Alex Goldmark

New York subway riders know the sharp and familiar pain of walking to your station, five minutes late, rushing down the steps, Metrocard unsheathed -- only to find construction has closed the station for the weekend, or rerouted the train express to skip past that exact stop. Even though you could have walked to another.

Google Maps, which has incorporated subway route information for several years,  will now include prominent placement of subway service updates in New York City.

Subway riders  -- though not bus riders -- can see planned service disruptions in Google Maps now by clicking on the a station icon or when using Google Maps for trip planning. (HopStop has included this feature since 2008).

The information won't include real-time disruptions, including sick passengers and police action, two of the most frequent sources of delays.  The MTA does not yet make real time delay information public.

Google has already integrated real time service updates in six cities (though not New York where the MTA does not make that information available), and caters to non-car owners with biking and walking directions.

Today's update is yet another step by Google to court gadget-addicted transit riders as a rivalry for customer loyalty with Apple intensifies. Apple recently dropped Google Maps from its latest iOS operating system, and now offers its own mapping software, which to the chagrin of transit advocates means there is no longer built-in transit routing software on iPhones.

Other smaller companies already integrate the MTA's published service change information in transit trip planning. HopStop, for instance, takes those service changes into account when suggesting the fastest subway or bus route. "We will never route you through a route that has a planned service change in it," HopStop CEO Joe Meyer tells Transportation Nation. "We dynamically re-route users around those planned service changes in real-time."

Google will still route you through a station with a planned service change, but now the Google directions will also display the service alerts. So, they will suggest that you go to a closed station while also telling you the station is closed, so you can search for alternate routes.

As we've reported before, Google's updates on transit mapping is news because it places subway information in front of a massive audience: one billion monthly users. Drivers already have a bevy of GPS guided automobile trip planning tools built into cars. Seeing parallel transit info with prominent placement helps facilitate making better choices between modes of transportation, where there is a choice.

The information was already out there before in this case. Planned service change information is posted on the MTA's website, but now it is placed one click away from where millions of local travelers already check right when they are deciding how to make a trip: car or subway. Making a subway trip easier, means more people will do it, which is why transit agencies around the country are investing in making more data publicly available.

Google won't say what other cities will have integration of planned service changes next. The addition of new cities is almost certain, but the timing depends on how local transit agencies make data available. London already has service information and then some. Olympic fans taking the tube this week can see unplanned delays too, in real-time. That's because Transport For London makes real-time data available to Google, something New York's MTA is still unable to do.

(Click for interactive map at DOT website)

Bus money, lots of bus money.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is spreading $787 million around 255 projects in 48 states, all for buses. The money comes from Congressionally appropriated gas tax funds through the Federal Transit Administration's State of Good Repair and Bus Livability fund. Lots more local governments had their hands out. Nearly 900 grant applications "overwhelmed" the DOT, asking for more than $4 billion in projects.

New Jersey made out with the biggest share. NJ Transit will use $27 million to replace long distance diesel buses with new hybrid cruisers for trips from South Jersey to New York City. The agency will put another $46 million to ditch old commuter buses past their useful life and replace them with clean natural gas buses, doubling the agency's fleet of CNG motorcoaches. Many other states and cities are also getting funds to retire old buses and replace them with cleaner, more fuel efficient alternatives: San Francisco ($15M), Los Angeles ($10), Chicago ($20), Miami ($10M). Full list here.

These are upgrades that have to happen eventually. They won't remake a transit system, but they will lower expenses by dropping fuel consumption and, most likely, increase reliability as older buses are replaced.

"If you are replacing older buses with newer buses you will expect to see a more reliable ride," said Steven Higashide of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign about the New Jersey upgrades. "Federal funding has been a bright spot for New Jersey Transit but the state hasn't stepped up to match that." Explaining, in part, why New Jersey did so well in this funding round. Another $2.6 million in U.S. DOT money will begin the process of building bus rapid transit from Camden, N.J. to Philadelphia.

The other main category of funding across states was facility expansion. Maryland will get $50 million to replace Baltimore's 65-year-old bus station with two eco-friendly buildings. New York City is getting $24 million to build a "modern bus command center" to increase dispatch efficiency.

And, in a less common expenditure category, NYC also gets $14.7 million to re-paint bus lanes using a special painting system developed in partnership with Penn State University.

