Energy Use and Environmental Protection

April 9, 2014 by
Environmental

Transportation and Environment Factsheet
4/24/1996   Transportation and the Environment—Transportation investments, services and incentives should meet our travel needs, promote economic prosperity and environmental justice, preserve and protect open space, scenic resources and agricultural land, protect and enhance the integrity of natural resource systems and wild places and improve air and water quality.
Energy and Climate Change Factsheet
4/1/2003   Transportation and Climate Change—America’s reliance on the automobile has adversely affected our climate and influenced our foreign policy. .
Examples From Ten Years of Progress
3/19/2000   Ten Years Of Progress—Examples include Enhancing Health, Safety, and Security, Conserving Energy and Enhancing the Environment, Creating Equitable and Livable Communities, and Promoting Economic Prosperity.
Second Nature: Improving Transportation Without Putting Nature Second
4/22/2003  Second Nature—The United States is approaching a crossroads; unimpeded urbanization may soon collide with the limits of our country’s natural resources. The rate of this urbanization surpasses population growth, and threatens to overwhelm previous victories in environmental protection.
Transportation and Biodiversity Factsheet
10/29/2002   Transportation and Biodiversity Report—Transportation and the sprawling development it encourages has been recognized as a primary cause of habitat loss and a subsequent decline in biodiversity.
The CMAQ Program: Funding Cleaner Air
1/30/2003   The CMAQ Program—More than $2 Billion of Unused Potential—The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program (CMAQ) was created under ISTEA in 1991. Lawmakers established the innovative program to help fund regional and local efforts to achieve compliance with national air quality standards set under the Clean Air Act.
Transportation Project Delays
9/19/2002   Transportation Project Delays—Recent reports from the Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials suggest that problems with transportation project delays will not be solved by diluting widely-supported environmental laws.
Filed Under: Environment

Economic Prosperity

April 9, 2014 by
Sustained Economic Prosperity

Transportation and Economic Prosperity Factsheet
4/24/1996  Transportation and Economic Prosperity – Factsheet—Communities attract highly qualified, mobile workers – and the converse is also true: unlivable, difficult commutes keep good workers away.
Transportation and Housing Factsheet
4/1/2003   Transportation And Jobs – Factsheet—Transportation policy has a strong, positive relationship with job creation and access. The transportation system should support job creation and grant all people access to good jobs.
Driven To Spend
3/19/2000  Driven to Spend. Transportation is a big expense for America’s families, and it is getting bigger. This study finds that a major factor driving up transportation costs is sprawling development.
The $300 Billion Question: Are We Buying a Better Transportation System?
1/30/2003 The $300 Billion Question Financial analysis finds that investments of just over $300 billion in the 90s under federal transportation programs helped improve the Interstate highway system, rehabilitate the nation’s bridges, enhance traffic safety, and more.
Measuring Up: The Trend Toward Voter Approved Transportation Funding
10/29/2002   Measuring Up: The Trend Towards Voter Approved Transportation Funding—The Nation’s Road Capacity Voters across the country are increasingly being asked to approve new funding measures for transportation at the polls. This emerging trend marks a significant shift in the traditional method of financing transportation projects and programs – away from
legislatively-approved user fees and towards voter-approved general revenue taxes.
The Transportation Funding Loophole
9/19/2002   The Transportation Funding Loophole—A  How states underfund Federal transportation programs.
The State of Our Nation’s Roads
1/30/2003   Road_Condition_Decoder—Reform of federal transportation financing has led to an improvement in the condition of the nation’s roadways, though the nation’s street and road networks could have improved even more had a stronger emphasis been placed on repair and rehabilitation.
The Federal Bridge Program: How States Underfund Bridge Safety
1/30/2003   Decoder: The Federal Bridge Program—The bridge program provides federal assistance to repair or replace aging bridge infrastructure. Even Bridge repair remains a low priority in many states, and billions of dollars in bridge program funding has been diverted to other uses.
TEA-21 & RABA: Why Is There Less Money?
9/23/1999   Tea-21 and the Revenue Aligned Budget Authority (RABA)—The 2003 highway program budget under the Bush Administration received $9 billion less than in the 2002 budget. State Highway Departments and other transportation leaders were aghast at this level of reduction.he United States is experiencing a boom in road construction. But ironically, the construction projects themselves can create significant congestion and delay.
Changing Direction
3/1/2000   Changing Direction—Transportation is changing in the United States. As highways fill beyond capacity, forward-looking transportation officials have started to invest in a diversified transportation system that gives residents options beyond driving.
Filed Under: Economic Prosperity

