Tanya Snyder explores the recent horse-trading being proposed by House Republicans, in which they've expressed a willingness to pass the Senate transportation bill in exchange for Senate approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Calling it "another desperate attempt to push forward their fossil fuel agenda," Snyder sees the ploy as a sign that "the House GOP leadership now wishes this whole transportation thing would just go away."
"They have egg on their faces from repeated failures to get even their own caucus on board with their drilling-and-driving plan, and they still have no idea about how to deal with it. The House hasn't been able to pass anything dealing with infrastructure, but they have passed three - count ‘em, three - bills to expand oil drilling."
Snyder is pessimistic that any type of substantial federal transportation reauthorization bill will be attempted, let alone passed, before this November's elections.
FULL STORY: House GOP Tries to Horse-Trade Senate Bill For Keystone Pipeline
Key Players Frame Debate Over Next Federal Transportation Bill
The transportation bill known as MAP-21 expires in a little more than a year, but the key interest groups and political players are already staking out their positions. The posturing is compounded by the worsening state of the Highway Trust Fund.
House and Senate Transportation Bills on a Collision Course
As the bi-partisan Senate transportation bill cues up for its first vote on Thursday and the partisan House bill gets roughed up in committee, the prospects for reconciling the bills seems dim.
Converting a Freeway Lane to a Toll Lane: No Easy Task!
The San Mateo County Transportation Authority wants to extend its new express toll lanes north to the San Francisco border. The two build options are widening Highway 101 or converting an existing lane in each direction. One is essentially illegal.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.
Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.
In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont