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Birth and marriage rates have nothing to do with funding transit

The Trump administration wants to reward transit projects based on local birth and marriage rates, two measures that have nothing to do with whether people will actually ride transit. Meanwhile, projects that have spent years in development could be forced to navigate an entirely new

Are we actually trying to generate traffic congestion…question mark?

Traffic congestion keeps getting worse in the largest U.S. metro areas. In her latest column on Substack, Smart Growth America President and CEO Beth Osborne asks whether congestion is the real goal of our transportation policy and outlines a playbook for maximizing it that looks

Bipartisan permitting reform bill is a step forward, but not a silver bullet

Permitting reforms in the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act may help streamline some transportation projects. But without prioritizing which infrastructure we should build, we will still fail to achieve a safe, cost-efficient, and well-maintained transportation system.Current processes for building necessary infrastructure produce costly delays

Five reasons why transportation reauthorization matters in 2026

As Congress continues to work on the next surface transportation reauthorization, it’s important to understand what’s at stake, why it matters, and how today’s decisions will shape our transportation system for years to come. On top of that, the administration’s decisions to override or ignore

The interstate system was completed in 1992, but USDOT wants to pour billions of your dollars into “completing” it again

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has signaled that one of its most important priorities for the next reauthorization is pouring billions into the interstate highway system like it’s 1955. What they aren’t prioritizing is a plan to pay for any of it.Earlier this summer,

FY 26 INFRA awards are another reminder that our federal transportation program centers roadway expansion

Data analysis for this piece was provided by Research Manager Joseph Womble.Despite overwhelming evidence that roadway expansion does not solve traffic congestion, federal grant programs continue to prioritize roadway expansion over maintaining existing infrastructure. Time and time again, the Trump-Duffy Department of Transportation has exacerbated

Everyone hates congestion. So why do we keep making it worse?

Traffic congestion is universally hated. It’s headache-inducing, reduces productivity, and wastes gas. That makes it easy for political leaders to say they’re against it and campaign on fixing it. But decades of building more lanes and increasing roadway capacity have only made the problem worse.

Billions for transit, safety, and repair will expire tonight while highway funding continues

Tonight, billions of dollars in federal transportation funding will expire. Even though Congress extended the IIJA through December, it failed to continue billions of dollars in advance appropriations for transit, passenger rail, safety, bridges, and other essential programs—meaning those funds will no longer be available.

What should Congress do to stop the scourge of pedestrian death?

The newest addendum to Dangerous by Design shows which Congressional districts are most deadly in the country for people walking. What responsibility do members of Congress bear for what happens on the streets and roadways in their cities, counties, and states? And, most importantly, what

TransportationCamp DC 2027 Tickets

Each year, TransportationCamp DC brings together hundreds of transportation professionals, advocates, students, and enthusiasts from across the country to make new connections and talk about what’s next for transportation. Get your tickets and join us on Saturday, January 9, 2027, in Washington, DC. We’ll kick