Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Highway Repair

New Analysis: Major Cities Still Shortchanged by Transportation Stimulus

By Elana Schor | Feb 19, 2010 | No Comments

The Obama administration’s awarding of $1.5 billion in competitive transportation stimulus grants on Wednesday sparked elation in cities such as Kansas City and New Orleans. But those celebrations were more than just anecdotal evidence of the so-called TIGER program‘s urban impact, according to a new analysis from the Brookings Institution’s Rob Puentes. (Chart: The Avenue) […]

What’s Wrong With America’s Ambivalence About Crumbling Infrastructure?

By Elana Schor | Feb 16, 2010 | 1 Comment

In today’s New York Times, Bob Herbert celebrates the cause of infrastructure maintenance — a less exciting proposition for politicians than cutting the ribbon at new transportation projects, but in many ways more vital to economic growth. A crumbling bridge support in Colorado. (Photo: Pure Thinking) After talking to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D), an […]

Democrats Learning to Love the I-Word — But Will Words Bring Action?

By Elana Schor | Jan 26, 2010 | No Comments

The White House is re-centering its message around economic and fiscal concerns ahead of tomorrow’s State of the Union address, with a new package of job-creation measures expected to vault to the top of the agenda and a three-year "spending freeze" pitched to deficit-wary conservative Democrats. Infrastructure: Democrats love it. But how will they fund […]

CBO Echoes Obama’s Candor on the Pitfalls of ‘Shovel-Readiness’

By Elana Schor | Jan 19, 2010 | No Comments

During last month’s White House jobs summit, President Obama carved out some common ground with critics of his first stimulus law’s $47 billion in infrastructure spending — which was distributed mainly by the book through state DOTs. "The term "shovel-ready," let’s be honest here, doesn’t always live up to its billing," he acknowledged. The CBO […]

Transit Jobs Nearly Twice as Cheap to Create as Roads — By Congress’ Math

By Elana Schor | Dec 17, 2009 | 1 Comment

During the first stimulus debate, House Democrats and the White House famously sparred over how quickly infrastructure money could be spent — with the data later proving that transit was just as "shovel-ready" as roads, if not more so. (Photo: DMI Blog) Now that transportation policymakers have turned to stemming the rising unemployment rate, three […]

White House Backs $50B For ‘Merit-Based Infrastructure Investment’

By Elana Schor | Dec 8, 2009 | No Comments

President Obama today threw his weight behind significant new transportation spending as part of a broad jobs bill taking shape in Congress, with $50 billion slated for transit, roads, bridges, and ports and the administration endorsing "merit-based infrastructure investment that leverages federal dollars." President Obama gave a high-profile jobs speech today. (Photo: NYT) During his […]

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