The National Journal Online talks to three transportation experts about the recent statements by DOT Secretary LaHood that the agency would begin using livability-based funding guidelines for major transit projects. Will it work?
Lisa Caruso talks with James Corless, the campaign director for Transportation for America; William Millar, President of the American Public Transportation Association; and Anthony E. Shorris, Director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at NYU.
Shorris: "It's long past time for the US to follow in the footsteps of so many other Western nations by learning to evaluate its infrastructure investments using more sophisticated tools than we have seen to date. For more than a decade, the UK has used tools for project evaluation that reflect the multiplicity of goals that public sector investments should achieve and the EU has done some very thoughtful work on these issues. Our appraisal of the benefits of surface transportation projects needs to go well beyond simply estimating reduced travel times for commuters, and even beyond reducing CO2 and other pollutants."
Read the full story: Are New Transit Guidelines An Improvement?
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
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