Recent Streetsblog USA posts about U.S. DOT

Leadership Shakeup at U.S. DOT: What Will It Mean for Transit and Biking?

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 3, 2014 | 1 Comment

Two of the Obama administration’s top transportation officials are heading elsewhere, creating a leadership shake-up at U.S. DOT. As you may have heard, U.S. DOT Under Secretary for Policy Polly Trottenberg was tapped by incoming New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to head the city’s transportation department this week. Also on the way out is Deputy […]

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 […]

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 […]

HUD and U.S. DOT Embrace Housing + Transportation Metric for Affordability

By Tanya Snyder | Nov 12, 2013 | 19 Comments

A few years ago, the Center for Neighborhood Technology gave a wonderful gift to urbanists and planners: the Housing + Transportation Index. This simple calculation clarified and popularized a key concept: that transportation costs must be taken into account in any measurement of “affordability.” Without that, potential homebuyers and renters make the mistake of “saving” […]

U.S. DOT Still Has Time to Get MAP-21 Performance Measures Right

By Tanya Snyder | Oct 11, 2013 | No Comments

Many transportation reform advocates were disappointed in the performance measures included in MAP-21, which was signed into law in July 2012. They weren’t tied to funding, they gave states and localities too much leeway to set their own performance targets, and they measured the wrong things. But there’s still a chance for them to get […]

Shutdown: Congress Prepares to Furlough One-Third of U.S. DOT Staff

By Tanya Snyder | Sep 30, 2013 | 4 Comments

Looks like we’re heading for a real, honest-to-goodness government shutdown tomorrow due to a childish Congressional food fight over budgets and health care. Already this year, thousands of government employees faced furloughs due to sequestration, and now they’re looking at an indefinite unpaid leave. It’ll last until Congress can play nice and make a deal […]

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