Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Transportation Policy

House Lawmakers Hail Transportation Stimulus — But Add Three Caveats

By Elana Schor | Feb 23, 2010 | No Comments

At a House transportation committee hearing today that marked the one-year anniversary of the Obama administration’s economic recovery efforts, lawmakers offered praise for the stimulus law’s impact on local infrastructure investments even as they hit upon three key areas of concern with its implementation. The Port of Los Angeles was shut out of the stimulus’ […]

U.S. DOT Offers Sample Distracted Driving Bill — With a Potential Loophole

By Elana Schor | Feb 22, 2010 | 1 Comment

The Obama administration today offered a one-page sample proposal to crack down on texting behind the wheel, aimed at helping guide states through the process of crafting their own distracted driving legislation. (Photo: brainlink.org) The sample bill text [PDF] was prepared by the U.S. DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which invited road safety groups […]

The Upside of GOP ‘Hypocrisy’ on Transportation Stimulus Grants

By Elana Schor | Feb 22, 2010 | No Comments

To call Rep. Pete Sessions (TX), chairman of the House Republican campaign committee, a critic of the Obama administration’s stimulus law would be putting it mildly. Sessions marked the one-year anniversary of the law’s passage last week by labeling the stimulus a "massive spending binge" that only "allegedly" created jobs in his district. Is his […]

Who Lost Out in the Bid for a Piece of TIGER Transportation Stimulus?

By Elana Schor | Feb 17, 2010 | No Comments

With more than $56 billion in applications submitted for just $1.5 billion in available funding, the Obama administration’s TIGER grants — short for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery — was one of the stimulus law’s most hotly contested programs. So it’s no surprise that the process resulted in its share of losers as well as […]

Freight Rail, Streetcars Are Tops in Stimulus’ TIGER Chase

By Elana Schor | Feb 17, 2010 | No Comments

The Obama administration today announced the winners of $1.5 billion stimulus in highly competitive stimulus grants under the program known as Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER. Southeastern and midwestern freight rail projects were the day’s biggest winners, with urban streetcar projects also making a big splash. Freight rail in Chicago, where the CREATE […]

D.C., VA, MD to Apply for Federal Aid as Snow Eats Into Transport Budgets

By Elana Schor | Feb 11, 2010 | No Comments

The scene in D.C. this week. (Photo: thisisbossi via Flickr) Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia are set to apply for federal disaster aid to offset the costs of cleanup from this month’s record-breaking mid-Atlantic blizzards, according to the Washington Post reports today. But the so-called Snowpocalypse could dent more than just worker productivity — already […]

Show More Stories