State officials say they need around $15 billion to mitigate the impacts of rising seas.
In a visit to Hawai’i, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg expressed strong support for Honolulu’s partially opened Skyline rail line, reports Marcel Honore in Honolulu Civil Beat.
“But U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said it remains unclear whether the rail, which has seen its costs more than double since 2012 to about $10 billion, would ever get more federal dollars on top of the $1.55 billion that his agency has already committed to getting it done,” Honore adds. Buttigieg gave no timeline for when Federal Transit funds, withheld since 2014, will be released, but the signing of a key agreement unlocks roughly $744 million.
Buttigieg also visited a coastal roadway slated for relocation to ensure safer evacuations, acknowledging that many more coastal roads need similar work, and “the site of the future Kapalama Container Terminal, a project that’s been in the works for at least three decades to expand port operations at Honolulu Harbor” that is using a $40 million federal grant to fund zero-emissions cranes and a solar microgrid.
FULL STORY: Feds Are Confident Honolulu Rail Is Finally Moving In The Right Direction
Colorado Lawmakers Move to Protect BRT Funding
In the face of potential federal funding cuts, CDOT leaders reasserted their commitment to planned bus rapid transit projects.
SoCal Leaders Debate Moving Coastal Rail Line
Train tracks running along the Pacific Ocean are in danger from sea level rise, but residents are divided on how to fix the problem.
Portland Transportation Bureau Faces ‘Existential’ Cuts
PBOT’s director says the agency’s impending budget shortfall could imperil even basic transportation and infrastructure services.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.
Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.
Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service