Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.
Ben Fried
Recent Posts
Want to Foster Walking, Biking and Transit? You Need Good Parking Policy
| | No Comments
The high-water mark for American parking policy came in the early 1970s, when cities including New York, Boston, and Portland set limits on off-street parking in their downtowns. They were compelled to do so by lawsuits brought under the Clean Air Act, which used the lever of parking policy to curb traffic and reduce pollution […]
Message From Copenhagen: Climate Plan Must Include Walkable Urbanism
| | No Comments
The energy-saving benefits of transit aren’t limited to the transportation sector. (Image: Jonathan Rose Companies via Richard Layman) At a panel discussion yesterday at the Copenhagen climate summit, American policymakers and transit experts delivered a clear message: Walkable urban development must be part of any effective plan to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to […]
When State DOTs Run Amok: $266M For Widening, Crumbs For Waterfront
| | No Comments
Streetsblog New York reported last week on the state DOT’s expensive plan to widen part of the Major Deegan Expressway in the southwest Bronx, even as the agency fails to maintain upstate bridges. More lanes, or more housing and parks? (Image of proposed Deegan Expressway widening: NYSDOT. Image of the community’s plan for a de-commissioned […]
Streetfilms: Blumenauer Bikes New York City
| | No Comments
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) is one of Capitol Hill’s strongest voices for walking, biking and transit. Soon after arriving in Congress in 1996, he started the Congressional Bike Caucus, now more than 160 members strong, and he’s the founding chairman of the House’s new "Livable Communities Task Force," which he announced two weeks ago here […]
Can State DOTs Be Trained to Kick the Sprawl Habit?
| | 1 Comment
I had the chance to listen in yesterday to top staffers from USDOT explain their collaboration with HUD and the EPA — the "Partnership for Livable Communities" that was first unveiled in March and touted again by President Obama in July. Three officials, including one of Ray LaHood’s top deputies, Beth Osborne, outlined their plans […]
LaHood: NYC’s Congestion Pricing Money Still There for the Taking
| | 12 Comments
Speaking at an event in Midtown yesterday morning, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood let it be known that New York City can still claim hundreds of millions of dollars in federal transit funding — if local lawmakers implement congestion pricing. NY1 reports: The city was slated to receive about $350 million in federal transportation funds to […]
Boxer: Collect Fees on Driving Through ‘Honor System’
| | 9 Comments
Another must-read from last week’s Reuters Infrastructure Summit: Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat who will be responsible for shepherding the next transportation bill through the Senate, says she’s open to a mileage tax and to indexing the gas tax to inflation to generate new revenue. It’s great to hear a legislator in Boxer’s position voice […]
Stim Cash Gone Bad: Feds Fund Houston’s Highway to Nowhere
| | 3 Comments
Robin Holzer. Photo: New York Times. Reuters just wrapped up a two-day "Infrastructure Summit" and published a great collection of stories about the state of transportation policy in the U.S. I especially like this piece, featuring Robin Holzer of the Houston-based Citizens’ Transportation Coalition, who does a great job illustrating some of the major deficiencies […]
Doomsday Across America
| | 3 Comments
Following up on Sarah’s post about transit funding woes in Illinois, this CNN segment from earlier in the month brings home the effect of service cuts and fare hikes in St. Louis. Similar scenarios are playing out all over the country. According to the latest tally from Transportation for America, 85 transit systems serving 22 […]
Steven Chu Forced to Recant Belief in Higher Gas Prices
| | 12 Comments
The indignities are piling up for Steven Chu, the Nobel laureate Secretary of Energy whom environmentalists applauded as one of Obama’s best cabinet picks. His security detail won’t let the lifelong cyclist bike to work. And on Earth Day, he fielded questions like this one (via Talking Points Memo) during a House hearing on the […]
Does the State Senate’s MTA Plan Pass Environmental Muster?
| | 3 Comments
Where’s the Assembly’s eco-warrior when you need him? The Municipal Art Society came out with a report yesterday urging New York State to start analyzing greenhouse gas emissions in its environmental review process (SEQRA). MAS argues that the policy could be adopted without changing existing laws, which raises an interesting question to ponder on this […]
Rail Across America
| | 13 Comments
You’ve probably seen this already. It’s the latest graphic representation of the nation’s proposed high-speed rail corridors, and it’s been all over the transportation blogosphere since President Obama stood beside it at a press conference yesterday. Those corridors are likely to change somewhat as the administration refines its new strategy for high-speed rail, says Transport […]