Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Transportation Policy

Transit Riders Launch Grassroots Lobbying Push in Dire Political Climate

By Elana Schor | Jan 27, 2010 | No Comments

Advocates for urban transit riders in 14 metro areas climbed the Hill today to pitch lawmakers face-to-face on the need for extra federal transit operating aid, a grassroots lobbying effort that could face considerable challenges even as Democrats craft a new jobs bill with a focus on infrastructure. Lee Gaddies of Detroit speaks at today’s […]

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 […]

Obama Previews His New Budget’s Urban Policy Moves

By Elana Schor | Jan 22, 2010 | No Comments

When it comes to re-centering the Washington bureaucracy to better accommodate cities’ needs, the first year of the Obama administration has brought its share of progress (a three-agency partnership set to spend $150 million on sustainable development) and hiccups (a White House urban affairs office with lots of talk but little action). (Photo: whitehouse via […]

Feds on New Miami HOT Lanes: Good for Transit

By Elana Schor | Jan 22, 2010 | 6 Comments

Miami’s conversion of HOV lane space to new high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes as part of the federal Urban Partnership program, which also prompted New York City’s congestion pricing push, is cutting travel times for local transit and boosting use — but overall bus ridership in the corridor has stayed static, according to a new report […]

Defining the ‘Public’ in Public-Private Partnerships

By Elana Schor | Jan 22, 2010 | No Comments

In a must-read piece for the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), Matt Lewis digs deeper into the network of cities and towns that employ D.C. transportation. He begins with a thought-provoking anecdote: A ribbon-cutting in Dubuque, IA, for IBM’s new tech center. (Photo: Gazette) Last September, city fathers in Dubuque, Iowa, lured three members of […]

How Will Obama’s Sustainability Team Spend Its $150M? A Preview

By Elana Schor | Jan 21, 2010 | No Comments

Before the U.S. DOT gave some early clues as to how the agency would craft its new transit funding rules, deputy housing and urban development (HUD) secretary Ron Sims answered another question that’s been on the minds of transit and local-planning wonks: How will the Obama administration’s three-agency partnership for sustainable communities spend its $150 […]

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