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
DC’s New Parents Aren’t Fleeing to the Burbs
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Reading this sentence in a mainstream publication just validated everything I feel about the kind of parent I want to be: “It doesn’t mean millennials put parenthood second, but their definition of what makes a good parent is Mom and Dad being happy, and exposing their child to all the things that they have enjoyed.” […]
Spend 30 Minutes Watching This Doc and You’ll Spend the Next 30 Walking
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Every Body Walk!, the new campaign spearheaded by Kaiser Permanente and a host of other organizations — including the Office of the Surgeon General — is on fire. Two weeks after hosting its first sold-out conference in Washington, DC, the campaign has put out this excellent documentary on the importance of integrating walking into our […]
Suburbs Take Center Stage Among Bicycle Friendly Communities
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Where are the newest Bicycle Friendly Communities? Many of them are in the ‘burbs. As we mentioned a few days ago, more suburban-style communities received the League of American Bicyclists’ BFC honor this week. That’s a shift from previous years. “The national boom in biking has officially found a pedal-hold in a previously unlikely place: the […]
Government Shutdown to End, Leaving Transit Agencies to Pick Up the Pieces
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Congratulations, gentle Congresspeople. You have come up with a deeply flawed solution to a problem only you would create. Never mind that it set up another showdown three months from now. The good news is the government shutdown is almost over, for the moment. More than 18,000 furloughed U.S. DOT officials can return to work. […]
Jeff Speck: America Has So Many Problems. Walkability Solves Most of Them.
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In the ineffable way of all TED talkers, urban planner Jeff Speck, author of “The Walkable City,” has made a concise, urgent, and oddly charming argument for walkability. In just under 17 minutes, Speck has articulated the economic, epidemiological, and environmental arguments to end automobile dependency and start using our feet again. It’s worth a […]
Pediatric Org’s Bicycle Recommendations Explained, in Terrifying Detail
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There’s nothing quite like listening to a preeminent expert in pediatric injury prevention telling you you’re taking unnecessary risks with your child’s life. That more or less sums up my conversation yesterday with Dr. Phyllis Agran, who has authored and consulted on many American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policies relating to childhood injury and trauma […]
U.S. DOT Still Has Time to Get MAP-21 Performance Measures Right
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Many transportation reform advocates were disappointed in the performance measures included in MAP-21, which was signed into law in July 2012. They weren’t tied to funding, they gave states and localities too much leeway to set their own performance targets, and they measured the wrong things. But there’s still a chance for them to get […]
Arlington Strikes Walking Gold in a River of Highways and Pentagon Sprawl
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Urbanists have long told tales of the success story of Arlington, Virginia. Named a gold-level walk-friendly community by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, this Washington, DC suburb made the smart decision in the 70s to develop along the metrorail line. Because of that, Arlington workers drive alone at a rate 25 percent lower than […]
And the Kiddies + Cities Photography Winners Are…
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Many thanks to the 90 readers who sent photos of city life and car-free transportation with children, and also to the 639 of you who voted. We are happy to announce the two winners of a free Breezer bike. This picture of Dave Cowan’s daughter, Isabelle, ran away with 259 votes — an impressive 41 […]
NAACP: A Walkable Built Environment Is a “Premier Civil Rights Issue”
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The shooting at the Capitol yesterday, which took place as Walking Summit advocates were there lobbying lawmakers, underscores a very important point: Street safety isn’t just about sidewalks and traffic. It’s also about crime. That’s one aspect that walkability advocates often overlook when discussing improvements to make an area “safer” for pedestrians. “For us, the […]
At MAP-21’s Halfway Mark, Leaders Gather to Start the “Walking Revolution”
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This week, in the midst of a government shutdown, at least one thing was moving and shaking in Washington: the first-ever Walking Summit. Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, America Walks, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and several other national groups, the conference sold out more than a month before showtime, the enthusiastic response surprising […]
Cast Your Vote for the Best Picture of Car-Free Kiddies in Cities
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Are cities good places for children? The hundreds of beautiful photos you all sent in to our Kiddies + Cities Photo Contest, co-sponsored by the Alliance for Biking & Walking, testify that the answer to that question is “yes.” The vibrancy and diversity in cities make them fertile ground for children’s sponge-like minds and boundless […]