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
Placemaking to Make Friends: The Case of Cleveland’s East 4th Street
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Ari Maron had no friends. When he moved back to Cleveland after college, all his friends had moved away. “They’d all gone to New York and Chicago and San Francisco,” he said. “And none of them lived in cul-de-sacs. None of them drove SUVs. They all lived in mixed-use buildings, they were all connected to […]
Meet the Big Brains Shaping a New Freight Policy for the U.S.
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On Thursday, U.S. DOT announced the 47 people who will make up the new Freight Advisory Committee, tasked with coming up with a cohesive, strategic vision around freight movement in the United States. Freight crosses state lines and travels on every mode imaginable, but there is no national agency to coordinate all this movement of goods, […]
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Rail Champion, Dies at 89
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It’s a sad day for Amtrak. New Jersey Democrat Frank Lautenberg has died. Lautenberg was a passionate champion of Amtrak and rail travel in general. Just a few months ago, he pledged that “improving passenger and high-speed rail service in America and on the Northeast Corridor is a top priority” for him. Having battled stomach cancer, muscle […]
Ford Still Trying to Get Millennials to Like Them
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Poor Ford. They’re trying so hard. They’re like the Cassandra of the car world, foretelling the future of less driving, more transportation options, a preference for car-lite urban living. They’ve been re-designing their Mustang to appeal to younger folks and stressing their move away from cars and toward “mobility opportunities” (like driving cars). And now […]
Is Your Rep a Member of the New Public Transportation Caucus Yet?
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The answer to that question is: Probably not. Reps. Daniel Lipinski, a Democrat from Chicago, and Michael Grimm, a Republican representing Staten Island and a little slice of Brooklyn, announced their new transit-focused Congressional caucus just last week, and this week the House has been in recess. But according to Lipinski spokesperson Guy Tridgell, there has […]
Where’s the National Business Voice for Transit?
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At the local level, business has been a key force in cementing transit victories. But at a national level, the business voice has been largely absent from heated, high-stakes debates about transit. With a new report called “Bosses For Buses,” Good Jobs First investigates the disparity between local- and national-level organizing efforts by employers. In […]
Cyclists of Color: Invisible No More
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Let’s get one thing clear: People of color ride bikes. They commute to work on bikes. They ride for pleasure. It saves them money and time, and it keeps them healthy. But they may not show up at the Tweed Ride or the city council hearing on bicycle infrastructure. And cycling is still a divisive […]
Following NYC’s Historic Launch, Bike-Share Poised to Pop Up Everywhere
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Yesterday was a momentous day for sustainable transportation: New York City launched its Citi Bike system, logging a record-breaking 6,050 trips and 13,768 miles on its first day. Already the biggest bike-share system in the country, it’s on track to expand to nearly twice its current size. Somehow it feels like New York popped the cork […]
Q&A with Elly Blue, Feminist Bike Activist and Independent Media Titan
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Elly Blue’s latest publication, “Bikes in Space,” is a feminist sci-fi zine about her favorite mode of transportation. “I realized that because I work for myself, I can do anything I want,” she says by way of explanation. The amazing truth is that she makes a living writing whatever strikes her fancy about the intersection […]
I-5 Bridge Collapse: A Painful Reminder of the Nation’s Misguided Priorities
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In a searing reminder that the nation has to do a better job of keeping its infrastructure in safe working condition, the I-5 bridge between Burlington and Mt. Vernon, Washington, collapsed last night. Thankfully, no one was killed, and the three people whose vehicles fell into the water were hospitalized with only minor injuries. Interstate-5 […]
Bike-Share Leads People to Ride Their Own Bikes More
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A recent survey of Washington’s Capital Bikeshare members found that the average annual subscriber drove 198 fewer miles per year. That added up to about 4.4 million fewer miles of driving annually in the DC region. Members also saved an average of $800 a year per person. At about the same time the survey was […]
Pledge to Streetsblog and This Awesome Elly Blue Collection Could Be Yours
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Have you given to Streetsblog’s spring pledge drive yet? If not, may I suggest that this is the week to do so. In addition to supporting livable streets journalism and putting yourself in the running to win a Dahon folding bike, you could take home a sweet collection of books and zines courtesy of eminent […]