Recent Streetsblog USA posts about U.S. DOT

No Explanations as Traffic Deaths Jump 13.5 Percent

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 24, 2012 | 19 Comments

In the wake of the shocking and tragic massacre in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater, many people are now, understandably, skittish about going to the movies. But the most dangerous part of going to the movies is driving there. In the first three months of this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 7,630 […]

How State DOTs Got Congress to Grant Their Wish List

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 24, 2012 | 1 Comment

Bike and pedestrian funding got slashed. Federal assistance for transit operations was rejected. Even the performance measures – arguably the high point of the recently passed federal transportation bill – are too weak to be very meaningful. For Americans who want federal policy to support safe streets, sustainable transportation, and livable neighborhoods, there were few […]

Why Congress Can’t Kill the Partnership for Sustainable Communities

By Tanya Snyder | Jul 19, 2012 | 4 Comments

Let’s say you worked for a city that was trying to revitalize a piece of land with a bunch of dilapidated buildings on it. You want to build some residences and some retail space, and you want to make better connections to the street grid. Congratulations – HUD and U.S. DOT both have money to […]

Will Greater Cleveland Squander Its Chance to Be Competitive Again?

By Angie Schmitt | Jun 1, 2012 | 5 Comments

Population density in metro Cleveland, 1940 – 2007 The Obama Administration’s Sustainable Communities Initiative was tailor made for communities like greater Cleveland. Northeast Ohio has been sprawling for decades without adding any population, emptying out the notoriously troubled central city while the regional economy consistently under-performs. During the last decade the city of Cleveland lost […]

U.S. DOT Spells Out Priorities For Conference Bill

By Tanya Snyder | May 22, 2012 | No Comments

Hint to lonely hearts everywhere: If you’re looking for some correspondence, join the transportation conference committee. Those folks are getting a lot of mail these days. Everyone from the petrochemical industry to environmental and equity groups [PDF] to state DOT officials [PDF] are penning their missives to committee members, asking for everything from expedited project delivery […]

FRA Guidance on Pedestrian Safety Still Misses the Real Problem

By Tanya Snyder | Apr 30, 2012 | 13 Comments

The Federal Railroad Administration doesn’t call people walking near railroad tracks “pedestrians.” It calls them “trespassers.” True, a person walking on railroad tracks is often, by definition, breaking the law, since the tracks are private property. But the nomenclature gives the impression that the agency might be somewhat less sympathetic than they should be about […]

Show More Stories