Victory for Livability!

On January 13th, the Department of Transportation announced a major change in transportation policy that will facilitate the development of transit projects that not only boost local economies, but also improve the environment and reduce congestion. In line with President Obama's commitment to promoting livable communities, USDOT will drop a Bush-era practice that emphasized out-dated analyses focused primarily on travel-time savings for suburban commuters. This means that transportation projects under the New Starts and Small Starts Programs will be evaluated based on their potential for congestion relief as well as the environmental, community and economic development benefits.

This is an important step that shows the administration is walking the walk and taking livability seriously.

"Our new policy for selecting major transit projects will work to promote livability rather than hinder it," said Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. "We want to base our decisions on how much transit helps the environment, how much it improves development opportunities, and how it makes our communities better places to live."

This is an important reversal from the previous policy that focused on out-of-date suburban commute formulas.

"This announcement highlights President Obama's and Secretary LaHood's commitment to community livability," said Congressman Blumenauer, Chairman of the Livable Communities Task Force and author of the Small Starts program. "Rescinding this Bush administration restriction will unleash funding for important transportation projects across the nation, jumpstarting local economies and creating good jobs. This means quicker and better funding for streetcars, light rail, and bus projects that improve transportation, revive local economies, and reduce global warming pollution. After much hard work with the administration and my Congressional colleagues, this is an exciting outcome that will create better and more transportation opportunities."

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