Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Government Organizations

3 Reasons Politicians Like Building New Roads More Than Fixing Old Ones

By Angie Schmitt | Sep 1, 2015 | 7 Comments

American transportation policy places a premium on delivering big, shiny new things. As much as the big state transportation agencies and their political bosses love pouring concrete, they tend to avoid keeping the things they build in good working condition. Many state DOTs still spend upwards of 90 percent of their annual budgets on new construction, according […]

Feds to Traffic Engineers: Use Our Money to Build Protected Bike Lanes

By Angie Schmitt | Aug 24, 2015 | 30 Comments

The Federal Highway Administration wants to clear the air: Yes, state and local transportation agencies should use federal money to construct high-quality biking and walking infrastructure. State and local DOTs deploy an array of excuses to avoid building designs like protected bike lanes. “It’s not in the manual” is a favorite. So is “the feds won’t fund that.” Whether […]

FHWA Gleefully Reports That Driving Is Rising Again

By Angie Schmitt | Aug 21, 2015 | 12 Comments

After flatlining for nearly a decade, the mileage driven by Americans is rising once again. That means more traffic overwhelming city streets, slowing down buses, and spewing pollutants into the air. But to the Federal Highway Administration, it’s a development to report with barely contained glee. This June, Americans drove 8.7 billion more miles than last June, […]

Senate Transpo Bill Sinks Under the Weight of Its Own Chicanery

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 23, 2015 | 2 Comments

Last night, the Senate voted to proceed with the consideration of the transportation bill Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democrat Barbara Boxer had worked out. It was just a day after the body had voted to block progress, objecting that they hadn’t had time to even look at the bill. The policy elements of the […]

Senate Committee Moves to Eliminate TIGER Program in Next Transpo Bill

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 14, 2015 | 5 Comments

The Republican-controlled Senate is poised to eliminate the TIGER program, one of the few sources of federal funds that cities can access directly to improve streets and transit. While the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s outline for its portion of a six-year bill was a marginal improvement on the status quo, the Commerce Committee’s portion, known […]

HUD Tells Cleveland: Don’t Let Opportunity Corridor Go “Horribly Wrong”

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 7, 2015 | No Comments

It was a sad day in Washington, DC, last year when Harriet Tregoning left the DC Office of Planning. But it’s becoming clear that she’s a great addition at HUD. In her capacity as the agency’s principal deputy assistant secretary for community development, Tregoning issued a stern warning to the city of Cleveland and Ohio DOT last […]

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