To see what bus projects in your state are getting funded, go here, or view a map of the funded projects here. Here's the official release from earlier in the day.

New Jersey made out with $76 million in federal funding for its buses — the biggest share of any state in the nation, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday.

This just in from the DOT.

Out of $4 billion in requests from state and local transit agencies, the federal Department of Transportation is doling out $787 million to 255 projects to fix old transit systems, upgrade or expand or build new ones.

In 2010 the DOT gave out $1.8 billion.

The release below lists a few of the larger recipients in this round of funding -- New Jersey, Maryland, LA for buses, Michigan for rail.

Here's a map of where all the funding is going, and in table form if words are your thing.

We'll have more details and analysis coming later this afternoon after the official announcement.

Here's the full release from the DOT:

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces $787 Million to Repair, Modernize Nation’s Aging Transit Infrastructure

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced $787 million that will put Americans to work modernizing and replacing aging transit facilities and vehicles to meet the growing demand from millions of riders across the country. This third round of federal funding will support 255 projects in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

“President Obama’s support for an America built to last is putting people back to work across the country repairing and upgrading our nation’s public transit systems,” said Secretary LaHood. “By investing in the transit infrastructure people depend on to get where we need to go each day, we will keep our economy moving forward well into the future.”

Reflecting the need for infrastructure investment nationwide, demand for the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) FY2012 State of Good Repair and Bus Livability funds was overwhelming. FTA received 836 project applications totaling $4 billion in requests. In FY2010 and FY2011, FTA awarded a total of more than $1.8 billion in grants for hundreds of state of good repair projects, primarily involving buses and bus facilities.

“Since Day One, this Administration has been focused on addressing the maintenance backlog of our nation’s transit systems, and this is another down-payment on that effort,” said Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff. “For millions of Americans, these investments mean that they may more reliably and safely get to work to earn a paycheck or get to daycare to pick up their children on time, or simply have new choices to enjoy the communities in which they live.”

An interactive map of this year’s projects, along with a searchable table, can be found here: http://www.fta.dot.gov/about/12322_14741.html

Examples of projects selected include:

New Jersey Transit: $76 million to upgrade its statewide bus fleet, to improve commuting times, improve air quality for state residents, and save on fuel by doubling the fleet of fuel-efficient buses. In addition, the state will put new hybrid coach buses on the road to improve the commute to New York City and start a new Bus Rapid Transit service between Camden County and downtown Philadelphia.

Maryland Department of Transportation: $40 million to replace Baltimore’s 65-year old Kirk Division Bus Facility with two sustainable “green” buildings that will help reduce operating costs, create local construction jobs in Northeast Baltimore, and help more than 350 local transit employees maintain a growing fleet of new, energy-efficient buses that are now serviced elsewhere. 

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority: $15 million to replace aging buses with new buses which will use compressed natural gas. These new buses will improve reliability for riders, leave a smaller environmental footprint and reduce fuel costs.

Capital Area Transportation Authority in East Lansing, Michigan: $6.3 million to redevelop a former Amtrak station near Michigan State University into the Capital Area Multi-Modal Gateway Project, which will improve bicycle and pedestrian access and connections to local bus and rail service.

City of Charlotte, North Carolina: $4 million to replace Charlotte Area Transit System diesel buses that have met or exceeded their useful lives with new hybrid technology buses that will reduce emissions, save on fuel costs, and reduce long term maintenance costs.

(Hover your mouse over the chart for more details)

Young people aren't lining up to drive like they used to. Year over year, fewer 16 to 24 year-olds are getting driver's licenses according to a new study released today by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute.

Take 16 year-olds: In 2008, 31 percent of them got driver's licenses. In 2010 it fell to 28 percent. That's part of a steady trend the researchers track back to 1983. That's when Return of the Jedi, Scarface and The Outsiders were in theaters, and 46 percent of 16 year-olds were licensed to drive. Now, with Netflix and iTunes, they don't need wheels to get to the movies.

"I drive less because I have become a couch potato. The Internet takes me anywhere I want to go. And services like Netflix provide entertainment at the touch of a button. It’s also a lot more affordable."

