Elana Schor
Recent Posts
Flashback: Obama Once Led Push for ‘Complete Streets’
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With Congress out of town on its Memorial Day break, the nation’s capital is a quiet place to be — but all of that will change next week, as the appearance of the House transportation bill is expected to kick off an intense battle to reshape federal policy on transit, bikes, roads and bridges. Before […]
Why Buy More Trains If You Can’t Afford to Run Them?
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Down in balmy South Florida, D-Day is approaching for riders of the the popular Tri-Rail transit system. A looming $18 million shortfall has forced the Tri-Rail board to approve a budget that slices daily service and stops all trains by 2011 — although ridership has doubled since 2005. Tri-Rail trains like these could stop running […]
Infrastructure Bank Plan Gaining Attention And Momentum
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In today’s New York Times, columnist Bob Herbert spotlights the congressional proposal for a National Infrastructure Development Bank that would issue bonds, make loans and create securities to help finance needed rebuilding projects around the country. As Herbert put it: Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) (Photo: America2050 via Flickr) [T]here was a development in Congress last […]
LaHood: ‘About Everything We Do Around Here Is Government Intrusion’
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Ray LaHood is known for his disarming candor — his recent admission that he’s not "that great a transportation person" being a case in point — and those qualities were on vivid display today as the Transportation Secretary delivered an address to the National Press Club. LaHood’s speech was aimed at countering a recent flurry […]
What Happens to a Closed-Down Auto Plant?
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The bankruptcy of Chrysler may sound like good news to critics of American auto culture, but the resulting job losses and plant closures are poised to deal a serious blow to already-struggling midwestern towns. Which is why it’s heartening to see that the Obama administration is working on a plan to help clean up the […]
Senator Takes Hybrid Hummer on a Semi-Wild Ride
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Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank has a knack for puncturing Capitol Hill’s bubble of obliviousness. His classics include the spotting of Senate Environment & Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) leaving an event that protested high gas prices in an 18-miles-per-gallon car — for the one-block trip back to her office. In his latest […]
Just Four Lawmakers Show Up to Pitch Local Transportation Projects
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Rep. John Olver (D-MA) (Photo: Washington Post) Members of the House had an open invitation today from the panel in charge of annual funding for transportation and housing: Any lawmaker could come and personally make the case for why their local bridge, road, or transit project should get a share of the federal money. You […]
Portland Congressman to George Will: Let’s Debate
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Will vs. Blumenauer: Battle of the bowties. Just when you thought George Will’s pouty, ill-informed tirade against new Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was going to stand unchallenged, here comes Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). Blumenauer, co-chief of the Congressional Bike Caucus and a Streetfilms favorite, released a statement this morning that dares the conservative pundit to […]
Transportation ‘Expert’: Long Commutes Are a Status Symbol
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Transportation consultant Alan Pisarski, author of the National Academies’ Commuting In America series, has advised Washington policymakers on infrastructure development for decades. And judging from the presentation I watched him deliver at the Heritage Foundation last week, he’s downright aghast at the prospect that the Obama administration could begin shifting national policy away from total […]
Illinois Congressman Pushes for Pro-Bike Transportation Bill
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Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), an early supporter of the congressional "complete streets" bill, is circulating a letter to his House colleagues that urges support for pro-bike provisions in the upcoming federal transportation bill. Here’s how Lipinski put it: Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) (Photo: Washington Post) There is growing national interest in bicycling, and there is […]
The Long, Ugly Road to a Federal Transportation Plan
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Come September 30, Congress has to have a plan in hand to fund the nation's trains, buses, bikes, bridges and roads -- or pass an extension of the 2005 federal bill, locking in the same spending patterns that have nurtured Americans' addiction to the automobile. But the odds are that you haven't heard much about how the process works. What has to happen in order for Congress to meet that September deadline? Let's break it down a bit.
Congress Reluctant to Shine Light on Transportation Earmarks
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The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is about to unveil a massive bill that will re-authorize federal transportation programs for the next six years. The bill will also include funding for a large number of "earmarks," the congressional pet projects that can include everything from bike trails to Bridges to Nowhere. Earmarks grew largely in […]