TIGER’s Love Affair With Freight — And Bikes
This article is the second of a two-part series about how U.S. DOT's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program -- TIGER, a discretionary grant program that got its start under the Recovery Act in 2009 -- has made transportation planning more strategic, based on a benefit-cost analysis and national goals. Read the first part here, about Republicans' empty charges of political bias.
April 26, 2013
Pretty Please: U.S. DOT Asks Carmakers to Limit Onboard Distractions
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's signature issue has been distracted driving. He's spent the last four years amplifying the heartbreaking voices of those who have suffered the consequences of this highly dangerous habit. The stories of the needless loss of so many people, especially children and teens, are tragic.
April 25, 2013
How TIGER Transformed Transport Planning — And Lived to Tell About It
When the buzz about a new, stimulus-funded, discretionary transportation grant program started to circulate in 2009, some environmentalists opposed it. They worried it would be a slush fund for the Federal Highway Administration, used to build unnecessary roads that would aggravate sprawl and pollution. But insiders knew that wasn’t how the new Obama administration would be handling things.
April 25, 2013
No Surprise Here: Drivers Don’t Want to Pay Higher Gas Taxes
Just last month, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave U.S. infrastructure another dismal grade and every media outlet and lawmaker in the country, it seemed, bellyached about how we need to invest more. And then Gallup asked Americans if they’d be willing to raise the gas tax by 20 cents a gallon. The answer was a big, fat, “No.”
April 23, 2013
After Years of Unchecked Sprawl, Employment Inches Closer to the City
To hear some urbanists talk, you’d think the outer suburbs have been abandoned wholesale, lawn-mowers still running with no one to drive them, picket fences left open in the owners’ haste to beat it to the city.
April 19, 2013
Reps. Duncan and Nadler Will Lead New T&I Panel on Freight
MAP-21 pushed U.S. DOT to get serious about freight: In recent months, the agency has announced the creation of a national freight policy, a National Freight Advisory Committee, and a Freight Policy Council, as mandated by the bill.
April 16, 2013
Counting Bikes and Cars Without a Clipboard
Liberate yourself from government transportation data that doesn’t tell you what you need to know!
April 12, 2013
Study: Too Many Drivers Fail to Look for Pedestrians When Turning Left
Drivers turning left are a leading cause of pedestrian crashes in urban areas. Where drivers can only turn left with a green left-turn arrow, pedestrians are more protected. But when drivers are watching oncoming traffic for a chance to make their turn, they tend not to be as vigilant as they should to watch for pedestrians. In fact, 5 to 11 percent of drivers don’t look for pedestrians in the crosswalk at all.
April 4, 2013
What Should the Surgeon General Say to Get More People Walking?
What if cars came with a Surgeon General’s warning like the ones that come on cigarette packs: "Sitting in this seat could lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, and divorce."
April 2, 2013