The federal law setting nation transportation funding and policy, SAFETEA-LU, is set to expire on September 30, 2009. The huge bill has regulated everything from the New Starts transit program to thousands of pork-barrel transportation projects around the country. With unprecedented concern over global warming, a new president in November, and popular frustration with congestion on both transit and highways, there may be the opportunity for a major revision in federal policy. In this post I review some of the debate so far, and outline the proposals recently released by an independent commission.
SAFETEA-LU
$7 Billion Stop-Gap Measure for Highway Fund
On Weds., the U.S. House of Representatives approved $7 billion in stop-gap funding for road, bridge and transit projects until SAFETEA-LU can be reauthorized.
The Washington Post
24% Reduction in Emissions Possible by 2050
Changing changing transportation habits and land-use patterns in America could result in a 24 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, says a new report from Cambridge Systematics.
The New York Times
Why Broadband and Telecommuting Are Transportation Issues
Telecommuting should be considered an aspect of transportation, according to this piece from New Geography.
New Geography
Acronym Atrocities Afoot in Washington
Mon, 10/01/2007 - 17:00
To paraphrase the New York Times' summation of the Anaheim Angels' rhetorical exodus to Los Angeles a few years ago: some ideas are so stupid that you just have to stand back and watch. To that I would add, some things are so stupid that they deserve derision no matter how long ago they occured. Though it crawled out from the Senate floor in the summer of 2005, SAFETEA-LU -- the $240 billion federal transportation bill -- has, for the past two years, gotten off way too easy.
