Tanya Snyder
Tanya became Streetsblog's Capitol Hill editor in September 2010 after covering Congress for Pacifica Radios Washington bureau and for public radio stations around the country. She lives car-free in a transit-oriented and bike-friendly neighborhood of Washington, DC.
Recent Posts
Why the Senate Transportation Bill Will Devastate Transit
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Transit officials lined up today to make clear that holding transit spending at current levels — as the Senate’s transportation authorization bill does — will put transit systems at risk of falling further into dangerous disrepair. The backlog for transit maintenance and replacement stands “conservatively” at $86 billion, according to the Federal Transit Administration. That […]
Talking Headways Podcast: Houston, Transit Paradise?
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Welcome to a super-long extra-bonus episode of Talking Headways! We only took on two topics this week, but we got so enthralled by both of them we just couldn’t shut up. First, we talked to Christof Spieler, a member of Houston Metro, about the “blank-sheet” bus overhaul he helped design. Instead of trying to tweak the […]
Two Weeks to Go in Our Spring Pledge Drive — Support Streetsblog Today
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We’re in the home stretch of the Streetsblog spring pledge drive. If you haven’t given yet, please make a donation today. Your support makes a world of difference. When you give to Streetsblog you’re helping to set the agenda for streets and transportation policy at the national level and in cities across the country. U.S. DOT […]
Wisconsin’s Outdated Transportation Priorities Are Alienating Young People
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Over-spending on roads is a bad idea for any state DOT. But it’s an especially bad idea if that state needs to retain more young people who don’t want to be shackled to cars. That’s the situation Wisconsin finds itself in, as detailed in a report the WISPIRG Foundation released today called, “Driving Wisconsin’s ‘Brain Drain’: How […]
Sen. Bob Corker Sets Up for Gas Tax Increase, Yanks the Football
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Last week — Infrastructure Week, as it happens — Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) sent an urgent plea [PDF] to the leaders of the Environment and Public Works Committee the day before they unanimously approved the committee’s transportation reauthorization bill and sent it to the full Senate. Corker also sent his letter to the top members of the […]
Sprawl Madness Redux: Driving 17 Miles to Go 500 Feet in Phoenix
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Last year, Angie posted an unfortunate map of two houses in Orlando that share a backyard but are seven miles apart if you take the disconnected local street system. That’s quite a distance to ask your neighbor for a cup of sugar. Well, reader Sean Horan just sent this mind-blowing sequel: two houses in Phoenix, […]
Mayor Chris Koos of Normal, Illinois: Gutting TIGER Hurts Small Towns
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Last week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed its transportation bill. The bill is a blueprint for spending $265 billion on surface transportation over six years. It doesn’t include transit or rail provisions yet, and no funding source has been found for it. Streetsblog wanted to hear from a local official about how […]
Congratulations to the Winners of the Showers & Snow Photo Contest!
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Congratulations to Todd Consentino and Chris Chaney, winners of the Ortlieb Showers & Snow photo contest by the Alliance for Biking & Walking and Streetsblog. We received over 100 photos of rainy, snowy biking and walking from dozens of photographers. Ten photos made it to the final round; of those, two were chosen by a (somewhat buggy) popular vote. […]
Sec. Foxx Braves the Rain for Bike to Work Day
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It’s Bike to Work Day, and despite pouring rain, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx came out to the Washington Area Bicyclists Association event in Freedom Plaza, getting soaked in shorts and a baseball cap. No disrespect to Ray LaHood, who did more for cycling than any Secretary of Transportation ever had, but he never showed […]
Senate Transportation Bill Moves Forward With a Few Key Changes
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The Senate’s proposal for the next transportation reauthorization took another step forward today with the unanimous approval of the Environment and Public Works Committee. The bill the members sent to the full Senate was slightly different from the one that was unveiled Monday night. The changes include [PDF]: An amendment introduced by Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) […]
President Obama’s Hollow Push for Infrastructure Investment
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This afternoon, President Obama stood by New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge and made a speech pressing Congress to do something about infrastructure investment. It’s part of his Infrastructure Week push for Congress to pass a fully funded transportation reauthorization bill. Many other groups are spending this week sounding the same horn. “If they don’t act […]
Calling All Kids! Join Us For a Streetsblog/GGW Playdate
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Cities are great places to raise children, and DC in particular. So we at Streetsblog are teaming up with Greater Greater Washington to host a playdate and family picnic to bring our readers together for some kid-friendly fun. Instead of another after-work happy hour at a 21+ bar, we want to get to know each other’s families […]