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by Yonah Freemark
yfreemark (at) thetransportpolitic (dot) com

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Benefits and Pitfalls of a National Infrastructure Bank

» The European Investment Bank and Build America Bonds could serve as a model, but that strategy moves the burden of infrastructure spending to the next generation.

If you haven’t been following lately, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for members of Congress to get anything done. In terms of transportation, this fact is no laughing matter, because the nation’s ground transport systems is running on hot air — deficit spending — for lack of agreement about how to

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Rail and Transit Benefit, Highways Lose Out in TIGER Grant Distribution

» Detroit’s light rail project, Downtown Dallas, and Tucson’s modern streetcar are big winners.

One year after the stimulus bill was signed into law, the Department of Transportation unveiled the winners of its big TIGER grants, which are transportation projects awarded on merit to cities and transit agencies from around the country.

For proponents of new streetcar projects in cities like Cincinnati, Charlotte, and Atlanta, today’s announcement is a major let-down. Each had hoped to win but a small

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TIGER Stimulus Funds Awarded to Lucky Transportation Projects

Quick Post — An Update of this Story Here

The U.S. DOT announced the winners of its $1.5 billion TIGER grant awards today. Transit and rail projects won big, winning a much larger share of the funds than is typical from the DOT, whose typical annual allocations go 3:1 in favor of highways. Not so today.

Here’s a quick review of the biggest recipients of rail and transit funding, with more commentary to come later:

TN/AL: Crescent Corridor Freight Rail Improvements: $105 million
IL: CREATE Corridor Rail Improvements: $100 million
OH/PA/WV/MD: National Gateway Freight Rail Corridor Improvements:

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FTA Kills Plan to Use Stimulus Funds for Oakland Airport Connector

» $70 million will be redistributed for operating funds at cash-strapped local agencies; fate of $422 million more also committed to the project is unclear.

One clear outcome of the distribution of stimulus funds to transit agencies across the country was a marked preference for using the money to increase capital spending, rather than a ramp up of operations. Even as cities from New York to Denver have invested hundreds of millions of federal dollars in renovations and new line construction, they have cut spending on existing services. This has led to a peculiar situation in which

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For 2011, FTA Shifts Focus Away from Project Cost-Effectiveness Index and Towards Local Financing Commitment

» 2011 Report On Funding Recommendations highlights grants for projects across the country, brings bad news for some cities.

In the federal grants appropriations process, there are clear winners and losers, and the New Starts transit capital program is no exception. The President’s proposed fiscal year 2011 budget included major commitments to funding new rail projects in Denver, Honolulu, Minneapolis, and San Francisco, as well as a new busway in Hartford. But it

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Federal Transit Administration Unveils Capital Projects Recommended for Major Financing

» Denver, Honolulu, Minneapolis, and San Francisco to see major investments in new light rail. Ten bus rapid transit lines moving forward.

In its proposed fiscal year 2011 budget released yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation revealed which projects it would recommend for New Starts and Small Starts capital construction grants. There are a total of $1.822 billion in grants heading to cities across the country, with huge projects in

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