With the nation's infrastructure in dire need of investment, a debate over the need to raise the federal gas tax is brewing in Washington, D.C.
"The nation's roads and rails need repair. Congress will find how badly the infrastructure has crumbled and how much money is needed to upgrade and expand the country's existing system on Tuesday.
A Senate subcommittee will hear the findings of a January report by on the state of the nation's surface infrastructure system and recommended funding options.
The 20-month study by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission paints a dismal picture of the nation's infrastructure system with roads, bridges and highways, passenger and freight rail services rapidly deteriorating with limited funding resources to pay for necessary repairs and upgrades.
The findings and recommendations by the 12-member commission, which were supported by nine of the commissioners, is expected to re-ignite political debate over raising gasoline taxes. Recent efforts by Congress to increase it have faltered, in part due to objections by the Bush administration."
FULL STORY: Ahead of the Bell: Transportation funding
If Road Pricing Is Inherently Unfair and Regressive...
Road pricing has its faults as a revenue measure, but it needs to be compared to ten elements of the current system of paying for transportation, including hidden subsidies, says Joe Cortright, an urban economist with Portland-based City Observatory.
Self-Driving Cars Will Take More Transportation Funding Than They Give
There's a potential consequence from autonomous vehicles that has mostly gone unnoticed: municipal financial ruin.
Connecticut Governor's Transportation Plan Raises New Revenue to Fund Road Projects
Tolls and gas taxes—that's how Connecticut Governor Daniel P. Malloy plans on raising revenue for the state's troubled Special Transportation Fund.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
LA’s Tree Emergency Goes Beyond Vandalism
After a vandal destroyed dozens of downtown LA trees, Mayor Karen Bass vowed to replace them. Days later, she slashed the city’s tree budget.
Sacramento Leads Nation With Bus-Mounted Bike Lane Enforcement Cameras
The city is the first to use its bus-mounted traffic enforcement system to cite drivers who park or drive in bike lanes.
Seattle Voters Approve Social Housing Referendum
Voters approved a corporate tax to fund the city’s housing authority despite an opposition campaign funded by Amazon and Microsoft.
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.
Ada County Highway District
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
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