Recent Streetsblog CHICAGO posts about Federal Policy

Foxx Announces $35 Million Grant for Red and Purple Modernization

By John Greenfield | Aug 7, 2014 | 1 Comment

U.S. transportation secretary Anthony Foxx stopped by the CTA’s Granville station this afternoon to announce Chicago as the first city to be awarded a $35 million federal “Core Capacity” grant to modernize the Red and Purple lines. He also put a word in for President Obama’s proposal for a long-term transportation funding bill, the “Grow […]

At Transpo Town Hall, Sec. Foxx Pushes for Local Control, Full Funding

By Tanya Snyder | Aug 6, 2014 | No Comments

“Our transportation problems are easy to see but often difficult to explain.” That’s how Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx opened his virtual town hall meeting on the theme “Moving from Uncertainty to Long-Term Transportation Investment” this afternoon. “We have signs that warn you when traffic is ahead,” he went on. “But those signs don’t always tell […]

New Federal Bill Would Help Orient Communities Toward Transit

By Angie Schmitt | May 5, 2014 | No Comments

The federal government has a long history of supporting transit, but it’s never played much of a role in promoting the kind of development that helps make those investments successful. That’s why David Goldberg at Transportation for America is so excited about a new bill that would help encourage transit-oriented development: Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Kirsten […]

How the GROW AMERICA Act Could Modernize Federal Transportation Policy

By Tanya Snyder | Apr 30, 2014 | No Comments

Yesterday, U.S. DOT did something it hadn’t done for a decade: submit a surface transportation authorization bill to Congress. And what a bill it is. The $302 billion, four-year GROW AMERICA Act has several major reforms that would shift federal policy in a more multi-modal direction. One big change that we’ve noted before is that […]

Obama Administration Sends Transportation Bill to Congress

By Tanya Snyder | Apr 29, 2014 | No Comments

The Obama administration today sent Congress its proposal for a multi-year transportation bill, which it’s calling the GROW AMERICA Act. The bill, based on the budget proposal President Obama released two months ago, relies on corporate tax reform to raise $87 billion to fill the hole in the Highway Trust Fund. The four-year bill would cost $302 billion. […]

How Will a New FRA Rule Affect Commuter Rail?

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 14, 2014 | No Comments

Misguided safety rules from the Federal Railroad Administration are cited as the cause for all sorts of problems, from high-construction costs to pedestrian hazards to, ironically, worse safety outcomes. Which helps explain why Jarret Walker at Network blog Human Transit is alarmed about a new rule “requiring two-person train crews… for most main line freight and […]

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