The U. Mich study found that the driver's license drop was a bit sharper for older teens: the percentage fell five percent for 18 year-olds from 2008 to 2010. Using Census and Federal Highway Administration data, the researchers identified a general decline in the percentage of people who sign up for a driver's license across almost all age groups, but it was especially pronounced for younger would-be drivers.

Study author Michael Sivak explained to Transportation Nation what he thinks is driving the trend:

"We think that there are three main reasons for the reduced percentage of young persons with a driver's license:

See the full study in the Journal of Traffic Injury Prevention.

Click for interactive version at NJ Spotlight

NJ Spotlight reports:

After falling for three years in a row, the number of automobile fatalities in New Jersey rose in 2011, according to preliminary data from the State Police.

...

State police reports show that, typically, alcohol was involved in 3 of 10 fatal accidents. Driver distractions and speeding are also factors in a significant number of deadly crashes.

By far, most of those killed in accidents are drivers. Last year, 362 or almost 6 of every 10 fatalities were drivers. The second-highest rate of casualties was for pedestrians -- 143 of those killed. Another 105 were vehicle passengers and 17 were cyclists.

Click the image above to go to the interactive map from NJ Spotlight, and read the full article with more detailed numbers.

Newark tops the state with 27 fatal accidents. For a deeper look at what causes pedestrian fatalities in New Jersey, consider this TN report focused on Newark that explores walking while poor in New Jersey and how neighborhood income plays a role in predicting where it's more dangerous to perambulate on city streets.

It's official. New York's much anticipated bike share program will not launch this month as originally planned. Although on Monday afternoon the NYC Department of Transportation website still declared a July launch to what will become the nation's largest bike share program, the agency confirms the program will not begin until at least August.

“We’re working on the launch plan and will update the public as soon as we finalize all the details,” Seth Solomonow, NYC DOT spokesman tells Transportation Nation in an email.

This isn't the first time the DOT has cited a date after July, but it is the first time they have confirmed there would not be some kind of launch in July for the membership-based public bike rental system.

As Transportation Nation reported in May, the DOT did acknowledge, though quietly, that the program would roll out over the course of months, not all at once. In our previous story we wrote:

“It’s going to be a phased deployment,” Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said at the announcement. “I mean we can’t just airdrop 10,000 bikes in. So it will be between August and the spring of 2013 that we will have the full system.”

News of an August launch began to circulate after StreetsBlog noticed the official CitiBike Twitter feed referring to an August launch, something neither the DOT nor Alta Bicycle Share, the company tapped to run CitiBike, would confirm.

Other official online references to a launch date are similarly imprecise. The best guess, though: you can sign up for a membership starting next month and some neighborhoods may start to get bikes as early as, but possibly later than, August.  (Here is one of several tweets to that effect.)

Meanwhile the CitiBike website said "Summer 2012" as of Monday afternoon. That's an amendment to an earlier version of the paragraph pictured that had said July was the month.

And then it gets more muddled with several CitiBike tweets that say both July AND August.

In fact, a launch that spans different months is likely, though, as DOT confirms, those months are not going to include July.

So, if you are expecting to sign up for one of the first memberships, plan on doing that in August (but maybe July, but probably not) and then hoping your neighborhood gets bikes first. It's fairly certain piecing together the various hints online and in past statements that many neighborhoods will not have bike share in July, and probably not in August either.

The agency hasn't said which neighborhoods will get bikes first if there is some sort of very small launch at the end of July, though it has released a map of the 420 locations in the first year of the program. The initial base of operations for the company will be the Brooklyn Navy Yard, so that could be a convenient area to test. Or maybe the Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Janette Sadik-Khan will want CitiBikes close to home and set up the very first stations around City Hall. That area has one of the highest rates of bike commuting in the city as it is.

As for why the date is later than the original July projection, see this story about the delay in firming up the $41 million main sponsor, which pushed back the order of some of the bikes. Unlike in other cities, such as Washington, D.C., the New York bike share program is not receiving any taxpayer money. It will be the largest in the U.S. when fully operational. Riders will be able to check out a bike at one location for up to 30 minutes and drop the bikes off at another location after paying a membership fee, which could be daily, monthly or yearly.

Follow our bike share feed, for all the latest information, or better yet, Transportation Nation's Twitter feed. 

Rendering of Amtrak's "NextGen HSR" Train

According to a vision for high-speed rail from Amtrak updated with tons of renderings and slick new images of a bullet train future, this is what American high-speed rail will look like, at least from Washington, D.C. to Boston.

