Transit-Oriented Development
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Senators Propose $4 Billion for Transit-Oriented Development Grants
Making good on a vow first reported
in Streetsblog Capitol Hill, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris
Dodd (D-CT) and three colleagues today offered a bill authorizing $4
billion in grants to help states and cities pursue transit-oriented
development, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and other green
transport projects.
August 6, 2009
Lawmakers Aim to Bring ‘Sustainable Communities’ From Talk to Action
When three agencies in President Obama's Cabinet -- DOT, Housing and
Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency -- banded together to promote "sustainable communities," the initiative sounded promising but somewhat lacking in concrete ideas.
July 8, 2009
Streetfilms: A Bright Beginning for Phoenix Light Rail
Everyone knows that Phoenix has a huge sprawl problem. But now transit-oriented development is on the upswing in this Sun Belt metropolis. In
December, the Phoenix region opened one of the most ambitious transit projects
in recent U.S. history: a 20-mile light rail line with 28 stops
serving three cities (Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa). Future plans include an extension within three years, with several new corridors being studied.
June 18, 2009
Call for Regional Coordination of Land Use and Transportation
It appears a consensus is forming among local governments that building more livable and sustainable communities is an immediate priority. At a conference in San Francisco yesterday, elected officials from across the Bay Area, along with business, housing, development and transportation groups, called for a coordinated land use and transportation planning strategy to account for the nearly two million more people projected to live in the Bay Area by 2035.
June 11, 2009
BART Invites Transit Bloggers to Query GM Dugger, Part I
Last week, BART hosted a brunch meeting for Bay Area transit bloggers, explicitly acknowledging that journalism is trending away from traditional media to online and niche outlets. Organized by BART spokesperson Linton Johnson, writers from Streetsblog, The SF Appeal, The Overhead Wire, N-Judah Chronicles, and Transbay Blog had the opportunity to ask BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger and her team unvarnished questions, to which we received fairly straightforward answers.
June 3, 2009
Fear Growing Senator Boxer Won’t Deliver Progressive Transportation Act
California Senator Barbara Boxer will be at the center of a battle over whether or not the reauthorization of the transportation bill will address the global warming impacts of transportation, given her Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee is responsible for writing much of the bill's language. Any chance of reforming the transportation bill, which advocates are clamoring for, will require deft political maneuvering to mollify ranking
committee member Senator James Inhofe.
May 6, 2009
MTC Approves Sweeping Regional Plan, Debates New Toll Lanes
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) yesterday approved its 25-year "Change In Motion" Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), after more than two years of work coordinating with the 26 regional transportation operators, the public, and the many authorities under its control. A slew of bicycle and transportation advocates lined up to thank the MTC for the more than $1 billion it has committed to completing the regional bicycle network and increased funding for Safe Routes to School (SRTS) and Safe Routes to Transit (SRTT) programs.
April 23, 2009
California Cities Need A Predictable Fund For Transit Operations
When the State Transit Assistance (STA) fund was zeroed out to pass the budget a couple of months ago, the already dire situation for transit operators in California became much worse. In the Bay Area, AC Transit raised fares, the MTA has been considering budget cuts and fare hikes, and BART will likely do the same if its board can get to the discussion at the next meeting.
April 13, 2009
BART Releases 2010 Budget, But Board Doesn’t Debate Its Merits
Despite meeting for more than seven hours yesterday, the BART Board of Directors never managed to discuss the budget, in no small part because of the drama and theatrics of a public enraged about the shooting of Oscar Grant on January 1st and the release of an internal audit that found BART fails to award contracts to minority and female contractors commensurate with demographics and stated agency goals.
April 10, 2009
California Could Start Requiring Drivers to Report VMT
When USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood last month suggested that the country should consider replacing the gas tax with a tax on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) to compensate for the dwindling Highway Trust Fund, which is primarily supported from gas taxes, the White House immediately rebuffed him, assuring the public and angry editorial boards that Obama had no such priority. With a sluggish economy and greater fuel efficiency in new vehicles, a VMT tax would replenish the Highway Trust, though it would also allow planners and policy makers to develop solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through better land use policies.
March 30, 2009