Government / Politics

Fifteen years in the making, Toronto is finally seeing increased ridership of its main commuter rail system, GO Transit, by changing its model from primarily serving suburban commuters to providing "all-day regional transit service."

July 30, 2014 - the transport politic

Transportation decisions are best made locally, not by the state DOT, right? For those advocating for tolled, managed lanes over free, general purpose lanes, the 405 Freeway in Orange County may prove the exception.

July 29, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

The fracking rebellion has finally spread to The Lone Star State. Citizens of Denton have had enough with environmental woes from fracking close to homes and gathered signatures. Plus: the outcome of litigation against Colorado 's first fracking ban.

July 28, 2014 - The Texas Tribune

A California Court of Appeal wades into the history of driving laws to determine if a drunken cyclist who maimed a jogger can be charged with reckless driving. The cyclist was not charged with drunken driving. Not all laws are applied the same.

July 28, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

The Senate will hear four amendments to the House bill, passed July 15, in the last week of July. Sens. Boxer, Carper, and Corker want the funding extension to terminate on December 19 rather than May 31. On August 1, DOT reduces payments to states.

July 27, 2014 - The Wall Street Journal

Can one small port city make a difference? South Portland, home to an oil tanker facility that has long received crude from abroad, has blocked the owner from exporting tar sands crude and hopes to spur other cities to act.

July 25, 2014 - NPR

No, the debilitating lawsuits haven't been resolved, so the HSR Authority still can't tap the $10 billion in voter-approved bonds, but the new state budget based on cap-and-trade revenue for HSR is sparking inquiries from private investors.

July 24, 2014 - Inside Bay Area

The increasing use of online civic engagement platforms offers a chance for planners to improve the planning process—that is, if they take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the new technology to showcase their expertise.

July 24, 2014 - Karin Brandt

A deal may be near between energy and rail industries and the Department of Transportation to phase out the DOT-111 tank car—the same kind implicated in the horrific explosions of oil trains, particularly those carry Bakken crude from North Dakota.

July 23, 2014 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Construction began July 16 on the Petra Nova project, 27 miles from Houston. President Obama and many climate experts are banking on CCS to mitigate carbon emissions from the world's largest source of carbon emissions: coal burning power plants.

July 22, 2014 - Reuters

Adopted in 2011 and implemented in 2012, the Australian carbon tax was repealed on July 16, 2014, taking with it plans to transform the tax into a cap and trade system linked to the EU's. Are there implications for other developed nations?

July 21, 2014 - Vox

Organizers for a statewide measure to allow cities to ban fracking admitted to having insufficient signatures for placement on the November ballot. They will try again for 2016. Organizers hope to qualify two other initiatives to restrict fracking.

July 20, 2014 - The Colorado Observer

Will a large city do what its county voters refused to do—fund the county bus system, though largely within city limits? Seattle voters will be put to the test in November when asked to pay an annual $60 vehicle fee and 0.1% sales tax.

July 20, 2014 - The Seattle Times

A planned shutdown of the nation's largest commuter railroad on Sunday morning appears to have been averted after MTA leaders reached a tentative labor agreement was reached with the eight labor unions after Gov. Andrew Cuomo joined the talks.

July 18, 2014 - Capital New York

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) expressed irritation that Chicago is no longer a world-class city when it comes to building heights. The issue arose during a Senate floor discussion on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. Chicago's Willis Tower ranks #11.

July 18, 2014 - Politico

In a segment The Daily Show calls "Shabby Road" (complete with photoshopped image of President Obama, Rep. John Boehner, Sen. Harry Reid, and Vice President Biden as the Beatles), Jon Stewart takes down Congress' inaction on the Highway Trust Fund.

July 18, 2014 - The Daily Show

By a vote of 367-55, the House passed Rep. Dave Camp's "pension smoothing" bill to provide ten months of funding for the deficit-plagued Highway Trust Fund through May. A long-term (five- or six-year) funding plan will be attempted then.

July 16, 2014 - Politico Morning Transportation

Helsinki, capital of Finland's, is working to create a "mobility on demand" system that integrates shared and public transit in a single payment network. The idea is that with such a system in place, residents would no longer need cars.

July 16, 2014 - Guardian Cities

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad supports the Keystone XL Pipeline, as do most Republican leaders. Then again, it doesn't go through his state. Not so for the newly proposed Bakken Pipeline that cuts across the heart of Iowa. No word on his position yet.

July 16, 2014 - The Des Moines Register

A new study by economists Chang-Tai Hsieh and Enrico Moretti claims to have found the cost, in economic growth, incurred by the high price of housing in expensive coastal cities. Hint: the word trillion is involved.

July 16, 2014 - Vox