State officials say they need around $15 billion to mitigate the impacts of rising seas.
In a visit to Hawai’i, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg expressed strong support for Honolulu’s partially opened Skyline rail line, reports Marcel Honore in Honolulu Civil Beat.
“But U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it remains unclear whether the rail, which has seen its costs more than double since 2012 to about $10 billion, would ever get more federal dollars on top of the $1.55 billion that his agency has already committed to getting it done,” Honore adds. Buttigieg gave no timeline for when Federal Transit funds, withheld since 2014, will be released, but the signing of a key agreement unlocks roughly $744 million.
Buttigieg also visited a coastal roadway slated for relocation to ensure safer evacuations, acknowledging that many more coastal roads need similar work, and “the site of the future Kapalama Container Terminal, a project that’s been in the works for at least three decades to expand port operations at Honolulu Harbor” that is using a $40 million federal grant to fund zero-emissions cranes and a solar microgrid.
Read the full story: Feds Are Confident Honolulu Rail Is Finally Moving In The Right Direction
Trump administration is withholding over $7B in transit grants
Congress allocated $7.7 billion to the Capital Investment Grants program. The Federal Transit Administration has yet to sign a single agreement.
Report: BUILD Act would strip over $2B in transit projects from California and New York alone
The proposed federal transportation bill would eliminate billions in funding from the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration and other federal agencies that fund transit and multimodal transportation programs.
April must-reads: Top 10 articles from last month
The world's longest car-free bridge opens in Finland, Amtrak's new Mardi Gras line shatters ridership predictions, and Bay Area commuters could lose a third of Caltrain stations.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority