Author Archive
Walk Score expands into Transit Score; housing plus transportation costs
An exciting new service launched this morning from our friends at Walk Score will help people all across the country find out how transit-accessible a home or a neighborhood is while gaining a better understanding of the true cost of buying a home — the cost of housing plus transportation. Starting today, when you visit Walk Score you’ll also get information about nearby transit options, commuting details, and the expected cost of housing plus transportation. Welcome to Transit Score.
Blueprint America on complete streets in Atlanta
Do yourself a favor and check out this short video from PBS’ Blueprint America series that aired in just the last few days. The overall package is about “disappearmarks” — earmarks totaling millions in the last federal transportation bill that have never been allocated or spent, according to the Sunlight Foundation. But this from Atlanta focuses much more specifically on how unsafe, incomplete streets and outdated transportation planning has resulted in a major road in Atlanta (and countless others) where pedestrians take their lives into their own hands each and every day, just to get to work, school, or the closest bus stop.
What does the FREIGHT Act really mean for our freight and ports?
The new FREIGHT Act introduced by Senators Lautenberg, Murray and Cantwell would create a truly multimodal national freight program for the first time in the U.S. It recognizes that our freight system should move our goods from coast to coast while also being part of the solution for many of our most pressing problems: air quality, dangerous emissions, oil dependence, and congestion on our highways and interstates.
Video: John Robert Smith on helping politicos see the importance of passenger rail
In this short video, Former Meridian, Mississippi Mayor and current T4 America co-chair John Robert Smith talks about the project to build a new multimodal train station in downtown Meridian when he was mayor, proposed cuts to Amtrak that happened shortly afterward, and how a few key Senators championed funding for Amtrak after seeing how ordinary people outside of D.C. depended on that service.
Farewell to a reliable D.C. transportation reporter
We noted this on twitter earlier today and yesterday, but we would be remiss if we didn’t also say thank you to Elana Schor and Streetsblog for her terrific year of coverage on transportation issues under the Capitol dome and elsewhere in D.C circles.
“I don’t know what this talk around DC is about livability not having anything to do with rural areas…”
Earlier this week, we hosted 15 of our partners from rural areas across America for a two day “fly-in” focusing on the transportation needs of rural areas and small towns. We hosted a briefing at the Capitol in the morning and then these partners from all over the country, from Virginia to California, took the […]
Center for Public Integrity on the transportation lobby
The Center for Public Integrity’s Transportation Lobby project visited South Florida to discuss the grassroots impact of lobbying activity in the nation’s capital, featuring a nice mention of Transportation for America. Video is 7 minutes long, but well worth your time. Narrated by CPI’s Matthew Lewis.
Secretary LaHood on T4 America’s poll: “People want better options”
We got some superb media coverage last week on the release of our national poll and there’s an engaging discussion underway today on the National Journal experts blog, but we wanted to especially highlight a terrific post today from Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, on his official DOT blog.
Secretary LaHood says that our poll echoes the same drumbeat he’s heard all around the country from people in big cities, small towns and all the places in between during his first 14 months in office: “people want better options.”
New poll shows Americans strongly support public transportation; more walking & biking
American voters overwhelmingly support broader access to public transportation and safe walking and biking, according to a new national poll.
T4 America co-chair testifies before Senate on rural transportation
Mayor John Robert Smith, T4 America co-chair and President of Reconnecting America, testified before a Senate committee today about the transportation challenges facing rural areas and small towns — and offered six practical suggestions for how the federal government can help them meet these challenges head-on. Far from being left behind or left out of federal transportation policy, Mayor Smith’s testimony provides a clear road map for boosting the economies of Main Streets across America.
It’s past time to elevate the national conversation about infrastructure beyond just the price tag. Learn more about T4America's three simple principles for federal transportation investment.
Read our new principles