Infrastructure in the News: May 31, 2011

Land Line Magazine wrote about a Senate transportation plan which could cost $339 billion, and Streetsblog Capitol Hill reported that a GOP proposal to take the Northeast Corridor out of Amtrak’s control and privatize it met resistance. Read more in today's Infrastructure in the News.

National News

Washington Post: Transportation group worried about funding
The coalition is co-chaired by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association and the Associated General Contractors of America and comprises 29 associations and labor unions. Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (D-W.Va.), the committee’s ranking member; and Federal Highway Administrator Victor M. Mendez attended the event.

Land Line Magazine: Senate transportation plan could cost $339 billion
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, shed more light on the multiyear surface transportation authorization bill that she and three colleagues announced on Wednesday, May 25. There’s no bill text yet, but some numbers are emerging.

Business Insider: Emerging Markets Are Going To Spend A Massive $6 Trillion On Infrastructure In the Next Three Years
Merrill Lynch estimates that $6 trillion will need to be spent by selected emerging market countries over the next three years to meet the basic needs of these citizens. Water, transportation and energy investments will consume the bulk of these funds, accounting for 82 percent of total projected spending. Nearly every emerging market country Merrill researched will make an investment in all three.

Associated Press: Americans to travel with tight grip on the wallet
More people are expected to travel for the holiday than have since the Great Recession. But they'll be keeping a tighter grip on their wallets thanks to higher gas prices and airfares. The typical family plans to spend $692, a decrease of 14 percent from last year's $809, according to AAA.

Huffington Post: Rebuilding America is Job One
Amid the high drama of fiscal in Washington, it's easy to forget that reducing budget deficits isn't the biggest economic challenge we face. Even more important is kick-starting the great American job machine and reversing our country's slide in global competition.

The Hill: Biden: US auto industry brought back 'from the brink of extinction'
Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday said that the Obama administration had brought the U.S. auto industry back from "the brink of extinction" and "total collapse" -- noting once again that Chrysler had repaid the government bailout it got in 2009.

The Hill: DOT considering 'black boxes' for cars
The Department of Transportation is considering developing a rule that would require new cars to come equipped with event-data recorders similar to the so-called "black boxes" that are used to gather information in airplane crashes.

Marketplace: Panasonic reaps benefits of mass transit tax credit
Panasonic is moving its headquarters down the road from Secaucus, N.J. to Newark. When the company announced the move last month, it said it was attracted to Newark's public transit system. But there's also a $100 million package of tax credits involved.

Transport Politic: Discussing Privatization of the Northeast Corridor, but for What Aims?
House Representative John Mica, a conservative Republican from central Florida and the Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, has been berating Amtrak for years, so his announcement last week that he would promote the privatization of the Northeast Corridor comes as no surprise.

Streetsblog Capitol Hill: GOP Proposal to Privatize the Northeast Corridor Meets Resistance
Mica said that ridership of the NEC hasn’t changed since 1977, the year after Amtrak took over the corridor: a record he calls “one of the most dismal on earth.” Amtrak advocates contend that chronic underfunding has starved the system, creating a situation that would make world-class service impossible. They also point to record ridership system-wide in seven of the past eight years, mostly due to the increase in state-supported service. (Representatives from Amtrak would have spoken on behalf of the railroad but were not invited to testify.)

Streetsblog Capitol Hill: Complete Streets Bill Introduced in Senate
Earlier this week, 12 senators, led by Tom Harkin (D-IA), introduced the Complete Streets Act of 2011 (S. 1056), a companion to the House bill we reported on a few weeks back. The purpose of the bills is to push states and metropolitan planning organizations to fully consider incorporating pedestrian and bicycle safety measures when roads are built or reconstructed.

The Hill: Unsafe buses removed from roads before holiday weekend
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Friday that surprise inspections of charter buses in the weeks leading up to this holiday weekend have resulted in more than 400 buses and drivers being pulled off the road for safety violations.

Transportation Nation: Pedestrian Survey Wants To Get A Leg Up on Walking Data
Milczarski, who’s a professor of urban planning at Hunter College in New York, is researching a book on pedestrians that he’s planning to co-author with colleague Peter Tuckel, a Hunter College sociology professor. “It’s all about behavior, attitudes, and motivation of people who walk,” he said. So the pair needed data.

Fast Company: EPA, DOT Unveil the Next Generation of Fuel Economy Labels
The U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today are unveiling new fuel economy labels that will help consumers take advantage of the increased efficiency standards achieved under the Obama Administration that will save families money at the pump starting this year. The new labels, which are the most dramatic overhaul to fuel economy labels since the program began more than 30 years ago, will provide more comprehensive fuel efficiency information, including estimated annual fuel costs, savings, as well as information on each vehicle’s environmental impact.

