STREETSBLOG CAPITOL HILL
Written by: Tanya Snyder
The House of Representatives approved the transportation bill conference report this afternoon by a vote of 373 to 52. [UPDATE 4:00 PM: The Senate has also approved the bill, 74-19.] This is a bill that’s been called “a death blow to mass transit” by the Amalgamated Transit Union, “a step backwards for America’s transportation system” by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, “a retreat from the goals of sustainability and economic resiliency” by Reconnecting America, “a substantial capitulation” by Transportation for America, and “bad news for biking and walking” by America Bikes.
Archive for the ‘National’ Category
Streetsblog: A New Bill Passes, But America’s Transpo Policy Stays Stuck in 20th Century
Monday, July 2nd, 2012Newly approved transportation bill is a clear step backwards — a message from T4 America
Monday, July 2nd, 2012TRANSPORTATION FOR AMERICA
Written by: Stephen Lee Davis
More than 1,000 days after the last transportation bill expired, Congress finally voted to approve a new transportation bill just moments ago. Unfortunately for those hoping for a bold step into the future, this bill represents a definite step backwards, the last gasp of an outdated 20th century program.
Getting Infrastructure Going: Expediting the Environmental Review Process
Monday, July 2nd, 2012![Getting Infrastructure Going Expediting the Environmental Review Process](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Screen-shot-2012-07-02-at-11.14.50-AM.jpg)
REGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION
In the 40 years since the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act and the development of the current federal regulatory process, the practice of completing environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects has significantly lengthened average project delivery times. For example, in 2011, the average time it took to complete an environmental impact statement on a highway project was over eight years, compared with two years just after the law was passed.
Effectively Deploying Broadband Conduit through Federal Highway Projects
Thursday, June 28th, 2012![Planning and Flexibility Are Key to Effectively Deploying Broadband Conduit through Federal Highway Projects](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Screen-shot-2012-06-28-at-11.13.45-AM.jpg)
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
Affordable access to broadband telecommunications is increasingly viewed as vital to the country’s economic growth as well as for improving state and local systems for traffic management, public safety, and educational goals. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the largest cost element for deploying broadband via fiber optic cable is the cost of placement, such as burying the fiber in the ground, rather than the cost of the fiber itself.
Gearing Up: Smart Standards Create Good Jobs Building Cleaner Cars
Wednesday, June 27th, 2012![Gearing Up: Smart Standards Create Good Jobs Building Cleaner Cars](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Screen-shot-2012-06-27-at-12.15.39-PM.jpg)
BLUEGREEN ALLIANCE
These proposed standards would reach the equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon (mpg) and 163 grams of carbon dioxide per mile (g/mi) for the average new vehicle in 2025. Hereafter we refer to these proposed joint fuel economy and greenhouse gas pollution standards simply as “the proposed standards.” In this report, we analyze the macroeconomic impacts of the proposed standards with particular attention to the net gain in U.S. employment.
Current Status of the Transportation Bill Negotiations
Tuesday, June 26th, 2012We are reproducing below with the editor’s permission an excerpt from this week’s “Washington Letter on Transportation.” The analysis offers a perceptive and accurate assessment, in our judgment, of the current status of the transportation bill negotiations on Capitol Hill. The full analysis can be made available on request from Gary Hoitsma, editor, hoitsmag@carmengroup.com Hint […]
View this complete post...Green Scissors 2012: Cutting Wasteful and Environmentally Harmful Spending
Tuesday, June 26th, 2012![Green Scissors 2012](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Screen-shot-2012-06-26-at-11.46.44-AM.jpg)
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH
For more than 18 years the Green Scissors campaign has been a collaboration between budget and environmental groups aimed at eliminating wasteful spending that is harmful to the environment. This year’s report is a collaboration between environmental organization Friends of the Earth, budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense, and free-market think tank R Street. While each group comes to the Green Scissors project with a unique mission, a diverse constituency, and different opinions on the role of government, we join together around one shared goal: exposing and eliminating wasteful and environmentally harmful spending.
Guest on The Infra Blog: David Owen, Author, “The Green Metropolis” and “The Conundrum”
Monday, June 25th, 2012![David Owen](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/David-Owen.jpg)
David Owen has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1991. Before joining The New Yorker, he was a contributing editor at The Atlantic Monthly and, prior to that, a senior writer at Harper’s. He is also a contributing editor at Golf Digest and one of The Fifty Funniest American Writers. He is […]
View this complete post...Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations
Thursday, June 21st, 2012![Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Screen-shot-2012-06-21-at-12.09.54-PM.jpg)
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
Eighty federal programs are authorized to fund transportation services for the transportation disadvantaged, but transportation is not the primary mission of most of the programs GAO identified. Of these, the Department of Transportation administers 7 programs that support public transportation.
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