Transit

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."

Lawmakers on the House transportation committee today greeted details of the Obama administration's transit safety plan with approval, but some sounded skeptical notes about the costs of state compliance with new federal rules even as transit agencies cope with billions of dollars in maintenance and repair backlogs.

In an economic recovery report released today by New York Gov. David Paterson (D), the state broke down its plans for the estimated $31 billion it received as part of the Obama administration's first stimulus law.

At California State Assembly Committee on Transportation meetings this morning and Tuesday, the California Transit Association (CTA) and public transit agency representatives will discuss the challenges that state funding cuts have imposed on transit providers. Today's hearing is at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Room. The Tuesday hearing takes place in the Sacramento Regional Transit District Board Room.

The Bay Area's major transit agencies are reacting with caution to news that the Obama administration will propose a federal takeover of subway and light-rail system safety regulation. Though administration officials have not yet released the proposal, Muni and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail systems, as well as all BART operations, would likely be included in a new oversight system.

The Obama administration's proposal for a new federal role in transit safety oversight would eventually apply to buses, although the first round of rules would be directed at subways and light rail, according to the U.S. DOT.

Details of the Obama administration's proposal to carve out a federal presence overseeing transit safety, first reported yesterday by the Washington Post, have yet to cross the desks of some top lawmakers and industry stakeholders. But reaction to the idea, both positive and hesitant, is plentiful this morning.

At last month's Rail-Volution conference in Boston, Streetfilms was able to grab a few moments with William Lind, a politically conservative transit advocate. Lind aims to provide "liberal transit advocates" the language to build support for public transportation (okay, just rail) in terms that conservatives can relate to. Some of Lind's arguments don't reflect our views here at Streetfilms, especially his disdain for buses (which we don't cover in this video), but he makes a thought-provoking case for transit investment. Streetsblog readers won't want to miss his critique of highway spending as a massive government intervention.

After taking a beating from the never-ending flow of traffic on 19th Avenue and Sunset Boulevard for 30 years, the N-Judah's track will be replaced where it intersects with those two streets starting Friday. For the next two weekends and the first weekend in December, crews will work to rip up the track and replace it with longer-lasting rail, at a total cost of $2 million. The work is part of the MTA's $18 million Rail Improvement Project, which will also include sections of the J-Church and L-Taraval lines, drawing on local, state and federal funds.