Elana Schor
Recent Posts
Streetsblog Q&A: Bush DOT Chief Backs Transport Tech Funding
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Former Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, who served for eight years in George W. Bush’s DOT, sat down with Streetsblog Capitol Hill yesterday to urge that Congress add a dedicated funding stream of $1 billion each year for transportation technology to the next long-term infrastructure bill. Since leaving office, Peters has transitioned to private consulting […]
Obama’s Engaged With Transit More in 9 Months than Bush Did in 8 Years
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The Obama administration has brought both good news and bad news to transit riders. But here’s a positive sign you haven’t heard before, straight from Federal Transit Administration (FTA) chief Peter Rogoff: In the nine months of the new presidency, the FTA has fielded more requests for information "directly from the White House" than in […]
Is a Bigger Transportation Bill — This Year — Back on the Table?
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That’s the suggestion that an anonymous "Senate aide" made to Bloomberg News this morning, recounting a possible White House change of heart as mounting job losses stoke new debate over a second stimulus bill: Administration officials have told allies in Congress that a broader transportation bill, and extensions of a homebuyer tax credit and unemployment […]
LaHood’s Twelve-Word Definition of ‘Livability’
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The White House’s effort to promote sustainable communities has prompted serious (and inadvertently humorous) hand-wringing from conservative pundits who fear the concept of livability will translate into governmental edicts on lifestyle choices. What’s the best way to counter such tactics? Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (Photo: Zimbio.com) The administration’s approach, it seems, is to define its […]
Congress’ Transport Impasse Hits States — and Not Just Their Road Funds
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When lawmakers failed on Wednesday to reach a deal on avoiding the cancellation of $8.7 billion in transportation spending authority, the consequences of Congress’ inaction weren’t immediately palpable to most voters — but the loss is sinking in on the local level. (Photo: USGS.gov) From Texas to New Jersey to Colorado, local DOT officials are […]
SF’s Newsom: Let’s Not Extend Parking Meter Hours in a Recession
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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has snagged some high-profile support for his nascent California gubernatorial bid, but he may have some trouble with the transit-riding, congestion-weary constituency. My colleagues Matthew Roth and Bryan Goebel have the story over at Streetsblog San Fran: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (Photo: Gawker) Mayor Gavin Newsom has been quietly […]
Boxer’s Climate Bill Released With Much Fanfare, Little Focus on Transport
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Flanked by fellow Democrats, members of the military, and a crowd hoisting signs with buzzwords like "clean energy" and "green jobs," Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) today released the first draft of their legislation to curb U.S. emissions and combat climate change. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), center, and John Kerry (D-MA), left, […]
New Report: Feds Subsidizing Parking Six Times as Much as Transit
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Both Images: Subsidyscope "Subsidy" is a word used quite often in transportation policy-making circles, whether by road acolytes who claim (falsely) that highways are not federally subsidized because of the gas tax or by transit boosters who lament Washington’s unceasing focus on paying for more local asphalt. But the subsidy debate often overlooks the government […]
House Voting Today on Transport Law Extension — What’s Next?
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The House is slated to vote this afternoon on a three-month extension of the 2005 federal infrastructure law, as proposed yesterday by transportation committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN). A full copy of the bill, expected to pass easily, is available here. But the bigger question of what happens next, with just three legislative days left […]
New Report: 10% Transit Growth Would Help Meet House Climate Target
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(Image: U.S. EIA via Climate Progress) A 10 percent annual increase in U.S. transit ridership would reduce CO2 emissions by 180 million tons each year, taking the nation halfway to the target set by the House climate change bill within three years, according to a report [PDF] released today by Environment America and the Coalition […]
Boxer Reminds Metrolink: Train Crew Members Shouldn’t Ride Solo
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The transportation spending bill passed by the Senate this week includes $50 million in rail safety grants sought in June by environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) — but the bill may not become law for months, and today Boxer told California’s Metrolink commuter rail that interim safety protections would have to stay in place. Flickr photo: ProKelly This […]
Pro-Tea Party Republican’s Angry Letter to D.C. Metro: Read it in Full
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Apparently unfamiliar with the concept of irony, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) has drafted an angry letter to the chief of Washington D.C.’s Metro, complaining that protesters at last weekend’s 9/12 "tea party" had difficulty traveling by transit — the very transit system that Brady voted against aiding, and the epitome of government spending that the […]