With the use of a pop-up event that pulled in local stakeholders and a well thought-out engagement strategy, a small city with a history of successful quick-build Complete Streets projects gained a better understanding of community goals and created a strong case for funding a project to improve safety and health outcomes.
Senate committee approves transportation and HUD budget
The Hill – April 17, 2012
A $53.4 billion budget for the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development departments was approved on Tuesday by a Senate subcommittee. The measure was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. It is less than the $74 billion President Obama requested for transportation in his 2013 budget proposal, and $44.8 billion less than he called for housing and urban development.
Highway Bill Faces Veto over Pipeline Provision
Reuters – April 18, 2012
he White House on Tuesday renewed its threat to veto legislation to fund U.S. transportation projects responsible for millions of jobs if it includes the politically charged Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Austin, Atlanta Give ‘Middleweight’ U.S. Cities Global Punch
Businessweek – April 17, 2012
Mid-size U.S. cities such as Austin, Texas, and Atlanta will join New York and Los Angeles to drive more than 10 percent of the world’s growth from now to 2025, McKinsey Global Institute said in a report.
Bike lanes and sidewalks don’t just make streets safer and more convenient – they’re a good investment of transportation funds, too. A new report from the Policy Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that public investments in pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure – including sidewalks, bike lanes, and trails – create more jobs per dollar spent.
The report finds that bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects create significantly more jobs than infrastructure projects for cars alone. According to the study, bicycle projects create 11.4 jobs for every $1 million invested — 46% more than car-only road projects. Job creation potential decreased as infrastructure dedicated to automobilies increased:
Pedestrian-only projects create an average of about 10 jobs per $1 million, and multi-use trails create nearly as many, at 9.6 jobs per $1 million. Infrastructure that combines road construction with pedestrian and bicycle facilities creates slightly fewer jobs for the same amount of spending, and road-only projects create the least, with a total of 7.8 jobs per $1 million.
This week: A new coalition formed in Minnesota, Lee’s Summit may be the 99th jurisdiction to adopt complete streets, new bike lanes in Rochester MN and more.