» Many new streetcar lines expected to begin construction last year are scheduled for this year instead; BRT projects advance all over the map.

The uncertainty in Congress over the future of funding for the nation’s transportation programs has not yet hit local transit authorities, which will collectively spend billions of dollars this year on enhancements to their local public transportation networks. At least 33 metropolitan areas in the U.S. — and five in Canada — are planning to invest in new BRT, streetcar, light rail, metro rail, or commuter rail projects in 2012. Virtually every American project listed here

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» Streetcar lines dominate the nation’s new transit construction landscape, but this year only light and commuter rail lines will open for service.

Lest one think that investment in transit is a coasts-only phenomenon in the United States, the sheer quantity of spending planned for new public transportation projects across the country in 2011 indicates otherwise.

In almost every major city or metropolitan area in both the U.S. and Canada, major new rail or bus links are being readied for service. Over the course of the next year, five new light rail lines or extensions will open for operations, as will

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» This week’s big news. Open thread in the comments.

Follow my Twitter account (@ttpolitic) to get news in real time.

The Transport Politic

New York to study Red Hook streetcars, but what are the city’s goals?
New Heartland Corridor increases freight capacity between East Coast and Chicago
Tampa outlines plan for spending after transit tax referendum
Political will disappearing, New Jersey’s ARC project could be on the way out

Bus Rapid Transit in San Francisco’s East Bay, on Next American City

Look Out? Building a BRT line in California is No Simple Matter
Opposition to a Bus Rapid Transit System is More than Just NIMBYism
Envisioning

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» This week’s big news. Open thread in the comments.

Follow my Twitter account (@ttpolitic) to get news in real time.

The Transport Politic:

European transport agencies consolidate intercity rail operations in face of competition
Stations picked, huge automated transit project for Paris is closer to realization
Promoting a second stimulus with the goal of actual job creation

Next American City:

Minding the Gaps: Streetcar plans in Detroit and New Orleans (in the magazine)
New Orleans could be up for radical change with the removal of a highway
If transit investment produces jobs, why isn’t there more of it?

Canadians like transit

The Canadian federal government has agreed to

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