| 1. The Big Rigs Are Coming -- Just what we need, bigger big rigs. Debate is heating up in Congress over whether federal laws that govern truck weights and lengths should allow heavier, longer trucks, or whether the current limits should stand and be extended to even more roads. Federal law limits the weight of 18-wheelers to 80,000 pounds and the maximum length to 53 feet.
"It's a big battle," says Jackie Gillan, vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and a member of StopBiggerTrucks.org, a campaign urging Congress to reject any weight and size increases for commercial trucks. "These trucking companies don't come close to paying their fair share for the damage they do. The American public is going to pay with their lives and their wallets if this goes through."
2. Design New Haven -- Interesting questions posed at the Design New Haven Blog regarding Big Box design and safe streets.
3. Chris Dodd Likes Trains -- Sen. Christopher Dodd cited the New Haven-to-Springfield rail initiative as a key to future "smart growth" development in Connecticut. Starting commuter and high-speed train service along the route "will create new transit villages, get people off the roads, and revitalize our regional economy," Dodd said as he convened a Senate banking committee hearing in Washington. Dodd also cited the state-funded HOMEConnecticut program as a successful example of linking housing and transportation policy to encourage mixed-income housing near transit centers.
4. EPA Joins Housing and Transportation Agencies to Bolster Affordable Housing and Transportation Options -- On June 17th, in a long overdue move, these three federal agencies announced the formation of an interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities. The Partnership for Sustainable Communities established six livability principles that will act as a foundation for interagency coordination:
1. Provide more transportation choices.
Develop safe, reliable and economical transportation choices to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote public health.
2. Promote equitable, affordable housing.
Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation.
3. Enhance economic competitiveness.
Improve economic competitiveness through reliable and timely access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs by workers as well as expanded business access to markets.
4. Support existing communities.
Target federal funding toward existing communities - through such strategies as transit-oriented, mixed-use development and land recycling - to increase community revitalization, improve the efficiency of public works investments, and safeguard rural landscapes.
5. Coordinate policies and leverage investment.
Align federal policies and funding to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the accountability and effectiveness of all levels of government to plan for future growth, including making smart energy choices such as locally generated renewable energy.
6. Value communities and neighborhoods.
Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities by investing in healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods - rural, urban or suburban. |
