Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Government Organizations

NYC’s Next Transportation Commissioner Is Polly Trottenberg

By Ben Fried | Jan 2, 2014 | No Comments

Bill de Blasio has appointed U.S. DOT Under Secretary for Policy Polly Trottenberg to lead the New York City Department of Transportation. Trottenberg is a veteran federal policy maker, whose resume includes stints working for New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan on the 1998 federal transportation bill and for Senator Chuck Schumer. At the Obama […]

New Layer of Red Tape From FHWA Threatens to Delay NYC Bike Projects

By Ben Fried | Dec 20, 2013 | No Comments

The Federal Highway Administration is seeking to impose a new layer of bureaucratic review on New York City bike projects, which could significantly delay the implementation of street redesigns that have proven to reduce traffic injuries and deaths. According to a source in city government, FHWA wants the New York State DOT to review each […]

Transpo Agencies Are Terrible at Predicting Traffic Levels

By Angie Schmitt | Dec 17, 2013 | 26 Comments

Americans’ travel behavior is changing dramatically. It seems like not a week passes without a new report about the decline in driving. But are state and local transportation agencies — which are responsible for much of the nation’s highway and transportation planning — keeping up with the facts on the ground? A review of the evidence […]

Will Old Transit Systems Eat Up All the New Starts Grants?

By Tanya Snyder | Dec 17, 2013 | 8 Comments

One of MAP-21’s many mixed blessings was the New Starts Core Capacity program. It expanded eligibility for New Starts grants — normally reserved as capital assistance for new transit lines — to existing corridors. To qualify, the system just had to show that the improvements would expand the capacity of the line by at least […]

It Could Cost More to Shut Down Cincy Streetcar Than Finish It

By Tanya Snyder | Nov 21, 2013 | 10 Comments

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory is frustrated that all his work to bring the streetcar to fruition might be for naught, now that anti-streetcar John Cranley has been elected to take his place. “I’m from the tough part of town,” Mallory joked. “I will take the guy in a dark alley. I’m not afraid to use […]

Senators Warner and Blunt Take Another Stab at an Infrastructure Bank

By Tanya Snyder | Nov 19, 2013 | 2 Comments

You’d be forgiven for being cynical about big plans in Washington to create an infrastructure bank. President Obama has been talking about it for years. Every so often he comes out with a new big “push” for infrastructure investment, and it includes a bank of some kind. Multiple Senate bills have proposed an infrastructure bank […]

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