Slate Magazine: Long commutes cause obesity, neck pain, loneliness, divorce, stress, and insomnia
Commuting is a migraine-inducing life-suck—a mundane task about as pleasurable as assembling flat-pack furniture or getting your license renewed, and you have to do it every day. If you are commuting, you are not spending quality time with your loved ones. You are not exercising, doing challenging work, having sex, petting your dog, or playing with your kids (or your Wii). You are not doing any of the things that make human beings happy. Instead, you are getting nauseous on a bus, jostled on a train, or cut off in traffic. 

Per Square Mile: U.S. not dense enough for high-speed rail? Think again
Low population densities are often cited as the reason why high-speed rail would never work in the United States. While it’s true that typical American metropolitan areas sprawl far and wide, many larger cities are still relatively dense, and a surprising number of our states are as dense as some European nations. California, for example, has just over 90 people per square kilometer (234 per square mile), while Spain has 88 people per square kilometer (231 per square mile). Given the success of Spain’s rail system, it stands to reason that California would be fertile ground for high-speed rail.

Rail Co: Amtrak launches 'Ask Our Expert' for passengers
The first in a series of videos featuring Amtrak experts answering questions submitted by passengers via social media outlets is now posted online as part of the company’s new ‘Ask Our Expert’ program.

State News

Wall Street Journal: Off the California Rails
At the urging of the state watchdog, the rail authority asked the feds for more flexibility about where and when to start building. Last week the Department of Transportation told them to dream on. In a letter responding to the request for more flexibility, Under Secretary for Policy Roy Kienitz ordered the authority to charge full speed ahead since "once major construction is underway and approvals to complete other sections of the line have been obtained, the private sector will have compelling reasons to invest in further construction." Private sector seems to be the Obama Administration's code for government.

San Francisco Examiner: California High Speed Rail Authority, Spanish train officials to meet
California’s high-speed rail officials will get a tutorial this week on running the fast-moving train lines from representatives of Spain, a country with the second-largest high-speed rail network in the world.

California Watch: Grapevine route emerges as cost saver for high-speed rail
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.

San Francisco Business Times: Bullet train hires chief of staff
The head of California’s bullet train has hired a chief of staff, furthering the restructuring of the agency in charge of the $43 billion project.

California High Speed Rail Blog: More Evidence that California Compares Favorably to Other HSR Routes
One of the common arguments against high speed rail in California is that the state doesn’t have enough population or population density to support high speed trains. This stems from a flawed application of common arguments about urban rail systems, where you usually do want to route light rail, streetcars, and subways along dense corridors, to intercity rail. With intercity rail, what you really need is large populations, period.

Los Angeles Times: Development lacking along L.A.'s light-rail Expo Line
Several areas near stops along the new transit line, which will extend from downtown L.A. to Santa Monica when completed in 2015, are ripe for building and renovation, urban planners say.

Transportation Nation: Pricey Gas or No, Californians Get Out of Town
Gas prices are up! Or no, wait, maybe they’re down. Either way, a highly unscientific round of calls by TN suggests that Californians are finding ways to get out of town this Memorial Day weekend.

Boston Globe: Development following New England high-speed rail
Officials in cities from New Haven to Montreal are eagerly anticipating high-speed commuter and interstate rail. Now, they're making initial plans to refurbish train stations into retail and office space. That's the first step toward remaking downtowns as pedestrian-friendly districts for living, shopping and working.

Delaware Online: DelDOT chief nominated
A Canada-born, Kentucky-educated federal transportation policy manager won Gov. Jack Markell's nomination Friday to be Delaware's next DelDOT secretary, with the nominee's first reconstruction challenge likely to involve the agency's reputation.

Tampa Bay Online: No high-speed rail creates challenge for I-4 traffic
When Gov. Rick Scott rejected $2.4 billion in federal funds to build the Tampa-Orlando high-speed rail leg in February, he told the U.S. transportation secretary other projects were more important -- including widening Interstate 4 in Orange County and Interstate 275 in Hillsborough County.

Transportation Nation: Higher Gas Prices Won't Stop Estimated 2 Million Travelers in Florida for Memorial Day Holiday
High gas prices aren’t expected to deter crowds from Central Florida this Memorial Day weekend.  Gas prices nationally are hovering around $3.84, about 7 cents higher than Florida’s average.

