Thursday, June 2, 2011

According to Alt Transport House Republicans want to break up Amtrak and The Hill wrote about a report saying that states should spend more on repairing existing roads. Read more in this Infrastructure in the News.

 

Natinal News

The Hill: Report: States should spend more on repairing existing roads
State could spend less overall on transportation if they spent more of the money they allocated to it on repairing existing roads, a new report released Wednesday said. 

Streetsblog Capitol Hill: Existing Roads Slide Into Decrepitude as States Splurge on Highway Expansion
A new report from Smart Growth America finds that states spent 57 percent of their highway funds building new roads between 2004 and 2008. As a result, 23,300 new lane miles were constructed — a 1.3 percent expansion. Meanwhile, the existing 1.9 million lane miles deteriorated under a regime that prioritizes expansion of the system over its maintenance. 

Transportation Nation: If We Can't Afford to Fix Roads, Can We Afford to Build Roads
But a new report by the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG) takes Governor Walker to task for cutting $48 million in local transportation assistance—much of which would be used for road and bridge repair—while proposing a 13% increase in spending on new highway capital projects.  

Transportation For America: States' underinvestment in road repair signals need for tough federal standards
From 2004-2008, states spent 57 percent of available highway dollars to add a little over 1 percent to our already vast highway network, and only 43 percent to maintain the other 99 percent of highway lanes. 

Infrastructurist: Paying for Infrastructure: Value Capture and the Use of Private Land
In the 1990s, two big projects got underway, and both touched McCourt’s land. The $15 billion Central Artery and Tunnel project, otherwise known as the Big Dig, included an underground extension of I-90 connecting to the Ted Williams Tunnel to Logan Airport – and an interchange letting out right at McCourt’s property.

Washington Post: Bikeshare launches 'reverse rewards' program
During weekday mornings from Wednesday to Aug. 31, riders who complete the most drop-offs at the region’s empty stations will win points toward prizes, including: free month- or year-long extensions of their Capital Bikeshare memberships. 

The Hill: White House: Obama's 'difficult decisions' on autos paying off
Two years after President Obama decided to bail out General Motors, the White House credited the president's “political courage” and the efforts of the company’s stakeholders for turning around the Big Three auto companies. 

Tulsa World: Inhofe predicts transportation bill will fall short
To even get that scaled-down version through with the support of his fellow Republicans, Inhofe said he had to give in and make elimination of all earmarks part of the announcement issued last week by a group of key transportation players in the Senate.

Streetsblog Capitol Hill: What the Debt Ceiling Vote Means For Transportation
Yesterday, the House of Representatives took a “symbolic” vote on raising the debt ceiling without any “strings attached” – i.e., the trillion dollars worth of spending cuts the Republicans are insisting on before they’ll agree to raise the debt ceiling. 

FastLane: Equal access to transportation: A right for all Americans
Transportation is about a lot more than just getting around.  Our roadways, runways, and railways connect people with all of the things that make life worth living: family, education, job opportunities, and recreation.  That’s why we here at DOT--and the entire Obama Administration--are laser-focused on improving access to transportation for all Americans. 

USA Today: Safety agency rebuked in deadly bus crash
"I'm extremely disappointed that this carrier was allowed to continue operating unsafely when it should have been placed out of service," LaHood said in a written statement to USA TODAY. 

The Hill: NTSB: Bus safety recommendations need 'urgency'
A member of the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that its recommendations to improve the safety of passenger buses need to be taken more seriously in the wake of a fatal crash in Northern Virginia over the weekend. 

AltTransport: House Republicans Want to Break Up Amtrak
This week, Congress is locked in one of the most important legislative debates of the year: whether to raise the country’s debt limit, cut spending, or risk defaulting on our debt. With the nation’s economic future very much in the balance, it’s the perfect time to make radical policy proposals that the rest of the country will be too distracted to properly analyze or process. Proposals like killing Amtrak, for instance. 

Consumer Reports: Despite growing ridership, Amtrak says revenue is down
Over the past 18 months, the number of people traveling by Amtrak train has increased. Yet the company says that it’s experiencing financial losses. Amtrak blamed the rising cost of fuel and materials, plus money-losing long-distance routes and compensation of union workers.

FastLane: New "On the Go" tackles cycling, fuel economy standards, and high-speed rail
Since launching in March, we've gotten a fantastic response to our "On the Go" series, where I answer questions submitted by you on Facebook, Twitter, and here on my blog.  I appreciate all of you who take the time to let me know your thoughts on what we're doing here at the Department of Transportation. 

