The Partnership for Sustainable Communities—consisting of DOT, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency—announced  the release of grant funds totaling $409.5 million to support more livable and sustainable communities across the nation on Oct. 21. [More]

NEWS HEADLINES

Livable Communities Boost Economic Development

BY KJ FIELDS, Special to Passenger Transport

The goals behind the creation of Rail~Volution—to espouse sustainable residential and transportation planning ideas, strengthen communities, improve quality of life, and showcase light rail as a system that can help define a community’s future growth—largely have been accomplished and now have become the critical, urgent public policies of our time. [More]

LaHood Announces 75 TIGER II Grants

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood Oct. 20 announced $585 million in grants awarded to transportation projects around the nation under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) II program. The grants will fund 42 capital projects and 33 planning projects across the country, LaHood noted in a conference call with reporters. [More]

LaHood, Bennett, Millar, Others Discuss Plans for High-Speed Rail in Western U.S.

The first-ever conference to promote high-speed intercity passenger rail in the western U.S. brought together Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT), and other leaders Oct. 13-15 in Las Vegas. The Western Alliance for High-Speed Rail’s inaugural conference, “The Rail Ahead,” focused on steps for achieving a high-speed rail link between the major cities of the American West, to include Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles—and eventually Reno, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. [More]

Eight Areas Selected to Receive EPA Aid

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has chosen eight communities to receive technical assistance on sustainable growth and development issues through the Smart Growth Assistance Program. The pilot projects will help local governments address infrastructure constraints, protect water quality, set development standards, and create options for housing and transportation. [More]

First-of-Its-Kind National TOD Database Launched

The Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD)—a partnership among Reconnecting America, the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), and Strategic Economics, and funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)—launched a first-of-its-kind TOD database Oct. 18 at Rail~Volution in Portland, OR, to provide access to comprehensive information about more than 4,000 transit zones across the U.S. By using this resource, developers, investors, and city officials will be able to take advantage of development opportunities around transit nodes. [More]

New Report: Make it in America--The Apollo Clean Transportation Manufacturing Action Plan

The Apollo Alliance recently released a report that calls for a new approach to transportation that will create thousands of new jobs. “To be competitive in the global economy of the future,” the report states, “we must commit to a new, comprehensive transportation strategy that meets our future transportation needs, reduces carbon emissions, and spurs the creation of a strong domestic transportation manufacturing sector.” [More]

LYNX Selects Lewis as Next Chief Executive Officer

The Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (LYNX) Board of Directors in Orlando has chosen John M. Lewis Jr., chief executive officer of the GRTC Transit System in Richmond, VA, to be its new chief executive officer. Contract negotiations are underway. [More]

Giuliani Dies; Transit Leader for 60 Years

Clarence Giuliani, 85, of Dayton, OH, a public transportation official with more than 60 years of experience, died Oct. 13. He worked in transit maintenance, operations, bus manufacturing, and a wide variety of transit consulting activities. [More]

Bayne Dies; Former Senior Engineer for WMATA

Melba Bayne, 79, of Culpeper, VA, senior mechanical engineer for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) from 1981 until her retirement in 1998, died Oct. 4. [More]

Two Studies Highlight the Benefits of Transit Use

An overwhelming number of Americans with access to public transportation—87 percent—take advantage of it and 69 percent consider public transit a better option than driving at times, according to the latest America THINKS survey released by HNTB Corporation. [More]

MMVTA’s Murtha Center Reclaims Brownfield Site in Donora, PA

On Oct. 26, 1948, the western Pennsylvania town of Donora became notorious for a thick, acrid smog that blanketed the area, causing 20 deaths and lingering health problems for many residents. The “Donora Death Fog” resulted from a stationary inversion of air that kept smokestack emissions from the city’s steel and zinc plants from dissipating; it ultimately served as a catalyst for the passage of federal clean air legislation. [More]

TCRP Releases Publications

The Transportation Research Board recently released the following Transit Cooperative Research Program publications. [More]

Draggoo Named to Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame

The Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame inducted Sandy Draggoo, chief executive officer/executive director of the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) in Lansing, MI, since 1985, as a member in ceremonies Oct. 19 in East Lansing. She was one of a class of 10 Michigan women who received the honor for being first, founders, or experts in their fields. [More]

MORE FROM THE 2010 APTA ANNUAL MEETING

Connecting the Dots: Energy, Environment, Transportation, Housing, Sustainability; An Integrated Approach Holds the Key to Achieving Mobility Goals

BY SUSAN R. PAISNER, Senior Managing Editor

“We’re not just in the business of building rail systems.” With that, moderator Richard J. Simonetta, vice president and national director of high speed rail & special projects, URS Corporation, Columbus, OH, began an Annual Meeting session before a very full house. [More]

In Ottawa and Chicago, Transit Partners with Suppliers

BY SUSAN BERLIN, Senior Editor

Ottawa, ON, and Chicago are just two of the North American metropolitan areas whose public transit agencies are discovering that partnerships with their suppliers “have helped us break through” to better, more cost-efficient service—in the words of Alain Mercier, general manager-transit services for OC Transpo/City of Ottawa. Representatives of participating transit agencies and businesses relayed their experiences during a session at the APTA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX. [More]

Working to Implement a State of Good Repair

BY LYNNE T. DEAN, Special to Passenger Transport

Public transportation systems addressing their state of good repair (SGR) needs and matching these policy decisions with a financial commitment can reap important benefits, speakers from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), AECOM, and Halcrow told attendees at a session of the APTA Annual Meeting. [More]

State DOTs Work to Build the New ‘Transconomy’

BY SUSAN BERLIN, Senior Editor

Jolene Molitoris, director of Ohio DOT, coined the word “transconomy” to describe how transportation and the economy can only benefit as an inseparable unit when she addressed the General Forum, “Transit and the State DOT Commissioner: The Future is Multimodal,” at the APTA Annual Meeting. [More]

Challenging Times for Public Transportation

BY SUSAN BERLIN, Senior Editor

These are tumultuous times for public transportation and the road ahead is uncertain. Representatives from public transit agencies, Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and Congress, as well as vendors, provided varying outlooks on the future during a session titled “State of the Industry—Where Do We Go from Here?” at APTA’s Annual Meeting. [More]

Forging Partnerships for Livable and Sustainable Communities: Challenges, Strategies, and Needs

BY LYNNE T. DEAN, Special to Passenger Transport

Cooperation, collaboration, and public involvement top the list of recommended strategies for public transit agencies and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) when both seek to improve livability and sustainability in their regions, according to panelists representing five diverse U.S. regions at a session during the APTA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX. [More]

Agencies Discuss Responsible Use of Social Media

BY SUSAN BERLIN, Senior Editor

Social media—Facebook, Twitter, YouTube—are becoming facts of life that public transportation agencies must now harness, or they run the risk of being left behind. Agency representatives reported on how they use these technologies for outreach and communication purposes as part of a session during the APTA Annual Meeting. [More]

COMMENTARY

Opinions from Public Transportation Experts

The National Journal's "Expert Blog on Transportation" recently solicited responses from experts heavily involved in public transportation on such issues as funding new passenger rail systems and ensuring that the competing needs of passenger and freight rail are both balanced and met. What follows are excerpts of some of the views presented. [More]

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

People on the Move

Passenger Transport announces the following hirings and promotions in public transportation agencies and suppliers. Items appear in People on the Move in the order in which they are received. [More]