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

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A Regional Gas Tax Surcharge to Sponsor Infrastructure Investment

» Expanded taxation at the state level could simplify the financing of regional high-speed rail networks.

Most of the discussion these days about how to expand funding for alternative transportation revolves around the role of the federal government: everyone in the game seems to be desperately waiting for members of Congress to move forward with a new transportation bill with hopes that senators and representatives will miraculously fall upon a brilliant funding device that will

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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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How Feasible is Antonio Villaraigosa's 30/10 Gambit for Los Angeles Transit?

» Mayor of nation’s second-largest city fights to advance city’s transit planning… by twenty years. It’s a job that necessitates a national infrastructure bank that does not yet exist.

Forget that old cliché about Los Angeles. It’s not the old highway-obsessed metropolis it used to be. In fact, as L.A. matures, it’s densifying, shedding its abhorrence towards public transportation.

The region already has one of the most ambitious transit

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Pittsburgh Hopes for Privately Funded Transit Connection to Oakland

» Connection between Pennsylvania’s second and third largest business districts, as well as new people mover in Oakland, would be sponsored by property redevelopment.

Detroit’s use of hundreds of millions of dollars in non-profit funds for the construction of its new Woodward Avenue light rail line is already encouraging cities across the country to think differently about how they raise funds for new transit lines. With limited public money to spend on

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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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