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
Stimulus Bill Is a Step Forward for Pedestrians, Cyclists & Cities
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Within the $27.5 billion allocated for "highways" in the stimulus bill signed by President Obama yesterday, there is some good news for pedestrians, cyclists and cities. I spoke with Michelle Ernst, staff analyst at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, to get a sense of how the new legislation compares to the 2005 federal transportation bill, known […]
Tonight: PBS on Transit, States, and the Stimulus
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Streetsbloggers will want to tune in to PBS tonight for the latest installment in the Blueprint America series. At 8:30 (in New York), NOW will look at where all that stimulus cash is headed. Here’s the teaser: President Barack Obama’s stimulus money is nearly out the door and on its way to the states, but […]
Final Stimulus Bill Slaps Transit Riders in the Face
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The final tally is in, and we now have a breakdown for transportation funding in the stimulus bill that President Obama will sign, barring some unforeseen turn of the screw. Via Transportation for America: $29 billion for highways and bridges $8.4 billion for transit $8 billion for high-speed rail $1.3 billion for Amtrak To compare […]
Wiki Wednesday: The Story of the Stimulus
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Looks like the conference committee made quick work of the stimulus bill, with Harry Reid announcing that a deal has been reached much sooner than expected (perhaps a bit too prematurely). We’ll have the specifics on transportation funding later tonight or early tomorrow. For now, relive the stimulus saga with StreetsWiki. Contributor DianaD has added […]
Stim Bill About to Enter Final Negotiations
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Negotiators from the House and Senate are set to begin talks finalizing the stimulus bill at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon, Reuters reports. While a topline figure of $789 billion has apparently been agreed to in principle, the devil is in the details, and there’s still time to speak up for investment in green transportation and […]
Cartoon Tuesday: Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back?
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Hat tip to David Alpert for this Tom Toles toon, which nails the disconnect between the brave green world we’re supposedly entering and the dramatic cutbacks plaguing transit systems across the country. Click through for the punchline (I kind of gave it away already). Toles’ transit system, the DC Metro, is on the verge of […]
Obama: The Days of “Building Sprawl Forever” Are Over
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Obama in Ft. Myers This is encouraging. On the stump in Fort Myers, Florida to campaign for the stimulus bill, President Obama took a detour from his well-worn "roads and bridges" infrastructure spiel to deliver some brief remarks on transit and land use. Obama’s answer came in response to a city council member who said […]
Senate Approves Stimulus Bill — On to Conference Committee
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Transportation Enhancements funding helped to expand Roberto Clemente Plaza at the Bronx Hub. The League of American Bicyclists has issued an action alert to keep that program in the stimulus bill. The Senate approved its version of the stimulus bill this afternoon by a 61-37 vote. Attention now turns to conference committee negotiations, where differences […]
Stimulus Update: Senate Compromise Unlikely to Raid Transit Funds
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According to a list posted by Politico, the Senate left transit funding untouched in the stim bill compromise brokered yesterday. For now, it appears safe to take a break from contacting your senators about this particular point of concern. Whether it’s smart policy to trim the recovery package while the economy hemorrhages jobs is a […]
Urgent Action: Billions for Transit in Jeopardy
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A Senate amendment full of spending cuts would strip $3.4 billion in transit funding from the stimulus package, Greg Sargent reports. One of the few areas that might get a spending increase in the amendment is highways. The amendment, sponsored by Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Ben Nelson, is seen as a bipartisan compromise that […]
Where Does Stimulus Cash Go From Here? TSTC Explains.
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While we’ve been focusing on the stimulus action in Washington this week, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign has kept an eye on the region’s state DOTs, which will dispense billions for transportation infrastructure. On Wednesday Tri-State filed suit to prevent the New Jersey Turnpike Authority from widening the Garden State Parkway, a project the agency intends […]
Update on Stimulus Action in the Senate — Keep Up the Pressure
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The latest word from DC is that Kit Bond’s pro-highway/anti-rail amendments have yet to come to the floor, while the Inhofe/Boxer amendment to create a $50 billion highway slush fund is still being finalized by its authors. The phone calls and emails are having an effect — Boxer felt enough pressure to adjust her amendment, […]