TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES
In January, 21 new members were sworn into the 51-seat City Council – New York City’s most powerful governing body. Some defeated long-standing incumbents. Many were elected on the strength of their transportation platforms, with promises of more safe, convenient and affordable transportation ushering them into office. In a Transportation Alternatives survey before the election, candidates pledged to improve bus service, expand the bike network and make New York City’s streets and sidewalks safer for everyone. Now, halfway through the first year of their terms, Transportation Alternatives looks back at what City Council members pledged, and how they have lived up to their promises on crucial transportation issues.
Archive for the ‘Policy’ Category
NYC Six Month Report Card: New Class at the City Council
Monday, September 8th, 2014Nurse Lan, on time every time, thanks to transit
Friday, September 5th, 2014
Lan is a nurse –a patient care manager in the Oncology Ward of MedStar Washington Hospital Center here in the nation’s capital. Lan and the nurses she helps oversee provide care for patients battling cancer. And her reliance on public transit to get to this important job makes it clear: When we or our loved ones depend on dedicated caregivers like Lan Phan, we also depend on a safe, efficient transportation network to get them to work so they can deliver that care.
View this complete post...No, Americans Are (Still) Not Driving More
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014Written by Shane Phillips
The U.S. Department of Transportation is reporting that driving is at a six-year high, but beware the hype. As James Brasuell at Planetizen notes, these numbers are not adjusted for population and thus don’t account for the growing number of residents living in the country. As always, the better question to ask is how much the average American is driving, and the answer to that is the same as it’s been for years: less and less.
Fueling Road Spending with Federal Stimulus
Thursday, August 28th, 2014
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO
ECONOMIC RESEARCH DEPARTMENT
During the Great Recession, a surge in federal government spending was one option frequently called for as a means to sustain and stimulate the economy. Given the substantial perceived need for infrastructure improvements, many commentators argued that highways should be near the front of the line for any stimulus dollars. It is no surprise then that the 2009 fiscal stimulus package known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) contained $48 billion in transportation funding, $27 billion specifically for roads. These funds generally took the form of grants to state governments and were in addition to the usual federal transportation grants sent to state governments every year from the national Highway Trust Fund. Thanks to ARRA, federal highway grants to states jumped nearly 75% in 2009. Still, road spending by state and local governments nationwide—which is the source of virtually all road spending in the United States—was roughly flat between 2008 and 2011.
The High-Speed Rail Debate Revisited
Tuesday, August 19th, 2014Innovation Newsbriefs
Vol. 25, No. 12
Two recent columns in the New York Times (both reprinted below) have revived the semi-dormant debate about the future of high-speed rail in America. The first column, by New York Times correspondent Ron Nixon, casts a skeptical eye on the Administration’s high-speed rail program and concludes that “despite the administration spending nearly $11 billion since 2009….the projects have gone mostly nowhere…”
The second column, closely following the first, is an opinion piece by the Times’ editorial board. The editors may have felt obliged to respond to the highly critical assessment of the White House initiative by one of their own reporters.
View this complete post...The Societal Costs and Benefits of Commuter Bicycling
Monday, August 11th, 2014
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES
Car use is the dominant mode of transport to work in many high-income cities. In car-oriented cities, commuting by private motor vehicle allows access to employment and training (crucial social determinants of health) while enabling households to manage competing responsibilities. However, car-dependent commuting has significant negative public health effects for commuters, the wider community, and local and global ecosystems. A mode shift to greater use of active transport would bring environmental, health, social, and equity benefits (de Nazelle et al. 2011; Hosking et al. 2011).
NYC: Six Months of Vision Zero Traffic Enforcement
Friday, August 1st, 2014
TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES
Despite two decades of steady declines,traffic fatalities remain an epidemic in New York City. More people are killed in traffic than are murdered by guns;traffic crashes are the foremost cause of preventable death for New York City children and, after falls,the primary cause of injury-related death for older New Yorkers.
In February 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio launched a Vision Zero initiative –with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries in New York City by 2024 –which the New York Police Department embraced wholeheartedly, instructing all precinct commanders to increase enforcement of the most dangerous traffic violations.Increased enforcement remains a central element to achieving Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero goal.
View this complete post...Making the Grade – Civil Infrastructure Industry Leaders Weigh In on Plan to Fix America’s Failing Infrastructure
Thursday, July 31st, 2014
On June 27th in Washington D.C., a new report was released that outlines innovative new ways that the federal government, industry and other stakeholders can work together to solve the crisis of the failing state of U.S. infrastructure. Entitled “Making The Grade,” the six point plan is the result of experts from 45 different organizations, including corporations, professional organizations, think tanks, financial advisors and academic institutions.
The report’s name is intended as a rallying cry in response to last year’s quadrennial report card by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which gave America’s overall infrastructure a D+ grade. Several of the report’s contributors continued the rallying cry in a #FlashBlog event last week. Following is a summary:
View this complete post...Guest on The Infra Blog: Frank Moretti, Director of Policy and Research, TRIP
Tuesday, July 29th, 2014
Frank Moretti is the director of policy and research for TRIP – a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that prepares reports on a variety of transportation issues, including traffic congestion, traffic safety, road and bridge conditions, transportation planning and air quality.
“The nation is increasingly reliant on its rural economy…and as that dynamic is changing we wanted to take a look at the nation’s transportation system and see if we have in place a rural transportation system that can support not only the rural economy, but the nation’s economy moving forward.”
View this complete post...    |
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