Paul Loeb and Deron Lovaas, Federal Transportation Policy Director for the Natural Resource Defense Council, pan the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009" Bill for failing to adequately fund rail and road repairs.
"The recovery bill unveiled last week contains several important steps in...key environmental areas. But...its transportation provisions are a major retreat.
The bill...would cut $2 billion proposed by [House Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar to help transit agencies provide service for growing ridership. This follows a 6.5 percent increase in transit use from 2007, the biggest in 25 years...We already trail the rest of the developed world in public transportation of every kind. Europe now plans to build thousands of new miles of rail lines, and China is adding a high-speed rail link between Hong Kong and Beijing. After eight years of malign neglect during the Bush administration, we now risk falling even further behind, when this kind of infrastructure is critical to both our economic efficiency and our ability to tackle global climate change.
In a problem with both versions of the bill, the highway investment isn't explicitly targeted to repair and maintenance of crumbling roads and bridges. That's indefensible...For any money spent on highways, the commonsense approach is "fix it first." Most of the transportation money will likely be spent on new highways, with a far worse energy impact."
FULL STORY: Missing the Train on the Recovery Package

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

USGS Water Science Centers Targeted for Closure
If their work is suspended, states could lose a valuable resource for monitoring, understanding, and managing water resources.

End Human Sacrifices to the Demanding Gods of Automobile Dependency and Sprawl
The U.S. has much higher traffic fatality rates than peer countries due to automobile dependency and sprawl. Better planning can reduce these human sacrifices.

Seattle Transit Asked to Clarify Pet Policy
A major dog park near a new light rail stop is prompting calls to update and clarify rules for bringing pets on Seattle-area transit systems.

Oregon Bill Would End Bans on Manufactured Housing
The bill would prevent new developments from prohibiting mobile homes and modular housing.

Nashville Doesn’t Renew Bike Share Contract, Citing Lost Federal Funding
The city’s bike share system, operated by BCycle, could stop operating if the city doesn’t find a new source of funding.
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