well as the Streetsblog Network, I’d like to share my appreciation for Elana’s work over the […]

John Leguizamo’s Green Limo

By Ben Fried | May 6, 2010 | No Comments
This is too fun not to post. John Leguizamo, who’s been biking in New York since before the actual Summer of Sam, takes a CNN crew on a ride through Midtown and shares some pointers on NYC cycling. (Sorry about the BASF commercial you’ll have to sit through before it gets started.) Leguizamo’s big pitch […]
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