Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Barack Obama

Flashback: Obama Once Led Push for ‘Complete Streets’

By Elana Schor | May 28, 2009 | No Comments

With Congress out of town on its Memorial Day break, the nation’s capital is a quiet place to be — but all of that will change next week, as the appearance of the House transportation bill is expected to kick off an intense battle to reshape federal policy on transit, bikes, roads and bridges. Before […]

Rail Across America

By Ben Fried | Apr 17, 2009 | 1 Comment

You’ve probably seen this already. It’s the latest graphic representation of the nation’s proposed high-speed rail corridors, and it’s been all over the transportation blogosphere since President Obama stood beside it at a press conference yesterday. Those corridors are likely to change somewhat as the administration refines its new strategy for high-speed rail, says Transport […]

Obama Falls Prey to Ribbon-Cutting Syndrome

By Ben Fried | Apr 14, 2009 | 2 Comments

Obama greets construction workers at a DC photo op. Photo: AFP via Infrastructurist. At a press event in DC yesterday, President Obama touted the two thousandth transportation project to receive federal stimulus funds. I’m speculating a bit here, but the White House probably had some discretion when choosing which item to highlight for this milestone. […]

Obama Calls For Better Regional Planning Measures in TEA Reauthorization

By Matthew Roth | Feb 18, 2009 | 1 Comment

The vision of an unsustainable land use and transportation future File the following in the "Can’t Believe My President Gets It" category. In an interview with columnists last week on Air Force One, President Obama drew a clear link between regional planning, land use, transportation, and energy policy, implying that bad planning has led to […]

Short Stimulus Package Timeline Will Compel Tough Regional Choices

By Matthew Roth | Feb 12, 2009 | 5 Comments

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) main auditorium in Oakland was standing-room-only Wednesday for an Allocations Committee meeting where the MTC board debated proposals by staff on how to spend the expected stimulus money when President Obama signs the bill into law. MTC Executive Director Steve Heminger explained the need to get the discussion started even […]