Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Bike/Ped

U.S. DOT to Challenge AASHTO Supremacy on Bike/Ped Safety Standards

By Tanya Snyder | Feb 28, 2013 | 20 Comments

For years, the federal government has adopted roadway guidelines that fall far short of what’s needed — and what’s possible — to protect cyclists and pedestrians. By “playing it safe” and sticking with old-school engineering, U.S. DOT allowed streets to be unsafe for these vulnerable road users. But that could be changing. The bike-friendliest transportation […]

Pro-Bike Republican Tom Petri to Chair Key House Transpo Panel

By Tanya Snyder | Jan 16, 2013 | No Comments

The Republican co-chair of the Congressional Bicycling Caucus is getting a leadership position with some real gravitas. Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) was just named the new chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee in the House — the epicenter of the chamber’s surface transportation legislation. The list of Republicans who support active transportation is pretty short […]

New Black Box Rule Isn’t Enough to Hold Drivers Accountable For Ped Crashes

By Tanya Snyder and Stephen Miller | Dec 17, 2012 | 4 Comments

Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed a new rule requiring automakers to install event data recorders, known as EDRs or black boxes, in all light passenger vehicles. While the rule would expand the number of vehicles equipped to record critical information in the moments preceding a crash, that alone won’t aid […]

Seven Jiu-Jitsu Moves for Advocates to Use MAP-21 to Their Own Advantage

By Tanya Snyder | Dec 11, 2012 | 2 Comments

OK, truth: Raise your hand if you find federal transportation legislation intimidating and incomprehensible. I thought so. Me too. The problem, as you know, is that it’s enormously important that advocates not only understand the new transportation law, MAP-21, but that they understand it in granular detail so they can find the small opportunities buried […]

Four Republicans Who Might Work Across the Aisle on Transportation

By Tanya Snyder | Dec 4, 2012 | 6 Comments

UPDATE: An earlier version of this article included Robert Dold as the fifth potential aisle-crosser. I’ve since been informed that Dold lost his re-election bid this year. Charlie Bass and Judy Biggert, named briefly at the bottom for supporting the Senate transportation bill and Amtrak funding, also lost their elections, making this list even shorter. First […]

Eight Burning Questions About Post-Election Transpo Policy and Politics

By Tanya Snyder | Dec 3, 2012 | 7 Comments

If I’ve learned one thing from all the meetings about transportation I’ve covered, it’s this: There is no progress without a solution on funding. Every conversation about infrastructure turns on the question of how to pay for it. As the power of the gas tax declines, can it be restored or replaced? Does the political […]

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