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 Self-Driving Car Could Spell the End of Parking Craters
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Here’s the rosy scenario of a future where cars drive themselves: Instead of owning cars, people will summon autonomous vehicles, hop in, and head to their destination. With fewer cars to be stored, parking lots and garages will give way to development, eventually bringing down the cost of housing in tight markets through increased supply. […]
The Fuzzy Math in the Road Lobby’s Memo to Congress
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Don’t know what to make of the news that U.S. driving rates have dropped for the ninth year in a row? Looking for guidance about whether your state or city should be wantonly expanding roads or investing in transit, biking, and walking? The road lobby thinks you should turn to them for independent, unbiased analysis […]
You Know Bicycling Is Good for Your City. Now Prove It to the Skeptics.
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Quick quiz: Are you a left-brained cycling advocate or a right-brained cycling advocate? Here’s how to find out: If someone asks why you ride, do you talk about the wind in your hair and the sense of satisfaction achieved by pedaling up a hill? If so, you’re doing it wrong. If you want to sell […]
Making Transit Better Isn’t Enough. Driving Needs to Be Worse.
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So transit ridership is up. Everybody knows that. It’s at its highest point since 1956. Right? Well, ridership per capita is still less than half its 1956 point. And by 1956, transit ridership was already at a 40-year low. But with transit growing faster than car travel, at a rate that outpaces population growth, there […]
#GOPHipster Ads Try to Reach Young People With Gas-Price Populism. Oops.
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How embarrassing. The Republican National Committee’s outreach to young potential voters misses the mark so badly they’re just proving the point they were hoping to disprove: The party is absolutely clueless about young people. Exhibit A: the whiny young #GOPHipster in this RNC ad (the party calls it the “Create Your American Dream” campaign but […]
Moody’s: Future Is Bright for U.S. Transit Sector
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Yes, federal funding for transportation is expected to go negative before Congress is even due to pass a new bill. And yes, transit systems had a tough few years, cutting service and raising fares as the recession took a bite out of revenues. But guess what? In a credit outlook report released this week, Moody’s […]
Talking Headways Podcast: From the Free Market to the Flea Market
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You think the conflict between Uber and regular taxi drivers — and cities like Seattle — is bad? Check out how new taxi apps in China are upending the transportation system and central economic planning. Meanwhile, in Houston, a flea market has brought revitalization without gentrification to a depressed area near the airport, and now […]
FHWA Proposes to Let States Fail Their Own Safety Goals With Impunity
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This story has been updated to reflect comments and clarifications from the FHWA. Secretary Anthony Foxx has made clear that safety — and specifically, safety for bicyclists and pedestrians — is a priority of his administration. If that’s true, his administration sure has a funny way of showing it. The Federal Highway Administration’s proposal on […]
Does It Take a Crime This Egregious to Hold Drivers Accountable?
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A lively night out at one of the year’s most popular festivals turned to carnage last night as a driver rammed through barricades into a pedestrian-only zone at the South By Southwest music-and-film festival in Austin. In an attempt to avoid a drunk-driving check by a police officer, the driver — allegedly driving a stolen […]
Talking Headways Podcast: Taking Transit Numbers for a Spin
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What a week! Transit ridership skyrocketed (ahem, by 1.1 percent) to levels not seen since 1956 (depending how you look at it). Radio Shack is shutting down 20 percent of its stores. Is brick-and-mortar retail collapsing — and is it just as well, if getting delivery from Amazon is more efficient than driving to the […]
With Ridership on the Rise, Will Congress Step Up and Invest in Transit?
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Yesterday the American Public Transportation Association reported that Americans made more transit trips in 2013 than in any other year since 1956. Of course, per capita ridership is still low compared to the 1950s, and we’re nowhere near the ridership peaks of the 1940s. But when transit trips increase 1.1 percent while population rises 0.7 percent, you […]
Friday Afternoon Cartoon: T-Rex Nails It on Auto-Centric Urban Design
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Thank you, Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics, for this righteous and oddly poignant look at the dangers — and drudgery — caused by auto-centric urban design. Bravo, sir. You should get an honorary urban planning degree for this.