National Journal: Transportation Spending Still On Obama's Agenda

From National Journal:  

Others issues have demanded more immediate attention, but President Obama signaled during an interview with a small group of columnists on Friday that he wants Congress to take a new road on transportation policy. Obama said that when legislators reauthorize federal highway and transit programs later this year, he intends to seek "some long-term reforms in how transportation dollars flow."  One change the president said he wants is to require more regional coordination, with the goal of reducing energy use. "I think right now we don't do a lot of effective planning at the regional level when it comes to transportation," Obama said on Air Force One, en route to his three-day visit to Chicago last weekend. "That's hugely inefficient. Not only does it probably consume more money in terms of getting projects done, but it also ends up creating traffic patterns... that are really hugely wasteful when it comes to energy use."