Here's our summary of the plan and comparison to the previous edition. Give it a read.

And here's what the NYC station will look like.

In news that might not come as a shock to most bus riders, a city audit released Wednesday found that bus shelter maintenance is lacking. The city outsourced the job to a private company in 2006

In 2006, New York inked a two decade privatizing city bus shelters, sidewalk sheds, city benches and even sidewalk newstands. The Spanish company Cemusa would take on the cost of building them and earn back the money through advertising. This kind of deal is growing more popular around the country as municipal governments shy away from capital spending, and business operations like ad sales on public property. Today, an NYC audit finds bus shelter maintenance lacking. This little case study reveals the mixed bag that can come from outsourcing city functions to private companies.

New Yorkers will attest the new glass and steel street furniture is slick, sightly and a needed update over the previous generation (even if critics do lament how NYC must suffer the same shelters as other countries received.) According to the NYC Comptroller's Office audit they aren't being kept clean enough: "we lack reasonable assurance that the bus stop shelters are serviced in accordance with Cemusa’s franchise agreement."

The 20-year deal requires Cemusa to design, construct and maintain 3,300 bus stop shelters, 330 newstands along with a few pay toilets and other non-adverting-friendly structures like benches. The advertising value is estimated at $1.3 billion. Many urban advocates are wary of these long term franchise deals for public revenue sources, particularly after Chicago sold off parking meter rights at a near fire sale price, and Houston cannceled an agreement to run red light cameras.

To keep Cemusa honest, the agreement with the NYC Department of Transportation has some pretty specific requirements: 'Each bus shelter must be cleaned and inspected twice a each week on non-consecutive days' for instance. There are set time frames for making repairs, for reporting damage, all the fine print you'd expect the City to want so they can cry foul if maintenance goes south.

But here's the thing: Cemusa subcontracts the work to other companies. That's permitted under the agreement. Those subcontractors aren't doing their jobs well according to the audit. The audit finds "insufficient evidence" that electrical inspections were carried out as reported, that cleaning was not on schedule, and that reporting and repair of damage was slower than required.

This is not to say the shelters are deathtraps crumbling on straphangers' heads. Simply that, when a private company manages public space, they too, leave it dirty sometimes, just like the DOT did when they managed bus shelters.

Cemusa agreed to five of the eight recommendations, and the DOT had no comment. How they respond and what reforms come will be another data point in our passive study of how alternative models function for updating our civic spaces.

Mt. Baker, Washington, July 2, 2012 (via WASDOT)

While the heat pounds the poor souls at sea level, this mountain road on Mt. Baker, Washington is still a canyon of snow.

The Washington State Department of Transportation posted this photo on their Facebook page. (Naturally we "like" each other from our Facebook page, which you should like too!)

WASDOT writes: "This photo was taken July 2nd as crews are still working to clear the road up to Artist Point."

Houston is one of the bigger test cases for the traffic reduction powers of High Occupancy Toll lanes where drivers can pay for access to an express lane, or carpool for free access.  Nearly five months after opening, Houston's HOT lanes are an "under-utilized asset according to reporting by KUHF.

Gail Delaughter of KUHF reports 450 drivers a day are willing to pay those tolls, that's way under capacity because many drivers don't know they can access what used to be HOV lanes for a fee.

Delaughter speaks with Metro CEO on projections for growth and new road signage to help.

Listen to or read the full story at KUHF.

How does moonlight feel on a baby's skin? What pangs the heartstrings of a dictator's mother? These are questions for poets. The New York MTA is concerned with other inquiries, like "what do you think of the latest round of subway service improvements?" And so, the agency is seeking riders for survey panels. It could be you, knack for metered verse not required.

New York City Transit hears a lot of complaints, but they like it. Or at least they want more of it, along with your compliments, service requests and feedback of all stripes. So they're offering a chance to win free subway rides for people who fill out this online survey. It's the first step for them in putting together survey panels they'll use for informing decisions on how to make, or hold off on, service improvements or changes.

