Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Freight

Will DOT’s New Freight Council Focus on More Than Trucks?

By Tanya Snyder | Aug 27, 2012 | No Comments

On Thursday, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood announced the creation of a new Freight Policy Council, which is charged with coming up with a freight strategic plan. This is a first step toward a sorely lacking national plan around freight. The movement of goods accounts for about a quarter of all transportation-related emissions. Every American is […]

Senate Commerce Committee Sets the Standard For Transpo Performance

By Tanya Snyder | Dec 14, 2011 | No Comments

The EPW Committee passed the highway portion of the transportation bill last month. The Banking Committee will tackle transit on Friday. And today, transportation reformers applauded as the Commerce Committee passed its bill dealing with the rail and safety component, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Deron Lovaas of NRDC said in his blog post about the […]

The Problems With Ports, or Why We Need a National Freight Act

By Tanya Snyder | Aug 6, 2010 | No Comments

Maybe you commute by train, or maybe you’ve switched from driving to biking. But your stuff is still traveling the country by diesel truck. Containers at the Port of Oakland. Photo: NOAA Nearly a quarter of transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions come from freight. The movement of goods from port of entry to a store near […]

Port Authority Chief Calls for Green Overhaul of Region’s Freight System

By Noah Kazis | Jun 23, 2010 | 9 Comments

Port Authority exec Chris Ward pointed to Dresden’s CarGoTram as a sustainable freight mover that the region could learn from. Image: Wikimedia. In a region where passenger transportation is being reimagined, freight needs to catch up. That’s the message Chris Ward, the executive director of the Port Authority, delivered in a "call to arms" at […]

Freight Rail, Streetcars Are Tops in U.S. DOT’s TIGER Chase

By Elana Schor | Feb 17, 2010 | 8 Comments

The Obama administration today announced the winners of $1.5 billion stimulus in highly competitive stimulus grants under the program known as Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER. Southeastern and midwestern freight rail projects were the day’s biggest winners, with urban streetcar projects also making a big splash. Freight rail in Chicago, where the CREATE […]

Buffett’s Bet on Rail: What Does It Mean for Transport and Energy?

By Elana Schor | Nov 3, 2009 | 14 Comments

The financial world was riveted this morning by billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s move to take full ownership of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad, a $34 billion deal that ranks as the largest ever executed by Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffett (Photo: Redfin) But what does Buffett’s purchase mean for the nation’s energy […]