U.S. Department of Transportation

Detroit Streetcar

How Detroit's QLine Streetcar Got Off Track

The QLine could ride its own dedicated lane and serve a real need for commuters. Instead, it's a slow circulator for a small part of downtown.

March 19, 2018 - Streetsblog USA

Route 132

Critiquing the Latest Round of TIGER Grant Funding

TIGER grants aren't what they used to be, just like pretty much everything else in the federal government under the Trump Administration.

March 15, 2018 - Streetsblog USA

Federal Transit Administration

$500 Million in TIGER Grants Awarded

They say the pendulum swings, and the TIGER grant funding pendulum has swung away from public transit.

March 10, 2018 - U.S. Department Of Transportation

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao

Corrected: The Bell Tolls for the TIGER Grant Program

The Trump Administration signaled a desire to scrap a funding program that helped fund transit, pedestrian, and bike infrastructure. A new program likely focused on rural and toll roads could take its place.

March 7, 2018 - Streetsblog USA

Rhode Island Interstate 95

Major Bridge Rebuilding Project Cost Soars in Providence

When the Trump Administration scrapped the U.S. Department of Transportation's FASTLANE grant program, the state of Rhode Island decided to seek a public-private partnership for its I-95 bridge replacement project.

December 29, 2017 - Providence Journal

PATH Train

Financing of Hudson River Rail Tunnels in Peril

A funding agreement between New York, New Jersey, and the U.S. DOT for one of the most important rail projects in the nation is in danger of collapsing because of the way the two states are financing their share of the $12.9 billion cost.

December 26, 2017 - Crain's New York Business

CoGo Bikeshare

Columbus Just Changed its 'Smart City' Plan

The original plan earned the city a highly competitive $40 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

November 22, 2017 - Smart Cities Dive

Freeway Construction

GOP Tax Plan Eliminates Critical Infrastructure-Funding Bond Program

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act would have a deleterious effect on major infrastructure proposed by the private sector. The loss of Private Activity Bonds would hike borrowing rates for road, transit, stadium, and even affordable housing projects.

November 9, 2017 - Greater Greater Washington

Miami Brightline Construction

Trump Administration Kills Obama Era Local Hiring Program

The U.S. Department of Transportation quietly killed an Obama Administration program that would have been the only federal level local hiring initiative.

August 28, 2017 - The New York Times

Purple Line Extension

U.S. DOT Brings Maryland Purple Line Back From the Dead

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the state of Maryland are expected to sign a funding agreement next week for the Purple Line between Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

August 23, 2017 - The Washington Post

Seattle Light Rail

Feds Removing Regulatory Roadblocks for Private Investments in Public Transit

A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) announced by the Federal Transit Administration is designed to further the Trump Administration's goals to empower the private sector to rebuild the nation's infrastructure.

August 7, 2017 - Federal Transit Administration

Capitol Hill

Senate Appropriations Committee Restores TIGER Grant Program

Unlike the House Appropriations Committee's DOT budget that reduces spending by almost 4 percent from current levels and eliminates the TIGER grant program, its Senate counterpart increased transportation spending, including the TIGER grant budget.

July 28, 2017 - The Hill

Runners in D.C.

2018 Congressional Transportation Budget Begins to Take Shape

While reduced from current levels, the House Appropriations Committee budgeted far more than what President Trump had proposed, but they agreed with him to eliminate the TIGER grant program and reduce transit investments, though by a lesser amount.

July 24, 2017 - The Hill

Governor Larry Hogan

U.S. DOT Won't Investigate Potential Civil Rights Violation on Baltimore Red Line Cancellation

In the waning days of the Obama Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation saw reason to investigate the civil rights implications of a decision to cancel funding for the Baltimore Red Line light rail project.

July 18, 2017 - Streetsblog USA

Anchorage, Alaska

Will Alaska Return Millions of Dollars for Bike and Pedestrian Projects to the Feds, Again?

Last year, Alaska returned $2.6 million of its 2013 Transportation Alternatives Program funding to the U.S. Department of Transportation due to a shortage of eligible projects to fund, despite having four years to obligate the grant money.

June 23, 2017 - Alaska Public Media

Road Construction

The Two Faces of Trump's Infrastructure Plan

The president spent Infrastructure Week touting a $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan that has yet to materialize, unlike the elimination of an essential grant program in his 2018 budget that will be detrimental to over 50 transit projects.

June 13, 2017 - The Washington Post

Uber Self-Driving Car

Trump Administration Preparing to Rewrite the Rules for Self-Driving Cars

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao spoke publically about the need for the federal government to regulate a way forward for the deployment of automated vehicle technology.

June 8, 2017 - The Wall Street Journal

New York Subway

Omnibus Spending Bill Will Save Transit Grant Programs—for Five Months*

Congress passed a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill to keep the government operating through September that also restores funding to transportation programs that the president had eliminated or greatly reduced. Trump signed the bill Friday.

May 8, 2017 - The Hill

New York City's Highest Profile Transit Projects at Risk Despite Trump Assurances

Planning and construction for the new Amtrak Gateway tunnels unders the Hudson River and the next phase of the Second Avenue Subway could grind to a halt under President Trump's proposed budget that substantially cuts capital grants programs.

April 6, 2017 - The New York Times

Airport

The First U.S. 'Noise Map' Could Help Reduce Unsafe Exposure

A new tool from the Department of Transportation maps all the noise created by traffic nationwide.

April 3, 2017 - The Architect's Newspaper

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

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