Bike Portland.org is keeping tabs on the ongoing story of a new transportation bill that will be outlined on Thursday. According to Bike Portland.org, U.S. Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-MN) is expected to release a white paper outlining his plans for the forthcoming re-write of the federal surface transportation bill (Oberstar is Chair of the House Infrastructure and Transportation Committee).
The current bill, passed in 2006 and known as SAFETEA-LU, will expire on September 30th. Many bicycle and sustainable transportation advocates are eager for a glimpse at what’s on Oberstar’s mind. They hope he makes good on the positive signals being sent from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, that this bill will chart a new course for America’s ailing transportation system.
LaHood has been talking up “livability” and “sustainable communities” for months now. In a blog post today, he outlined six “livability principles” that will guide how the Obama administration approaches transportation.
The #1 principle on that list? “Providing more transportation choices.”
“We have a window of opportunity to think differently about transportation and propose bold, new approaches to improve the livability of our nation’s communities.” U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
it’s bikeportland.org, not .com