DOTs across the country are looking for innovative and flexible ways to meet users’ needs in ways that cost less to build and maintain. Accelerating Practical Solutions is an opportunity for six state DOTs to win a one-day workshop with our expert transportation staff.
Vibrant, walkable neighborhoods can help attract new residents and jobs, support existing businesses, and benefit everyone’s quality of life. We’re excited to announce an in-person event exploring how these strategies are working in two particular cities—and how communities anywhere can use this approach.
Transportation for America is pleased to announce the selection of three communities to receive $50,000 creative placemaking grants through our Cultural Corridor Consortium program. Our three winners, from Dothan, AL, Los Angeles, CA, and Indianapolis, IN, all propose to apply artistic and cultural practice to shape transportation investments — positively transforming these places, building social capital, supporting local businesses, and celebrating communities’ unique characteristics.
This month we closed out the first half of our monthly webinar series with “Greening the Streetscape: Complete Streets & Stormwater Management.” To learn more, view the recording of the webinar above, download the PDF of the presentation, or read the full recap below.
The 2017 Federal Financing Toolkit features 90 federal financing opportunities that are designed to help real estate developers and investors as well as local elected officials achieve their development goals.
Today, after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) NTSB released recommendations from a new report aimed at reducing speeding-related injuries and fatalities, The National Complete Streets Coalition made the following statement:
“The National Complete Streets Coalition thanks NTSB for taking aim at the critical issue of speeding-related crashes that injure and kill far too many Americans each year — including many on foot or bike. We hope this report will continue to bring attention to the important yet often overlooked role of speeding in traffic injuries and fatalities for everyone who uses our streets.
Over the last decade, speed has consistently been associated with about 30 percent of traffic fatalities annually, and addressing that will help reduce auto-related injuries and fatalities. Speed is also the most important variable in how likely someone is to survive a crash. For people on foot, the likelihood of surviving a crash decreases rapidly after 30 mph; older adults are 47% likely to experience fatalities at this speed. Between 2005 and 2014, Americans were more likely to die while walking than from a natural disaster. But our Pedestrian Danger Index shows that people of color, older adults, and low-income populations are both overrepresented in pedestrian deaths and disproportionately subject to dangerous walking conditions.
Many cities and towns recognize that their parking requirements and regulations are outdated, but they struggle in taking the first step toward reform. This process often begins by auditing the existing supply and understanding how it’s being used, which can be a major undertaking. On July 12, 2017, State Smart Transportation Initiative hosted a webinar … Continued
MACOG launches a new, unified approach to Complete Streets — We’re working alongside the Michiana Area Council of Governments to provide technical assistance to communities throughout the Michiana region. For the first time, we are helping an MPO run a competitive application process for Complete Streets workshops on policy development and implementation. To kick off this work, we traveled to North Central Indiana to meet with local leaders. Read more about our experiences and this new model for technical assistance.
Smart Growth America is now hiring a paid Policy Intern to support programs within our Policy Development & Implementation team, which focuses on relationships between smart growth strategies and the economic and fiscal health of communities. This person will assist in research and analysis projects, develop materials to support technical assistance engagements, and provide day-to-day administrative and logistical support. This position may also assist with preparing grant progress reports, writing content for our newsletter and blog, and providing short-term assistance to other programs as required. This position reports to Smart Growth America’s Vice President for Economic Development.
On July 10, the House Appropriations Committee introduced its version of the fiscal year 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development spending bill. The bill includes funding for the Department of Transportation (USDOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other related agencies. In total, the bill reflects an allocation of $56.5 billion in discretionary spending — $1.1 billion below fiscal year 2017 levels and $8.6 billion above the President’s request.
On July 12, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a full committee hearing entitled, “The Use of TIFIA and Innovative Financing in Improving Infrastructure to Enhance Safety, Mobility, and Economic Opportunity.”
The hearing focused on the nation’s enormous need for infrastructure investment, and how Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans can help meet it. Christopher Coes, Vice President for Real Estate Policy and External Affairs, joined the hearing to testify.
If you think manufacturing still needs to be exiled to large, polluting, isolated factories, think again. Many of today’s manufacturing spaces are small, clean, shared among multiple firms, and integrated with other land uses. And communities across the country are creating space for these businesses in downtown neighborhoods, and making them part of a place-based approach to economic development.
Small-scale producers and manufacturers can boost local economies by creating new jobs for workers with a wide range of skill sets. When these companies are located in a downtown, however, their economic impact multiplies. These businesses can bring life to vacant industrial properties or storefronts and catalyze broader neighborhood investment. They can also help attract visitors by fostering a community of creative producers.