NRDC Blog: 34 Members of Congress ask for more time for public review of Keystone XL tar sands pipeline environmental assessment
Yesterday, 34 Members of Congress led by Representatives Cohen, Inslee, Welch and Blumenauer, wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson expressing concern about TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and requesting a 120 day public comment period and field hearings for its Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS).  

NRDC Blog: HR 1837: Preempting State Water Law to Prioritize Junior Water Rights
Yet despite this long history of deference to state water law, H.R. 1837, legislation introduced by Congressman Nunes and other San Joaquin Valley members, seeks to radically overturn and preempt state law, including the system of water rights under California law.   

Infrastructurist: Worst. Crosswalk. Ever?
All hail Kaid Benfield at NRDC for recently posting the blogospherically irresistible question about the above image: is this the busiest crosswalk in the world? The scene is the Shibuya district, in Tokyo, where a five-lane mega-crosswalk services 2,500 (!) pedestrians at rush hour — per light cycle. According to Flickr, this particular shot was taken from a Starbucks in Shibuya, which means the crosswalk leads into a Starbucks, which explains a lot of the crowd.  

Slate: "Children at Play" signs imperil our kids
ou don't have to drive far in a typical American town before you see it: A pictographic image of a child (implied to be a boy), perhaps chasing a ball, perhaps poised in midstride, perhaps atop a seesaw, perhaps with a jaunty cap, perhaps with a companion or parent. And then, some variation on these words: "Slow: Children at Play."

New America Foundation: A Bank to Re-Build America
America's infrastructure is in disrepair -- in part because the way we finance it is inadequate. Thus, bi-partisan support for a national infrastructure bank to help close our infrastructure deficit is growing.

 

State News

Los Angeles Times: State Senate acts to overhaul high-speed rail agency
Amid concerns over the management of California’s high-speed rail project, state lawmakers took steps Wednesday to overhaul and exert control over the agency overseeing the multibillion-dollar work.

Sacramento Bee: Bill rearranges Calif. High-Speed Rail Authority
The authority is charged with developing California's planned $43 billion bullet train system. Yet critics say its expertise and lines of responsibility are unclear, leading to confusion and poor decision-making.

San Diego Union-Tribune: High Speed Rail agency hires Southern California director
The state High Speed Rail Authority has hired a Southern California regional director who will oversee construction of the line from south of Bakersfield to Los Angeles and San Diego.

Fresno Bee: High-speed rail foes seek traction to Valley
Kings County residents whose farms and homes lie in the path of proposed high-speed train tracks are taking their beef to Sacramento on Thursday.

The Bakersfield Californian: Grapevine route: Back in play
The Grapevine, despite its reputation for radiator-bursting climbs, is emerging by default as the least expensive option for routing high-speed trains between Bakersfield and the Los Angeles Basin, according to preliminary plans and analyses commissioned by the state.

Los Angeles Times: Public transportation: New bus-tracking technology comes to L.A. County
Dubbed NexTrip, the online service uses GPS and other technologies to track buses on their routes. It is "designed to help take the guesswork out of bus arrival and help you to get to your stop at the same time as your bus," according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

NRDC Blog: A waste of time and money that undermines real progress
At a time when water resource conflicts are common throughout the West, the San Joaquin River Restoration Program is a rare example of farmers, water districts, state and federal agencies and environmentalists working together to implement real solutions to problems facing the region.  Just as rare is the bi-partisan support that enabled the federal legislation for the restoration program that included the Bush Administration, the Schwarzenegger Administration, Senators Feinstein and Boxer and Congressmen Radanovich, Cardoza, and George Miller.  

Land Line Magazine: Colorado lawmakers approve idling rule
The city and county of Denver now limit idling to 10 minutes each hour. The state Senate and House have signed off on a bill to set a statewide idling standard for commercial vehicles weighing in excess of 14,000 pounds. Gov. John Hickenlooper can sign or veto the bill, or let it become law without his signature. 

Atlanta Journal Constitution: In DC, Deal and Reed work to build confidence in Georgia
Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said Wednesday that they made progress in trying to persuade federal officials to help fund the deepening of the Port of Savannah, but they admitted progress does not equal dollars. 

Atlanta Business Chronicle: GDOT rolls out diverse transportation funding 'menu'
A dazzling array of highway and transit improvements in metro Atlanta eligible to be funded by a proposed penny sales tax landed on a project list released Wednesday by the Georgia Department of Transportation. 

Associated Press: Mass. towns digging out after tornadoes kill 4
Residents of 19 communities in central and western Massachusetts woke to widespread damage Thursday, a day after at least two late-afternoon tornadoes shocked emergency officials with their suddenness and violence and caused the state's first tornado-related deaths in 16 years. 