As they put it in a release:

“We appreciate and review all forms of communications we receive from our customers, whether it is through our web-based email service, or phone calls to 511, or traditional letters,” said Paul J. Fleuranges, MTA Senior Director of Corporate and Internal Communications. “These surveys constitute another tool in our toolbox for understanding customer input. In fact, responses to our surveys are particularly valuable to us because they come in a structured way that is easy to analyze and study. We encourage any customers who want their voices to be heard to help us improve our service to sign up to participate in this program.”

Survey here.

(Photo via Newark Department of Engineering)

Newark, New Jersey now boasts 277,000 residents and one bike lane. Six more green textured bike paths are set to open by the end of 2012.

The inaugural lane runs eight proud blocks through downtown, roughly half a mile along Washington Street. The official city statement explains: "The route runs by Rutgers-Newark, the Newark Museum, the Newark Public Library, and Washington Park."

Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey, paid for the design work and the city covered the construction costs of $100,000.

Mayor Cory Booker issued an car-metaphor as encouragement to cyclists. "I commend the Department of Engineering and Rutgers-Newark on this partnership, and urge residents to put the pedal to the metal on Washington Street." We assume he means bike pedal.

Newark has invested in other traffic and public spaces redevelopment recently, but not many bike additions. Park expansion has received over $40 million  in the past several years, and Newark just launched a $27 million plan for streetscaping, road re-surfacing, traffic calming, and traffic signal installations.

As we've reported previously, pedestrian deaths are correlated with lower income neighborhoods, making Newark is particularly dangerous for pedestrians. Lack of safety-conscious shared street design is part of the reason. So are lack of non-car transport options.

Cycling will, hopefully, get a little safer with these new lanes.

If you live in Newark, here's where the new lanes are coming next:

• Mt. Prospect Avenue between City Line and Heller Parkway
• Irvine Turner Boulevard between Clinton Avenue and Springfield Avenue
• Jones Street between Springfield Avenue and South Orange Avenue
• Norfolk Street between South Orange Avenue and West Market Street
• Clifton Avenue between Orange Street and Victoria Avenue
• First Street between West Market Street and Sussex Avenue

Amtrak Acela Express High-Speed Train running on existing Northeast corridor tracks in Bristol, Penn. (photo by Gary Pancavage, Amtrak)

By 2017, the fastest train in America will zip through Central New Jersey at 160 m.p.h. Upgrades to make that happen will be paid for, in part, by money returned by Florida when Gov. Rick Scott rejected that state's high-speed rail. Those and other tidbits--combined with loads of futuristic renderings--paint a hopeful vision for high-speed rail in the Northeast as laid out in a new report by Amtrak (PDF).

In two decades: New York to Philadelphia in 37 minutes. To D.C. or Boston in 94 minutes.

Amtrak released an update to a 2010 "vision" for building high-speed rail from Boston to Washington, D.C. that scales back the total cost, drops planned stations, and devotes much more attention to realistic, phased implementation. What this vision lacks in grandiosity, it makes up for in marketing savvy with flashy renderings and optimistic fiscal projections.

“It does seem to be more cognizant of the environment in which it is presented,” said Robert Puentes Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program. It is "perhaps less aspirational than the 2010 version and more rational in terms of roll out and execution." The document lays out a "stepped" approach to investments, starting small with things like more Acela rail cars.

Puentes called the approach, "iterative," a strategy en vogue in design circles -- just the type who clamor for a 220 m.p.h. transit option they can tote their bike on.

Compared to the 2010 document, this report has far more images, graphics and charts, and futuristic renderings of stations along with the spaceship-like new trains. The document talks a lot more about including stakeholders in decision making. New terminology is stressed. The new trains aren't just high-speed rail rolling stock, they are "NextGen HSR" trains. The roll out of the plan isn't just rolling out, or dropping from they sky, it's a "stair-step" approach, showing how Amtrak will procure what is needed when it's needed and deliver results along the way, not just in 2040 when everything is built.

Starting small makes practical sense in selling the idea. For instance, according to Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm, adding those extra cars on Acela trains will increase seating capacity by 40 percent. That will be done by 2015. The purchases are already in the works. Early, visible results will help sell the project.

So will cutting costs.

This updated vision is just as fast (220 m.p.h.) but it's cheaper: $151 billion, down from $169 billion. “A lot of it is pushing off some of the station development," explains Kulm. "We realized that some of the items we wanted to do, we should put off for the future."

