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
How the GROW AMERICA Act Could Modernize Federal Transportation Policy
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Yesterday, U.S. DOT did something it hadn’t done for a decade: submit a surface transportation authorization bill to Congress. And what a bill it is. The $302 billion, four-year GROW AMERICA Act has several major reforms that would shift federal policy in a more multi-modal direction. One big change that we’ve noted before is that […]
Obama Administration Sends Transportation Bill to Congress
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The Obama administration today sent Congress its proposal for a multi-year transportation bill, which it’s calling the GROW AMERICA Act. The bill, based on the budget proposal President Obama released two months ago, relies on corporate tax reform to raise $87 billion to fill the hole in the Highway Trust Fund. The four-year bill would cost $302 billion. […]
Will Maryland Finally Build a Safe Bike/Ped Crossing on the Susquehanna?
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Imagine you live in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Congratulations: It’s a lovely, quaint little town. I’ve enjoyed stopping by on my way between DC and Philly, eating ice cream and watching sailboats bobble in the water where the Susquehanna River spills into the Chesapeake Bay. Now let’s imagine you work in Baltimore. You want to […]
Photo Contest: Send Us Your Soggy, Snowy, Rain-Soaked Walk or Bike Ride!
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This year has dealt us some crazy weather, from the polar vortex to drenching thunderstorms. We know you didn’t hide all winter in a car. You were out walking the walk and riding the bike, whatever the weather. We hope you got a picture of it! In honor of April showers — and to celebrate […]
The Death Toll From Cars Is Even Higher Than You Thought
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Ten days ago, four-year-old Zain Ali Hussain was killed near Houston when a neighbor backed his pickup truck over him. At least 50 times a week, people back their cars over kids in the U.S. On average, two of those 50 incidents are fatal. But you won’t see them represented in official crash statistics. Every year, the […]
Active Transportation Loses a Key Republican Ally as Rep. Tom Petri Retires
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For years, if there was a Republican sponsor of a good piece of legislation on active transportation in the House, more often than not it was Tom Petri of Wisconsin. Advocates will be sorry to learn that Rep. Petri has announced that after 35 years in Congress, he will not seek another term. Petri is […]
How Hartford’s Bet on Cars Set the Stage for Population Loss and Segregation
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Hartford, Connecticut, has one of the highest poverty rates in the country. The urban renaissance that has visited so many cities hasn’t arrived there. Housing is still cheaper in the city than in the suburbs, and although suburban poverty is growing alarmingly fast, it’s nowhere near the levels seen in the city. There are multiple […]
Talking Headways Podcast: Escobar’s Escalator
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Did you go to the World Urban Forum in Medellín, Colombia, last week? Neither did your hosts Jeff Wood and I, but we sure found a lot to say about it anyway on this week’s Talking Headways podcast. Medellín’s remarkable urban transformation — undertaken in the midst of war — has gotten a lot of […]
Transit Union and Sierra Club Join Forces for Earth Day and Beyond
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Earth Day is a week from tomorrow. How many people will drive to their local environmental festival without even a second thought to how they got there? The Amalgamated Transit Union and the Sierra Club will announce tomorrow that they are joining forces to highlight the connection between transportation and climate change. Transit is important, […]
Uncle Sam Wants You to Drive: 5 Tax Breaks for Cars in the U.S. Tax Code
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It’s April 15. If you bought an electric car in 2013, you can claim a tax break today. If you bought a plug-in hybrid, you can get a tax break today. But if you don’t own a car and walk to work instead? Sorry, Charlie. There’s a whole array of goodies in the U.S. tax […]
DC Region’s New Long-Range Plan Fails to Meet Its Own Climate Goals
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If sea levels rise just one foot in the Washington, DC, area, nearly 1,700 homes could be lost. Is the region’s transportation planning agency doing enough to stop that from happening? Several environmental and smart-growth organizations in the region are saying no. Seventeen groups have signed on to a letter, being delivered today, urging the […]
EPW Big Four Announce Plan to Maintain Status Quo for the Next Transpo Bill
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Last year, while the House flailed in partisan misery, the Senate passed a transportation bill 74 to 22. When the bill was signed into law, it was considered one of the few real achievements of a deeply divided Congress. Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer got tremendous credit for enacting legislation three years […]