Streetsblog USA

One of the top goals of the national transportation reform movement is to get state DOTs to spend their money more wisely. The feds distribute tens of billions of dollars to state DOTs each year with very few strings attached. But for every state like Massachusetts or Tennessee that's decided to shift toward building walkable streets and away from highway construction, there are plenty of state DOTs that continue to build very expensive, sprawl-inducing roads, even though they can't afford to maintain what they already have.

After a few false alarms, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has finally come out and said it: He's leaving the administration.

It is really a testament to how dominant the highway industrial complex has become that we even have to talk about Birmingham's Northern Beltline, a $4.7 billion outerbelt first proposed in the 1960s. But with backing from big companies that would reap windfall real estate profits from the highway -- and with a U.S. Senator working to secure federal funding -- this boondoggle might actually get built.

Part One of this interview was posted yesterday.

Like a lot of cities, Seattle has seen a much-hyped "bikelash" against efforts to make the city safer for cycling. But it turns out that this bikelash might be just that: hype.

Could a congestion pricing program work in the DC region? Maybe. But first, officials would need to get the public on board -- no easy task. A report on the conclusions from five public forums, held in the region between October 2011 and January 2012, suggest that more and better transportation options need to be in place before a congestion charge is levied, so that commuters feel they have options.

There's a persistent misconception in American culture that transit is a big drain on public coffers while roads conveniently and totally pay for themselves through the magic of gas taxes. And that used to be true -- at least for interstate highways, a fraction of the total road network.

If it can work on Edgewater Drive in Orlando, it can work anywhere.

By the looks of it, my humble hometown of Washington, DC is winning the transit space race. The region currently has 45 transit projects either planned or underway -- and one that's stalled. You may have heard of the Silver Line to Dulles Airport, but a new map from Reconnecting America proves that that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to transit starts in the DC area.