This vision integrates two previous plans by the rail agency, the Master Plan and the high-speed rail Vision. “What we’ve done with this report today is combine the two, and integrate the two, and through the process find some cost savings."

Commuter rail is integrated far more significantly, and in the process, shifts some station construction costs and decision-making to local municipalities.

Likewise, the document takes into account the unlikelihood that states along the route will spend big to speed the process. Call that the legacy of N.J. Gov. Chris Christie's killing of the ARC tunnel.

The Gateway Tunnel (ARC's replacement), however, plays a big role in this new vision. One way Amtrak expects to lift top speeds from the current 130 m.p.h (let alone average speeds!) to 220 m.p.h. is by relieving congestion of commuter and freight trains that block the way.

There will be dedicated right-of-way added north of New York City, but to the south the bulk of the liberated corridor space will be from making New Jersey Transit commuter service more efficient through the Gateway program, which adds two tunnels under the Hudson River and four tracks between Newark, N.J. and an expanded New York Penn Station that will be connected to a new Moynihan Station (see slick rendering pics here).

N.J. Senator Frank Lautenberg issued a statement praising the inclusion of the Gateway Tunnel in this report, saying: "Amtrak will continue to have my full support as we move forward to revolutionize passenger rail travel in the Northeast." Amtrak funding reauthorization is looming in Congress and Lautenberg will be writing the legislation in the Senate. Expect generous funding proposals for infrastructure upgrades.

Amtrak's fiscal projections are more optimistic than in 2010, but it's not clear what formula was used to develop the new numbers. Amtrak has had record ridership in recent years, so that bodes well for a bolstered bottom line for future service.

All of it is aspirational anyway. There isn't a $151 billion pot of money to make this happen. The document is an argument for why there should be and it is a detailed plan for how it could come to be -- a transportation straw horse for political times hostile to megaprojects. But this is the megaproject of megaprojects -- with a mega reason to be completed according to Kulm, "This region is the economic powerhouse of the country, it’s where the political capital is, the financial capital is… we can’t afford to come to  standstill," he said.

"The transportation network, roads, air, even the rails, are operating at or near capacity," he said. "Simply building and rebuilding what is there today is not going to be enough." Speed on the tracks means more people moving each day, each hour. So, he argues, the solution is: go faster.

U.S. President Barack Obama participates in a bill signing ceremony July 6, 2012 at the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. President Obama signed HR 4348, the transportation and student loans bill, into law during the ceremony. (Getty Images)

After a day of campaigning around the midwest, President Barack Obama returned to the East Room of the White House to sign the much-debated highway funding bill flanked by construction workers, college students and lawmakers.

The two-year, $100 billion Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) combines student loan interest rate caps with road transportation funding. The president's signature is the final stroke that ends over 100 days of political wrangling over transportation funding, something that until recently was a bi-partisan legislative cake walk (albeit pork-filled cake).

Here's a summary of what's in the final bill.

And here's President Obama's statement as he signed it:

Hello, everybody.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  Everybody, please have a seat.  I apologize for keeping you waiting a little bit, and I hope everybody is staying hydrated -- (laughter) -- because it is hot.

Welcome to the White House.  We wouldn’t normally keep you this late on a Friday afternoon unless we had a good reason -- and the bill that I’m about to sign is a pretty good reason.

I want to very much thank the members of Congress who are here.  We got a number in the front row, but, in particular, I want to recognize Senator Boxer and Congressman Mica, whose leadership made this bill a reality.  And although Barbara couldn’t make it, we want to make sure that everybody acknowledges the hard work that John did on this on bill.  (Applause.)

Now, we’re doing this late on Friday afternoon because I just got back from spending the past two days talking with folks in Ohio and Pennsylvania about how our challenge as a country isn’t just to reclaim all the jobs that were lost to the recession -- although obviously that's job number one.  It’s also to reclaim the economic security that so many Americans have lost over the past decade.

And I believe with every fiber of my being that a strong economy comes not from the top down but from a strong middle class.  That means having a good job that pays a good wage; a home to call your own; health care, retirement savings that are there when you need them; a good education for your kids so that they can do even better than you did.

And that’s why -- for months -- I’ve been calling on Congress to pass several common-sense ideas that will have an immediate impact on the economic security of American families.  I’m pleased that they’ve finally acted.  And the bill I’m about to sign will accomplish two ideas that are very important for the American people.

