public transit
Monday numbers: We can’t drive our way out of climate change
A half dozen modular homes are crammed in the elbow of the offramp from I-785 to US 70 on the fringes of Greensboro. In east Durham, a largely Black neighborhood is wedged in a chute of air pollution between the railroad tracks and NC 147.
CDC concludes a mask mandate is still needed for travelers, clearing way for court battle
The Biden administration will fight a court decision for the authority to mandate masks on airplanes, trains and other public transit, following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation Wednesday night that a mandate was still needed. The CDC said in a statement that the mandate keeps transportation safer for immunocompromised people and the […]
Infrastructure law fixes Amtrak funding woes, House panel hears
North Carolina stands to benefit from new investments WASHINGTON — The leader of Amtrak told a U.S. House panel Thursday that the recently enacted infrastructure law made great strides to solving the passenger rail system’s financial woes and placed it on equal footing with other modes of transportation. Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure […]
Monday numbers: DOT budget includes $5 million for unmanned aircraft systems
The new state budget, signed into law by Gov. Cooper, the General Assembly included a raft of one-time appropriations of varying sizes that feature extremely vague descriptions and very few details as to the specific purpose for which the funds are to be used. For example, in the Department of Transportation budget, General Assembly allotted a $5 million grant to a Winston-Salem nonprofit known as AeroX for the "development of an urban advanced air mobility system."
U.S. House Democrats add more mass transit, high-speed rail in second shot at infrastructure bill
The U.S. House transportation panel early Wednesday passed along party lines the panel’s $60 billion slice of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget plan, adding nearly $20 billion for a new transit program and high-speed rail development in the states. Chairman Peter A. DeFazio of Oregon had considered these and other items underfunded in the Senate-led bipartisan […]
Another small but important piece of encouraging election news
Here’s another set of important North Carolina election results that you may have missed in the hubbub of the last 48 hours. It comes from the good people at the North Carolina Housing Coalition: “The North Carolina Housing Coalition worked in partnership with several local organizations to support four different ballot measures around the state. All of them […]
Budget provision to kill light rail: Corrupt, secret government at its worst
In case you missed it, be sure to check out reporter Bruce Siceloff’s story in this morning’s edition of Raleigh’s News & Observer in which he explores the behind-closed-doors decision of unnamed state lawmakers to deep six the Triangle’s developing plans for a traffic-busting light rail system. Siceloff quotes one of the legislature’s longest-serving and […]
Light rail line latest casualty of the absurdly undemocratic budget process
Senate leaders repeatedly dismissed legitimate complaints from Democrats about the secret and rushed budget process during the floor debate Monday afternoon. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger said the hundreds of pages of special provisions were no big deal, that 99 percent of them had been discussed for three months or more. That’s ridiculous of […]
Editorial blasts last minute local sales tax bill as, “mixed up,” “weird,” “half-baked”
ICYMI, the editorial page of the Greensboro News & Record pulled no punches this weekend in an editorial excoriating state senators for their last minute proposal to hamstring local governments when it comes to use of the sales tax for public services and structures at the local level. Here’s an excerpt from “Oddest idea yet”: […]
Tuesday lunch links
It’s only Tuesday but another week of obstruction and political hostage-taking by American conservatives is well underway. As I noted in last Wednesday’s Weekly Briefing column on the far right’s nullification/secession movement, however, there’s a heck of a lot more than just the Affordable Care Act these folks want to repeal. Ari Berman at The […]
Budget Preview: North Carolina’s transportation budget faces long-term $60 billion shortfall
North Carolina’s transportation system helps form vital social and economic structures by connecting people to services, jobs, and other opportunities across the state and beyond. Although North Carolina has been known as the Good Roads State, its transportation system is under considerable pressure due to aging infrastructure, increasing demand, and declining revenue sources that are […]
New report: Low-income people must be included in mass transit plans
Just out from the NC Budget and Tax Center: MEDIA RELEASE: Low-income North Carolinians’ needs must be at forefront of public transit plans Plans should evaluate where low-income individuals – transit’s most reliable customers – live and work RALEIGH (December 12, 2012) – The success of new and expanded transit in North Carolina will be […]