Reconnecting America CEO Calls For Bold New Agenda For Small-Town America
John Robert Smith tells Senate panel safe, strong and efficient transportation systems in small towns and rural areas are needed to grow economy and pursue the American Dream
As the Senate continues to develop a revitalized, long-term federal transportation program, Reconnecting America CEO John Robert Smith called on senators to support a bold new agenda for rural transportation that would spur economic development in small towns and cities across the United States.
(March 18, 2010)
- John Robert Smith's written testimony before U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works · PDF
- Whitepaper: Principles for Improving Transportation Options in Rural and Small Town Communities · PDF
- John Robert Smith's oral testimony before U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works · PDF
Chicago: Build New HSR Hub Near Post Office
Chicago Journal
In the future envisioned for high-speed rail transportation, Chicago is seen as the hub of a Midwest network, the place through which all other trains must pass on their way to and from a cluster of satellite cities....
(March 18, 2010)
Toronto: Mayoral Candidate Wants Tolls for Transit
Globe and Mail
Mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson waded into the politically treacherous waters of toll roads in unveiling her transit platform on Wednesday.
Most other candidates were quick to dismiss her proposal, which would place a $5 toll on the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway to pay for an expanded subway system....
Most other candidates were quick to dismiss her proposal, which would place a $5 toll on the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway to pay for an expanded subway system....
(March 18, 2010)
Report: A Transit Oriented Future For Connecticut
Regional Plan Association
Growing Economy, Shrinking Emissions: A Transit-Oriented Future for Connecticut's Capital Region illustrates a strategy for growth in Greater Hartford that expands housing and transit options while reducing our transportation-related carbon emissions...
(March 18, 2010)
Houston: Jersey Village Moves Forward with TOD Plan
Community Impact Newspapers
he Jersey Village City Council approved the concept plan for a transit-oriented development south of Hwy. 290 and moved the process to the next stage-fiscal impact....
(March 17, 2010)
Blogosphere: Could High Speed Rail Cause Sprawl?
Wired Autopia
It's fast, it's efficient and it is the future of transportation, but will high-speed rail cause sprawl? Yes, it could, warn some urban planners. Despite the promise of creating more densely populated urban centers, high-speed rail could do quite the opposite by making it easier for people to live far from urban centers....
(March 17, 2010)
Pittsburgh: Cities Embracing Sustainability
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
With its abundant LEED-certified buildings, its superlative green wall, its fledgling biofuel companies, its transmogrified riverfronts and reclaimed brownfields, Pittsburgh wants to be known as a city where sustainability is taken seriously....
(March 17, 2010)
Quote of the Day
Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Past experience suggests the economic development impacts of LRT in all but the most fast-growing, economically robust settings are over-sold,"
(March 15, 2010)
DC: Metro's Joint Development Chief Sees Changes
Washington Business Journal
Steve Goldin is ready to spread the "transit-oriented development gospel" at Metro. The new head of real estate and joint development at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and a self-proclaimed "TOD nerd," Goldin has pledged to jump-start development on some of the region's most valuable properties near Metrorail stations - and overhaul the authority's development bid process....
(March 15, 2010)
Dallas: TOD a Failed Promise?
Dallas Morning News
Advocates of DART's aggressive rail expansion, which it calls the most ambitious in North America, argue the theory that development will cluster along rail lines because people want to live nearby, park their cars and commute by train. A core objective is to improve the air. Plus, supporters say, rail boosts property values and thereby helps economic vitality...
(March 15, 2010)