First of all, this bill will keep thousands of construction workers on the job rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure.  Second, this bill will keep interest rates on federal student loans from doubling this year -- which would have hit nearly 7.5 million students with an average of a thousand dollars more on their loan payments.

These steps will make a real difference in the lives of millions of Americans -- some of whom are standing with us here today.  But make no mistake -- we’ve got a lot more to do.  The construction industry, for example, was hit brutally hard when the housing bubble burst.  So it’s not enough just to keep construction workers on the job doing projects that were already underway.  We've got Mayor Villaraigosa and Governor O'Malley here as representatives of organizations of mayors and governors who know how desperate we need to do some of this work.

And for months, I’ve been calling on Congress to take half the money we’re no longer spending on war and use it to do some nation-building here at home.  There’s work to be done building roads and bridges and wireless networks.  There are hundreds of thousands of construction workers that are ready to do it.

The same thing is true for our students.  The bill I’m about to sign is vital for millions of students and their families.  But it’s not enough just to keep interest rates from doubling.

I've asked Congress to reform and expand the financial aid that’s offered to students.  And I’ve been asking them to help us give 2 million Americans the opportunity to learn the skills that businesses in their areas are looking for right now through partnerships between community colleges and employers.

In today’s economy, a higher education is the surest path to finding a good job and earning a good salary, and making it into the middle class.  So it can't be a luxury reserved for just a privileged few.  It’s an economic necessity that every American family should be able to afford.

So this is an outstanding piece of business.  And I'm very appreciative of the hard work that Congress has done on it.  My hope is, is that this bipartisan spirit spills over into the next phase, that we can start putting more construction workers back to work -- not just those that were already on existing projects who were threatened to be laid off, but also getting some new projects done that are vitally important to communities all across the nation and that will improve our economy, as well as making sure that now that we've prevented a doubling of student loan rates, we actually start doing more to reduce the debt burden that our young people are experiencing.

I want to thank all the Americans -- the young or the young at heart -- who took the time to sit down and write a letter or type out an email or make a phone call or send a tweet, hoping that your voice would be heard on these issues.  I promise you, your voices have been heard.  Any of you who believed your voice could make a difference -- I want to reaffirm your belief.  You made this happen.

So I’m very pleased that Congress got this done.  I’m grateful to members of both parties who came together and put the interests of the American people first.  And my message to Congress is what I've been saying for months now -- let's keep going.  Let's keep moving forward.  Let's keep finding ways to work together to grow the economy and to help put more folks back to work.  There is no excuse for inaction when there are so many Americans still trying to get back on their feet.

With that, let me sign this bill.  And let's make sure that we are keeping folks on the job and we're keeping our students in school.

Thank you very much, everybody.  (Applause.)

 

A rendering of a California bullet train (image courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority)

UPDATE: 7/6/2012 4:05 p.m. PT

By a narrow margin the California State Senate authorizes funding for the nation's biggest high-speed rail plan. The vote was mostly along party lines, with Democrats supporting the plan and Republicans opposing, but several powerful Democrats crossed the aisle, including the chair of the transportation committee, Mark DeSaulinier.

Republicans began the session with several procedural motions to avoid the vote all together, but even Democrats who eventually voted no, opposed that conclusion so after lengthy floor speeches about fiscal responsibility and investing in our future Democrats got the 21 votes they needed, and not one more. The final tally was 21-16.

The Democrats who voted against the plan are: Mark DeSaulnier, Joe Simitian, Alan Lowenthal and Fran Pavley.

We'll have a full analysis on Monday from KALW's Julie Caine. For now, here's our original post explaining how the west coast bullet train came within one vote of demise.

ORIGINAL POST: Today's the day of reckoning for America's most ambitious high-speed rail plan. While we wait for the verdict, here's a recap of the rocky road to laying rails from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

Let's start with the news: Last night the California State Assembly approved Governor Jerry Brown's $8 Billion proposal for a California high-speed rail plan. Today, the State Senate has to approve that plan or the project will almost certainly fade away into failure, if reports from the Sacramento Bee are accurate.

That's more common than success with high-speed rail plans in the U.S.A. Wisconsin and Florida already scrapped their HSR plans at the behest of Republican governors. Ohio too rejected federal money after crafting a plan. California's proposal -- more ambitious and expensive than any other -- has been rescued from declining public support and rising costs by a supportive Democratic governor. But today's vote is out of his hands.

