Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Transportation Policy

Is the Obama Administration Poised to Push Transit?

By Brad Aaron | Apr 24, 2009 | 4 Comments

While President Barack Obama promoted wind power and cap-and-trade legislation, VP Joe Biden spent Earth Day talking up transit. Public radio’s "The Takeaway" reports that Biden held a presser at a bus maintenance facility in Landover, Maryland, to tout a $300 million investment in hybrid buses and other municipal vehicles as part of the federal […]

New Video Series Tells the Story of Sprawl

By Brad Aaron | Apr 21, 2009 | 1 Comment

As livable streets advocates work to make headway in breaking the cycle of American auto dependence, the folks at Planetizen have put together a video narrative that explains how we got here. "The Story of Sprawl," a double DVD set produced by Managing Editor Tim Halbur, is a compilation of historical films dating from 1939 […]

Highlights from Today’s RPA Regional Assembly

By Ben Fried | Apr 17, 2009 | 7 Comments

The ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria is packed right now for the RPA’s 2009 Regional Assembly, where Richard Ravitch just accepted a lifetime achievement honor. Many luminaries from the worlds of transportation, planning, and politics are here, and I’ve got a few minutes to post some interesting exchanges from earlier in the day, so here […]

Petition: Support a Climate Bill That Invests in Green Transportation

By Ben Fried | Apr 15, 2009 | 7 Comments

At the end of March, representatives Henry Waxman and Ed Markey introduced an ambitious federal climate bill. This is the real deal — the legislative centerpiece of President Obama’s effort to combat global warming. Transportation contributes about a third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., so any climate bill will have to green […]

Is “Cash for Clunkers” a Good Idea, Ever?

By Brad Aaron | Apr 7, 2009 | 22 Comments

Photo: bondidwhat/Flickr The New York Times today endorsed a bill from Senator Chuck Schumer, and its companion in the House, co-sponsored by Long Island Democrat Steve Israel, which would offer up to $4,000 in vouchers to drivers who give up their gas guzzlers (averaging 18 miles-per-gallon or worse) in exchange for "a new or used […]

Back to the Grid, Part 2: John Norquist on Reclaiming American Cities

By Ben Fried | Mar 30, 2009 | 2 Comments

Brady Street, which boasts some of the best street life in Milwaukee, has flourished thanks in part to the defeat of a nearby freeway spur and the redevelopment that followed. Photo: Steve Filmanowicz. As mayor of Milwaukee from 1988 to 2004, CNU President John Norquist made urbanism and livability top priorities. Some of his most […]

Show More Stories