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
Talking Headways Podcast: Get Off My Lawn
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Jeff Wood and I talk about the news of the week that most tickled us or burned us — the BBC’s exposé of anti-social urban design features intended to repel people, San Francisco’s social tensions over the Google bus, and the decision by Cincinnati’s new mayor and City Council to “pause” construction of the streetcar. […]
Enrique Peñalosa: Democracy Is Bus-Only Lanes and Protected Bikeways
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I lived in Bogotá, Colombia, for about half of 2002. While I was there, a political party headquarters near my house was car-bombed, guerrillas attacked the presidential inauguration, and thousands of people were killed in routine violence. It was a stressful place to live. Adding to that stress was the speed and chaos of traffic. […]
Talking Headways Podcast, Episode 4: Car Brain
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In this week’s podcast, Jeff and I discuss the impressive turnout — and possible pitfalls — of London’s “die-in” demonstration for bike safety. We try to contain our envy (but not our amazement) at Paul Salopek’s seven-year walk tracing the path of Homo sapiens from the Rift Valley to Tierra del Fuego. And we discuss […]
Study: All Across America, Car Commuting Is Dropping
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U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group are on a mission to explore the downward trend in driving. In a series of reports, they point to evidence that it isn’t just a temporary blip, but a long-term shift in how Americans get around. Today, the two organizations released a new report, “Transportation in Transition: A Look at Changing Travel Patterns in […]
Robert Grow on Utah’s Decision to Build Transit and Shun Sprawl
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In the late 1990s, an organization called Envision Utah brought together a broad spectrum of people to figure out how to plan for major population growth. They started by asking participants to mark out areas that shouldn’t be developed — wilderness, national parks, agricultural land. Then, they had to figure out how to fit future […]
Give to Streetsblog and Streetfilms and Enter to Win a New PUBLIC Bike
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Last week, when everyone was getting all sappy over Thanksgiving, did you give thanks for Streetsblog? Even a little bit? Maybe, as you gave thanks for health and family, you thought about the hours you spend reading Streetsblog’s thorough coverage of the issues that you’re most passionate about — the things that either make your […]
Concrete Proposals for Raising Gas Tax Finally on the Table
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After a lot of vague talk about transportation revenues since the passage of MAP-21 — “everything is on the table” and “we need to think outside the box” — real proposals are finally being presented. A few months ago, House Transportation Committee Chair Bill Shuster told me, “The surest way to kill something is to […]
Report: More Kids Are Walking to School
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The long–term decline of walking and biking to school has been linked to the childhood obesity epidemic, a big share of morning rush hour traffic, and even kids’ lack of attention in class. In 1969, 41 percent of children in grades K–8 lived within one mile of school, and of those kids, 89 percent usually walked or biked. By 2009, […]
Q&A With Robert Grow: How Utah Decided to Embrace “Quality Growth”
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If you’ve ever wondered how a deep-red state like Utah has managed to build some of the most ambitious transit expansions in the country, the short answer is: Envision Utah. Starting in the late nineties, the non-profit Envision Utah brought together an incredibly broad spectrum of interests, including plenty of people without a specific stake in […]
This Thanksgiving, I’m Thankful to Be in This Movement With You
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Can I be a little corny here? Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Genocide of Native Americans aside (wow, that’s not something I ever thought I’d write) — I’m a fan of secular holidays, especially those that encourage us to give thanks for what we already have, rather than force us to go out […]
Talking Headways: A Streetsblog Podcast, Episode 3
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This week, Jeff and Tanya take on the Atlanta Braves’ terrible, no-good, very bad decision to move their stadium to Cobb County, Georgia. We discuss cities that are (and are not) shaped like wedding cakes, and whether that means you need to smoosh your spouse’s face in it. Tanya makes a pedestrian-rights argument against high-heeled […]
Join Us for Happy Hour in DC Monday, December 9!
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Please join us for a winter warmer happy hour at DC’s transportation-themed bar, The Passenger. Streetsblog Capitol Hill has long been jealous of the swanky soirees our compatriots up in New York City throw every year, and we got inspired to throw our very first shindig right here in DC! We look forward to seeing […]