Two months ago we reported on the railroad industry’s reaction to the FRA’s directive setting forth the terms of the so-called “Stakeholder Agreements.” Those are the agreements between state authorities and Class I railroads that will govern the shared-use freight-passenger rail service in rail corridors receiving federal aid under the Administration’s high-speed rail (HSR) program. The FRA directive stunned and angered railroad executives by what they regarded as unreasonable demands, and burdensome requirements…We are happy to report that reason and good sense have prevailed. In a press conference on August 20, FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo announced that the agency has withdrawn the controversial directive.
View this complete post...Archive for the ‘Tax’ Category
Congratulations to FRA on a Sensible Decision
Thursday, August 26th, 2010Two Promising New Proposals For Solving the Fiscal Shortfall
Monday, August 9th, 2010Both proposals stem from a conclusion that the obstacles standing in the way of enacting a new multi-year federal surface transportation program are of a long-term nature and will not be overcome any time soon. These obstacles include the inability of Congress to come up with a meaningful way to pay for the program; the increasingly shaky and uncertain status of the Highway Trust Fund; the pressure for deficit reduction in the fiscal and budgetary actions of the next Congress, especially in the likely event of a Republican takeover; and a low priority given to the reauthorization by the Obama White House (see our NewsBrief of July 16, “New Political Realities May Sidetrack the Transportation Reauthorization”).
View this complete post...More Americans prefer transportation tolls than taxes, other funding options
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010HNTB CORPORATION
Despite a growing awareness that America’s aging network of highways, bridges and tunnels is in failing health, huge roadblocks are preventing Congressional action on a new national transportation bill: the lack of adequate funding sources and consensus on a vision that helps plan, prioritize and pay for U.S. infrastructure. A new America THINKS survey from HNTB Corporation suggests the answer may lie in a modern version of a solution that financed this country’s roads and bridges prior to the advent of a national gas tax more than 50 years ago: tolling.
The Road Less Traveled: Exploring Congestion Pricing in Chicagoland
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010ILLINOIS TOLLWAY
METROPOLITAN PLANNING COUNCIL
Across the country, people are tired of wasting time and money, sitting behind the wheel with no real alternatives to driving. Recognizing the severity of the problem, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is funding projects to study the potential of new and innovative strategies to alleviate traffic congestion, improve the environment, and provide better mobility.
Congestion pricing is one of those strategies.
View this complete post...Guest on The Infra Blog: John Horsley, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010John Horsley is Executive Director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). From 1993 to 1999 he served as Associate Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation. A native of the Northwest, Horsley was elected to five terms as County Commissioner in Kitsap County, a community just west of Seattle. He is Past President of the National Association of Counties, and was founding Chairman of the Rebuild America Coalition.
View this complete post...Guest on The Infra Blog: Congressman James Oberstar (D-MN), Chairman, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Monday, June 7th, 2010Congressman James Oberstar represents Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District. Now in his 17th term, he is the longest serving member of Congress in Minnesota history. In the 34 years he has served in Congress, Jim has become known as the body’s leading expert on transportation policy. From 1989 through 1995, he chaired the Subcommittee on Aviation, passing important legislation that has led to better maintenance and safer aircraft. Later, as the ranking democrat of the full Transportation Committee, he worked in a bipartisan manner to take the Highway Trust Fund off budget to ensure that gas taxes are used to fix roads and bridges and not to make the budget deficit look smaller. In January 2007, Jim was elected chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He is also the first member of Congress to have served both as a committee’s administrator and its chairman.
View this complete post...Some Frank and Unscripted Comments from Capitol Hill
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010We have noted before in these pages that there seems to be no sign of a popular outcry about the stalled transportation authorization and no willingness on the part of the public to tax themselves to support a larger program of infrastructure modernization. Warnings by advocacy groups about “crumbling infrastructure” seem to fall on deaf ears. Nor is the Administration showing any desire to move a multi-year transportation bill this year.
View this complete post...Guest on The Infra Blog: Thomas Murphy, Senior Resident Fellow, ULI/Klingbeil Family Chair for Urban Development, Urban Land Institute, and former Mayor of Pittsburgh
Thursday, May 6th, 2010Thomas Murphy is a senior resident fellow, ULI/Klingbeil Family Chair for urban development, Urban Land Institute. Since January 2006, Murphy had served as ULI’s Gulf Coast liaison, helping to coordinate with the leadership of New Orleans and the public to advance the implementation of rebuilding recommendations made by ULI’s advisory services panel last fall. Prior to his service as the ULI Gulf Coast liaison, Murphy served three terms as the mayor of Pittsburgh, from January 1994 through December 2005. From 1979 through 1993, Murphy served eight terms in the Pennsylvania State General Assembly House of Representatives. He is an honorary member of the American Society of Landscape Architects; a board member of the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities; and a board member of the National Rails to Trails Conservancy.
View this complete post...Guest on The Infra Blog: Janice Tuchman, Editor-In-Chief, Engineering News-Record (ENR)
Thursday, May 6th, 2010Janice L. Tuchman is editor-in-chief of Engineering News-Record, where she directs the editorial operations of the Engineering News-Record enterprise online, in print and at in-person events. In 2002, she became only the sixth woman to be elected to membership in “The Moles,” a prestigious heavy-construction industry leaders organization. She also serves on the Industry Advisory Committee of the Department of Civil Engineering at Columbia University. She co-authored a book on Exposed Structure in Building Design and won McGraw-Hill Corporate Achievement Awards for Information Technology and Editorial Excellence.
View this complete post...
CATEGORIES
- Accountability (11)
- Aging Infrastructure (70)
- Aviation (8)
- Biking (20)
- Bipartisan (19)
- Bridges (31)
- Broadband (5)
- Buses (19)
- Carbon Tax (7)
- Clean Air (23)
- Climate Change (22)
- Competitiveness (72)
- Congestion (57)
- Dams (13)
- Democrat (6)
- Drinking Water (21)
- Economic Stimulus (24)
- Employment (28)
- Energy (42)
- Environment (55)
- Equity (23)
- Funding (90)
- Global (12)
- Green (44)
- Hazardous Waste (3)
- High Speed Rail (45)
- Highway (72)
- Inland Waterways (14)
- Jobs (27)
- Land Use (26)
- LEED (2)
- Levees (7)
- Local (118)
- National (171)
- Policy (105)
- Pollution (20)
- Private Investment (18)
- Public Opinion (21)
- Public Parks & Recreation (10)
- Public Transportation (84)
- Racism (2)
- Rail (66)
- Recession (15)
- Recovery (67)
- Republican (5)
- Roads (79)
- Schools (19)
- Seaports (10)
- Smart Grid (5)
- Smart Growth (76)
- Solid Waste (5)
- Sustainability (68)
- Tax (19)
- Technology (26)
- Telecommunications (2)
- Transit (159)
- Urban Planning (106)
- Wastewater (18)
- Water Treatment (10)
Show us your infra!
Show us your infra!
Video, stills and tales. Share images of the Infra in your community that demands attention. Post your ideas about national Infra issues. Go ahead. Show Us Your Infra! Upload and instantly share your message.
Polls
Polls
Is the administration moving fast enough on Infra issues? Are Americans prepared to pay more taxes for repairs? Should job creation be the guiding determination? Vote now!
Views
What do the experts think? This is where the nation's public policy organizations, trade associations and think tanks weigh in with analysis on Infra issues. Tell them what you think. Ask questions. Share a different view.
Blog
The Infra Blog offers cutting edge perspective on a broad spectrum of Infra topics. Frequent updates and provocative posts highlight hot button topics -- essential ingredients of a national Infra dialogue.
RSS Feed