Transportation Nation: Senator Max Baucus Asks for Federal Dollars for Montana's Flood-Damaged Roads and Bridges
During a conference call late last week with county and tribal officials, Baucus was told some county roads were “liquefied” by the flood waters. The officials added they don’t have the money for repairs. Afterwards, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure wrote a letter to US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to request federal funds to help pay for repairs. 

Sustainable Cities Collective: New Jersey Scraps Rail Investment, Builds a Mall Instead
Before the temperatures starting climbing, in the cool, waning days of April, transit riders suffered a blow that will make the coming summer even more unbearable, although the wellspring of discontent actually goes back to last October when a newly elected governor running on the promise of fiscal responsibility took that promise to its unfortunately predictable ends. 

Mobilizing the Region: Cranford Touts Its Transit Village Grants
Municipalities in New Jersey continue to sing the praises of NJDOT’s Transit Village program, which helps towns support walkable, transit-oriented downtowns buthas been cut out of the department’s fiscal year 2012 capital program. In the spring/summer issue of the Cranford Downtown Management Corporation’s Downtown Cranford magazine, Cranford DMC Director Kathleen Miller Prunty touts a $500,000 Transit Village grant the town received from NJDOT in February, which will be used for pedestrian walkways and landscaping.

Mobilizing the Region: Dear Governor Cuomo: New York Needs Complete Streets
With less than a month left in Albany’s legislative session, advocates continue to fight for complete streets legislation to ensure that roads throughout the state are designed for everyone who uses them. On TSTC’s website, New Yorkers can now e-mail Governor Cuomo and the State Assembly in support of a complete streets bill.

Transportation Nation: New East River Ferry Commuter Service Begins This Month
A new, year-round commuter ferry is coming to New York’s East River this month. It will leave from East 34th Street and Pier 11 in Manhattan and make stops in Long Island City, Williamsburg and Dumbo.

CNET: Oregon to install electric-vehicle chargers along I-5
Oregon is planning to install Level 3 DC fast-charging stations along a portion of Interstate 5, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced today. 

Bike Portland: Portland Streetcar Inc. urges USDOT to fund bike-sharing system
Tonight in downtown Portland, the Portland Bureau of Transportation will ask for feedback on their draft list of projects in the running for a key pot of federal funding. Portland is in line to receive $6.6 million in "regional flexible funds" and one of the five candidate projects is the Central City Bike Sharing Program. 

NRDC Blog: Philadelphia Gains Approval of Landmark Green Infrastructure Paln, a Model for Smart Water Practices Nationwide
Today, the city will secure its place as a national leader in using cutting-edge techniques to clean up its rivers and other surrounding waterways.  The Philadelphia Water Department and state environmental officials are signing an ambitious agreement, which commits the city to deploy, over the next 25 years, the most comprehensive network of green infrastructure found in any U.S. city.   

Associated Press: SD governor urges evacuations as flooding looms
South Dakota's governor has urged some residents to evacuate from three cities considered early trouble spots as officials brace for a prolonged period of Missouri River flooding. 

San Antonio Express-News: VT gov signs transportation spending bill
Just when Vermont's roads need it most, Gov. Peter Shumlin has signed a transportation spending bill earmarking $554 million for paving, bridge repair and flood disaster assistance. 

Associated Press: DOT gave unsafe bus operator extra time to appeal
An East Coast discount bus service was near to being shut down by federal transportation authorities before a weekend crash in Virginia killed four people, but it was still operating because it received a 10-day extension to file its appeal, federal transportation authorities said Wednesday. 

Webwire: Rise in Transit Ridership in Seattle, Washington
Review from King County Metro Transit and SoundTransit indicates increases from the area of ridership. It will indicate an amazing soar from the city’s overall economy and also higher costs in fuel. 

The Hill: LaHood enters DC MetroRail Dulles expansion debate
Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood will try to play peacemaker in a raging debate about whether a new transit station at Washington's Dulles International Airport should be above or under ground, as well as tackle a host of other issues causing tension about project. 

NRDC Blog: Smart Drivers, Big Savings: Holt Andrus, Milwaukee WI
Holt Andrus, a second-grade teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been driving hybrids “since before they were cool,” he says. His first hybrid purchase was a used ’03 Honda Civic hybrid. In 2005 he bought a used ‘04 Prius, largely because his wife preferred the automatic transmission to the stick-shift Honda. (He gave the Civic hybrid to his mother.)