Recent Streetsblog USA posts about State Legislature

“Anti-Livability” Bills Threaten to Clip Arlington’s Wings

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 28, 2011 | 3 Comments

A pair of bills making their way through Virginia’s House of Delegates threaten to slam the brakes on smart growth and livability efforts in Arlington and throughout Northern Virginia. House Bills 1998 and 1999, put forward by Delegate Jim LeMunyon (R-Fairfax), have been dubbed the “Anti-Livability” bills by local transportation reformers. HB 1998 seeks to […]

LaHood: NYC’s Congestion Pricing Money Still There for the Taking

By Ben Fried | May 14, 2009 | 12 Comments

Speaking at an event in Midtown yesterday morning, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood let it be known that New York City can still claim hundreds of millions of dollars in federal transit funding — if local lawmakers implement congestion pricing. NY1 reports: The city was slated to receive about $350 million in federal transportation funds to […]

Want a Clean Bill of Health for the MTA? Call Obama.

By John Kaehny | May 8, 2009 | 10 Comments

Photo: AP/Post-Standard Former MTA CEO Lee Sander spent the last two-and-a-half years doing his best to make the MTA a transparent, accountable public agency, and in doing so restore its reputation. He let the sunshine in, but was unable to undo the damage to the agency’s image caused by years of attacks from transit advocates, […]

Does the State Senate’s MTA Plan Pass Environmental Muster?

By Ben Fried | Apr 22, 2009 | 3 Comments

Where’s the Assembly’s eco-warrior when you need him? The Municipal Art Society came out with a report yesterday urging New York State to start analyzing greenhouse gas emissions in its environmental review process (SEQRA). MAS argues that the policy could be adopted without changing existing laws, which raises an interesting question to ponder on this […]

Albany’s Transit Sins Come Back to Bite America

By Ben Fried | Feb 4, 2009 | 4 Comments

How many true transit advocates are in this picture? Just how bad are the service cuts and layoffs that transit agencies across the country will soon be forced to enact? Severe enough to weaken the national economy, the New York Times reports — all while Congress pieces together a stimulus plan that does nothing to […]