Transportation Policy

In a surprising one-two punch, Democratic Sens. Byron Dorgan (ND) and Chris Dodd (CT) have let slip their plans to leave Congress at the end of this year.

That's the implication buried in a roundup of dismal news from urban transit agencies that ran in Saturday's Wall Street Journal. After noting the overall ridership decreases tallied by APTA and the specter of punitive service cuts in many cities, the newspaper noted:

While many in Washington spent their holiday breaks wondering if Senate Democratic opposition would deal a major blow to progress on a climate change bill, 11 northeastern governors were agreeing on a deal that suggests otherwise.

Transportation advocates were thrilled last week when the nine-county Bay Area regional transportation planning and funding body, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), established a fluid pot of money for innovative transportation projects, from Safe Routes to School programs and bicycle educational campaigns, to parking policies and demand management strategies meant to reduce the over-reliance on automobiles [pdf].

Women and minorities are getting shortchanged in the chase for transportation stimulus contracts, according to a report released today by the Transportation Equity Network (TEN) and Good Jobs First.

Transportation reformers and status quo-lovers alike smacked their foreheads in frustration when the White House's first stimulus plan lowballed infrastructure to make room for tax breaks that had little demonstrable effect on job creation -- particularly the $70 billion adjustment of the alternative minimum tax (AMT).

Some San Francisco drivers have turned over a new leaf on 19th Avenue in the Sunset, where they have adopted the habit of parking on the street, in stark contrast to the previous widespread practice of parking partially or entirely on the sidewalk.

Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) was one of the prime movers behind the economically and environmentally misguided "cash for clunkers" program, but she is switching gears to help save transit in Lorain County, Ohio, where bus service could be canceled in 2010 after voters rejected a sales tax increase to raise operating funds.

As the $787 billion stimulus law nears its one-year anniversary, Congress' choice to route the lion's share of recovery funds through state capitals -- including state DOTs where misplaced priorities are all too common -- remains a sore spot for mayors and urban advocates.