http://dc.streetsblog.org Your daily source for national transportation policy news and analysis. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:31:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Back in June, when the Senate was in the early stages of its marathon health care reform debate, several Republicans blasted the  proposed legislation for including a grant program aimed at encouraging construction of local infrastructure to promote healthier movement. The new Senate ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/20/senate-health-bill-holds-onto-grants-for-healthier-transportation/ The average carbon emissions of U.S. vehicles. (Image: EPA)It's a storyline that the media and the auto industry have embraced: Higher gas prices are the magic ingredient that U.S. carmakers need in order to sell more fuel-efficient vehicles to consumers.  ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/20/higher-gas-prices-alone-wont-make-cleaner-cars-a-reality/ (ed. note. Please welcome contributor Chris Bradford, author of the economics blog Austin Contrarian.) As this recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report reminds us, the answer is "very regressive." Even in lean economic times, the average rent in San ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/20/just-how-regressive-is-americas-federal-housing-policy/ As the federal deficit squeezes the Obama administration's options for financing ambitious new infrastructure projects, public-private partnerships (PPPs) are gaining currency as a possible solution. And in an illustration of PPPs' potential, the $86 billion private-equity firm Carlyle Group yesterday struck a deal with the state of Connecticut to run ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/20/carlyle-groups-new-infrastructure-public-private-partnership-donuts/ Streetsblog New York reported last week on the state DOT's expensive plan to widen part of the Major Deegan Expressway in the southwest Bronx, even as the agency fails to maintain upstate bridges.  More lanes, or more housing ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/20/when-state-dots-run-amok-266m-for-widening-crumbs-for-waterfront/ A very interesting article in USA Today on the future viability of suburbs came up in our Twitter feed this morning, via Community Research Partners of Columbus, Ohio. The piece, by Haya el Nasser, starts out talking about how population is falling in many of the suburbs that ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/20/to-thrive-suburbs-might-become-more-urban/ Controversy grows over the Obama administration's ill-starred attempt to count jobs created or saved by the economic stimulus law, including transport projects (Bloomberg, NYT Blog) Nominee for Amtrak's board of directors says the train network needs better ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/20/todays-headlines-144/ (Photo: Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious)Hey, we need your help again for our next slide show. This one is going to make you feel good. We're looking for pictures of kids on bikes -- on their own, with their parents, on trailers and seats and Xtracycles and ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/19/wanted-your-photos-of-kids-on-bikes/ As the Obama administration today faced new criticism of its methods for tracking jobs created or saved by the $787 billion stimulus law, a bipartisan quartet of mayors was weighing in at the Brookings Institution about the recovery effort's impact on their local economies. ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/19/is-the-stimulus-working-for-cities-mayors-from-both-parties-say-meh/ Any proposal to fund new U.S. infrastructure investment by taxing financial transactions -- such as Rep. Pete DeFazio's (D-OR) bill taxing Wall Street oil speculators -- would require international participation to prevent the trades in question from migrating overseas, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said today. ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/19/pelosi-passing-a-wall-street-transport-tax-would-require-overseas-buy-in/ As Streetsblog Capitol Hill readers may know, there is no love lost between lawmakers on the House transportation committee and President Obama's economic advisers. When the Obama administration first pushed to delay the next federal long-term infrastructure bill by 18 months, transport panel chairman ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/19/defazio-summers-geithner-oppose-using-bailout-money-on-infrastructure/ President Obama may be optimistic about continued U.S. economic growth as 2009 ends, but the reality on the ground in urban America -- which an estimated two-thirds of the population calls home -- is undeniably, disturbingly bleak. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (Photo: PennLive) ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/19/a-warning-from-americas-cities-the-recession-has-only-just-begun-to-hit/ Despite the growing national attention to the dangers posed by distracted driving, full accountability for drivers who kill or maim pedestrians while fiddling with electronic devices is likely a long way off. As today's post from Streetsblog Network member Sustainable Savannah notes, law enforcement officials too often seem to see ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/19/blaming-the-pedestrian-again/ House Dems continue a growing drumbeat in favor of infrastructure investment to create new jobs ... but the funding question remains unanswered (WSJ) Texas Republican gubernatorial foes Hutchison and Perry trade jabs over transportation funding ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/19/todays-headlines-143/ Senate environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and fellow lawmakers today pressed the Obama administration to take a more active role in ending the current political stalemate over federal transportation funding, but the sense of urgency they sought emerged only intermittently during an 80-minute session on infrastructure. ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/18/this-needs-attention-senators-seek-shot-in-the-arm-on-transportation/ America's transportation and infrastructure policies affect literally everyone who moves from place to place in the country, but often they are under-discussed and over-simplified by the mainstream media. To help broaden the debate, Streetsblog Capitol Hill is kicking off a new Q&A series called "The Four Questions." ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/18/streetsblog-capitol-hill-qa-four-questions-for-rob-puentes/ Houston has long enjoyed its status as America's oil capital, the type of city where the local Petroleum Club threw a $100,000 gala during a period of then-record high gas prices. But things are changing, thanks to a light rail system that is exceeding ridership predictions and encouraging pedestrian-friendly development. ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/18/oil-centric-houston-to-experiment-with-coal-powered-electric-cars/ While President Obama grappled with political concerns during his trip to China this week, General Electric was busy signing technology-sharing agreements with Beijing partners -- including a high-speed rail pact that positions GE to leap ahead of its competitors in the race for business from the Obama administration's bullet train ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/18/general-electric-inks-high-speed-rail-deal-with-chinese-government/ We've got a fine sampling of content from the Streetsblog Network today. First, Steve Davis at Transportation for America reports on the meeting T4A and several of its partners had with US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood on Monday. The meeting was to deliver a petition with more than ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/18/us-dot-secretary-gets-a-message-on-pedestrian-safety/ Massachusetts transit officials like the sound of the Obama administration's pitch to help oversee light rail and subway safety (Globe) In addition to its transit safety push, the administration has also issued safety rules for ... http://dc.streetsblog.org/2009/11/18/todays-headlines-142/