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
Congress to U.S. DOT: The Roads Aren’t Safe Until They’re Safe For Everyone
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Yes, traffic fatalities have been (mostly) going down, but as long as cyclist and pedestrian fatalities keep going up, we can’t truly say our streets and roads are getting safer. That’s the message from 68 members of Congress to one pretty receptive audience: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. In their letter to LaHood, sent on Saturday, […]
More March Madness: REI Pits Cycling Cities Against Each Other
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We hope you’re enjoying our Parking Madness Sweet 16-style tournament to determine the most soul-killing parking crater in a U.S. downtown. Here’s another one you might like: REI is holding a tournament to determine the best cycling city. Today, Denver and Washington, DC square off in the Suit & Tie Dye region. Tomorrow, it’s New […]
Another Slanted High-Speed Rail Story From Anderson Cooper
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Not one to back away from a terrible argument, CNN’s Anderson Cooper is sticking with his series exposing the “boondoggle” of federal high-speed rail funding. In a segment aired Monday night, he and reporter Drew Griffin hammered away yet again at their argument that high-speed rail has been a waste of money. Under the tagline […]
Will New Oil Supplies Slow the Transition to Green Transportation?
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What if peak oil doesn’t take care of gas-guzzling by cutting off the supply? The Saudi oil fields may be finite, but new sources like the Canadian tar sands and the North Dakota oil shale keep opening up. That poses a challenge to the shift away from carbon-intensive transportation, according to Deborah Gordon, who studies transportation oils […]
Study: Homes Near Transit Were Insulated From the Housing Crash
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If you live close to a transit station, chances are you’ve weathered the recession better than your friends who don’t. Your transportation costs are probably lower, since you can take transit instead of driving. Transit-served areas are usually more walkable and bikeable too, multiplying your options. And while home values plummeted during a recession that […]
Freeways Without Futures: CNU Is Taking Nominations!
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We’re suckers for a good contest and here’s a great one: Congress for the New Urbanism is seeking video submissions to determine the most hopeless disaster of a freeway in America. Do you have a highway in your community that deserves to be torn down? An antiquated beast of vehicle throughput cutting residences off from […]
Will Big Highway Projects Have to Consider Climate Change?
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Since 1970, the National Environmental Protection Act has required federal agencies to consider the impacts of their projects on air, water, and soil pollution — but not on climate change. Until recently, carbon dioxide, which causes global warning, wasn’t classified as a pollutant and so couldn’t be regulated under environmental laws. The EPA in 2009 […]
Is ASCE Failing to Tell America to Spend Wisely on Infrastructure?
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The American Society of Civil Engineers released its new report card for U.S. infrastructure yesterday. The topline grades: The country’s “GPA” has gone from a D four years ago to a D+; roads have gone from a D- to a D; transit has stayed steady at a D; and rail made the biggest leap, from […]
Obama’s Clean Energy Policy Elevates Efficient Cars Over Efficient Modes
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It has a nice ring to it: using oil and gas revenue to shift transportation off oil and gas dependence. President Obama announced a plan to do just that on Friday — but the details of his plan are disappointing if you want to see the conversation on clean transportation go beyond cars. The Energy Security […]
Sen. Patty Murray Increases Transportation Investment in 2014 Budget
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So, right now you’re thinking, “God save me, not another post about the budget!” And you’re to be forgiven. There are two versions of the FY 2013 budget out there right now (House and Senate), for a year that’s half over. There are the budget cuts from the sequester that everyone’s still waiting to feel […]
CDC: Americans Drive Distracted Waaaay More Than Europeans
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If you’ve been on a U.S. street anytime in the past few years, it comes as no surprise to hear that way too many Americans are yammering away on their cell phones — or worse, OMG’ing and LOL’ing with their friends on text and email — while driving. A new report from the CDC — […]
Lawmakers Fret About Impact of Budget Cuts on Transit
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“In 2014, federal investment in surface transportation — which is currently about $50 billion per year — will drop to $6 billion or $7 billion. In one year.” Those were the dire words spoken by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) at the start of this morning’s Transportation & Infrastructure Committee hearing on MAP-21. What he meant […]