Dan Richard, chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority board, hand picked by Gov. Brown after an embarrassing high-profile resignation of the previous board chair, told The Sacramento Bee and other outlets Thursday, "If the Legislature doesn't move forward with the project this week, then the secretary of transportation has made it very clear that they need to look at withdrawing the money from California and putting it some place else." In other words, if it loses political support, he'd scrap the whole thing.

So here's what the legislature is considering: As KQED reports, "The plan the Assembly passed provides for construction of a 130-mile bullet-train segment in the San Joaquin Valley and devotes about $1.5 billion to passenger-rail improvements in Southern California and the Bay Area." Some money also goes to converting commuter rail lines to be ready to merge with CAHSR. The Assembly vote was a clear sign of support: 51-27, but Democrats have a slimmer majority in the Senate, and as Reuters explains, Republicans are opposing the plan as fiscally irresponsible for these lean times.

KCRA's Mike Laurey is reporting on Twitter that some Democrats in the State Senate are feeling pressured to vote yes, but have decided against releasing state bond money for the project, including the chair of the Transportation Committee, Mark DeSaulnier.

Voters approved over $9 billion in bond money for the project in 2008 by a wide margin, but almost certainly wouldn't do so again according t0 recent polling that shows only the slimmest of majority support remains, and not among likely voters.

And if the funding is approved today, we want to know how it will be dispersed. The original plan has construction starting in the relatively less populous Central Valley and spreading out in both directions to San Francisco and Los Angeles. That means construction jobs start away from the population centers and the first beneficiaries will be on the middle of the state ... probably not that interested in taking a bullet train within their region. That will likely stay the same, but which rail agencies and which parts of the project get first funding for sticking shovels in the dirt may make the difference to legislators on the fence.

Part of the opposition has come from increasing costs. After several budget revisions and much debate, the most recent estimate for the 800 mile rail link is $68.4 billion with completion set for 2028. Initial estimates were around $45 billion. Popularity has been dropping so steadily that  last month, in hopes of drumming up support, the California High Speed Rail Authority released a web video, an attempt to get rail boosterism going viral. Today we find out how well that worked.

The Association for American Railroads released their weekly data-packed report on the rail freight industry and their numbers say, business is bouncing back big time.

It was the biggest June on record, and third biggest month ever for what they call intermodal rail traffic: the number of shipping containers or truckloads that move by rail, but start or end on a truck or ship. (It doesn't count "carloads" of raw materials like coal). For you business junkies out there, intermodal rail traffic is more interesting because it reveals economic trends: companies only ship things they are buying or selling, so it is a leading economic indicator often predicting economic growth in the months to come. Those containers are filled with materials and goods businesses will start selling soon.

A bit more from AAR:

"Through June, year-to-date 2012 U.S. intermodal originations were slightly ahead of 2006, setting up the very real possibility that 2012 will be the highest-volume intermodal year ever for U.S. railroads.  The recovery since 2009 has been remarkable.  In the first six months of 2009, average weekly intermodal loadings were 185,075 containers and trailers.  In the first six months of 2012, the average was up to 232,682 containers and trailers, a 25.7% increase. "

Via Business Insider

"Brooklyn Seeds" by Jason Middlebrook Depicts Floral Themed Mosaic

Deep into Brooklyn, NY just before Neck Road, an artistic treasure sits hidden from the New Yorkers zipping past on the Q train to Coney Island. The 2011 addition to the Avenue U Station, a giant glass and ceramic tile mosaic climbing up the station wall called "Brooklyn Seeds," has been crowned one of the best public art projects in America, according to this announcement from the NY MTA.

Each year the Americans for the Arts Conference conveys the recognition outstanding works in a variety of media. Subway tiles are getting their due this year with Jason Middlebrook's "Seeds" represent the resilient flora of the concrete jungle.

NY MTA: "The plants are based on wildflowers that grow in unlikely places in urban neighborhoods, through cracks in the sidewalks, and in alleys and along walls. The artwork expresses the beauty where nature and city intersect."

Here are a few more pics. Send us pics of your favorite transit art, especially if you think you're city has something worthy of "best" status.

All photos courtesy of the MTA. More here.