Miami Herald: Once again, Georgia misses out on high-speed rail funding
Georgia was snubbed by the Obama administration this year for federal high-speed rail money. Earlier this month the administration awarded more than $2 billion to high-speed rail projects across the country, including $4 million to North Carolina to do an environmental analysis on the Richmond, Va., to Raleigh, N.C., section of a line with top speeds of 110 mph on the proposed Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: In Gwinnett, light rail is a 'polarizing project'
If metro Atlanta leaders want Gwinnett County’s vote for an $8 billion transportation referendum next year, they’ll have to manage the tricky task of pleasing both Jack Skidmore and Art Sheldon. 

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Mass transit preserves lifestyle of both the city and the suburbs
The Atlanta metro area faces an important crossroads in its history. Public transportation and urban growth policies will make-or-break the region and turn Atlanta into a world class city, or a blighted bust.

Boston Globe: Among the new renovations, Blue Line's past appears at State Street
The next time you visit the refurbished Blue Line station at State Street, consider the new features — rolling ceiling panels that evoke ocean waves, inlaid medallions inspired by Revolutionary War brass buttons — but keep an eye out for genuine signs of the past as well.

WWLP: Union Station project gets $75 million
It's been a long time in the works but now $75 million in federal and state funds will go into overhauling Springfield's Union Station in an effort to bring high speed rail to the area.

Indiana Star: Lack of mass appeal curbing mass transit in Central Indiana
Three years ago, when gas prices approached $4 a gallon, the Downtown express buses from Fishers and Carmel began to fill up.

The Columbia Daily Tribune: Tax for roads, transit might not maintain
Within the next few years, officials say the city’s half-cent transportation sales tax might no longer be able to adequately support maintenance of Columbia’s streets and sidewalks as well as the airport and the city’s bus system. 

New York Times: Christies Pulls N.J. From Greenhouse Gas Coalition
Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday that New Jersey would become the first state to withdraw from a 10-state trading system, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, declaring it an ineffective way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. 

The Empire: Christie Pivots on Climate Change, Pulls NJ out of Cap-and-Trade
After announcing last year that he was "skeptical" about global warming is linked to human activity, Christie today said “climate change is real and it’s impacting our state.” He’s done some reading and had some talks, and though “I’m certainly not a scientist”, he now says “it’s time to defer to the experts.”

North Jersey: Governor Christie's battle with feds over scrapped Hudson tunnel tops $1M in fees, interest
Governor Christie's fight with the federal government over abandoning a train tunnel under the Hudson has already cost New Jerseyans more than $1 million in legal fees and interest, records show.

AltTransport: New York MTA to Get $295 Million in Rejected Florida High Speed Rail Money
But there’s an unfortunate catch here: the total cost of the project is around $370 million. And the MTA is being asked to cover any expenditures over the $295 million federal grant. An already-ailing public transit system will be asked to pay $80 million out of pocket for upgrades whose effect will be felt throughout the northeast. The Sunnyside upgrade will help ease train traffic headed for Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. Shouldn’t they chip in as well?

Transportation Nation: As New York City's Job Rate Rises, So Does Subway Ridership
Even though the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority raised subway fares three times in the past three years, subway ridership is on the rise. That may be a sign of an improving economy. 

Transportation Nation: Car-Free Central Park Won't Happen Until September, If Then
Neither New York City Mayor Michael Blooomberg nor City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is getting behind legislation banning cars from Central Park’s loop drives — even on a trial basis.

Progressive Railroading: Sen. Brown targets SMART Act at rebuilding transit infrastructure
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) recently introduced the Strengthening Manufacturing and Rebuilding Transit (SMART), which proposes to help promote American-made transportation infrastructure, enhance domestic transportation supply chains and maximize job creation in U.S. manufacturing, according to the BlueGreen Alliance and Apollo Alliance. The two alliances also announced plans to merge.

Streetsblog Capitol Hill: City Councilman Greets Philly's Bike Progress With Anti-Bike Legislation
Just weeks after the city’s bike progress made headlines, a city councilman has introduced legislation that could bog down further bike projects in politics and bureaucracy. Councilman William Greenlee wants to make every new bike lane in Philadelphia subject to a City Council vote.

The Greenville News: State needs to fund infrastructure upkeep
More than 2,000 bridges in South Carolina do not meet federal Department of Transportation Standards. While that doesn’t mean all the bridges are dangerous, the list is growing and the pool of money for repairing and maintaining the bridges is shrinking, according to a report last week in The Greenville News.