Health and Safety

April 8, 2014 by
Surface Transportation Policy Project Archives

Transportation and Health Factsheet
4/24/1996  Transportation and Health The transportation system in communities affects health and safety, often engineering out opportunities for physical activity while increasing exposure to hazardous high-speed traffic and automobile pollution…
Pedestrian Poll
4/1/2003  Pedestrian Poll 2002 A new national survey on attitudes toward walking finds that the American public wants to walk more places more often, and is willing to invest in making it possible.
Mean Streets (2002)
11/21/2002  Mean Streets 2002 STPP’s “Mean Streets 2002” report is the latest study in a series that looks at the perils facing pedestrians, why where you live matters, and how states aren’t spending enough to fix the problem.
 Summary of Safe Routes To School Programs (2002)
11/4/2003  Safe Routes To School A summary of SRTS programs across the United States, including listings of programs in California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Washington.
Enhanced Public Health, Safety and Security
8/28/2001  Issue Areas: Enhanced Public Health, Safety, and Security areas related to Public Health, Safety, and Security, from Ten Years of Progress. Examples from across the United States, including California, Delaware, DC, Montana, Michigan, and other states.
Decoding Transportation Policy & Practice
1/30/2003  Decoding Transportation Policy & Practice, reducing deaths and injuries through safer streets. Despite the gains that have been made in traffic safety programs in the U.S., traffic crashes are still the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 4 and 33.
Aggressive Driving: Are You At Risk?
4/22/1999  Aggressive Driving: Are You At Risk. STPP wanted to have a better understanding of where aggressive driving is occurring and why.
Filed Under: Health and Safety

STPP Reports Archive

April 3, 2014 by

STPP Reports

September, 2006
9/20/2006  Driven to Spend
Pumping Dollars out of Our Households and Communities
December, 2004
12/2/2004  Mean_Streets_2004
The Latest in STPP’s Series on Transportation Safety
April, 2004
4/14/2004  Aging Americans: Stranded Without Options
November, 2003
11/4/2003  Regional Visioning Projects: Interagency_Coordination
August, 2003
8/28/2003  Measuring The Health Effects of Sprawl
A National Analysis of Physical Activity, Obesity, and Chronic Disease
8/19/2003  Clearing The Air
Public Health Threats from Cars and Heavy Duty Vehicles- Why We Need to Protect Federal Clean Air Laws
July, 2003
7/22/2003  Transportation Costs and the American Dreams
Why a Lack of Transportation Choices Strains the Family Budget and Hinders Home Ownership
April, 2003
4/22/2003  Second Nature
Improving Transportation Without Putting Nature Second
4/1/2003  American’s Attitudes Toward Walking and Creating Better Walking Communities
March, 2003
3/21/2003  Selected Projects Funded by ISTEA & TEA-21
3/10/2003  Stay The Course: How To Make Tea-21 Even Better
January, 2003
1/30/2003  The $300 Billion Question: Are We Buying a Better Transportation System?
November, 2002
11/21/2002  Mean Streets 2002
Pedestrian Safety, Health and Federal Transportation Spending
October, 2002
10/29/2002   Measuring Up: The Trend Toward Voter Approved Transportation Funding
June, 2002
6/4/2002  Transportation_Data_From_2000_Census
February, 2002
2/5/2002  The 2002 Summary of Safe_Routes_To_School
January, 2002
1/1/2002  Ten Years Of Progress
Building Better Communities Through Transportation
May, 2001
5/7/2001  Easing The Burden: A Companion Analysis of The Texas Transportation Institute’s 2001 Urban Mobility Study
September, 2000
9/20/2000  How To Get Involved In Transportation Research
A primer on support and funding for research initiatives.
June, 2000
6/15/2000  Mean Streets 2000
March, 2000
3/20/2000   Realizing GRTA’s Potential: Lessons From Around The Country
3/19/2000  Driven to Spend
The Impact of Sprawl on Household Transportation Expenses
3/16/2000  Interest Based Convening: Toward Participatory Decision Making in Transportation Investment
This paper examines the role of public involvement in transportation planning.
3/16/2000  Wooing Soccer Moms and Demonizing Welfare Mothers: A Legislative Context for Women’s Travel
Addresses the political climate surrounding women’s issues in transportation.
3/1/2000  Changing Direction
Federal Transportation Spending in the 1990’s
November, 1999
11/7/1999  Why Are Roads So Congested?
An Analysis of the Texas Transportation Institute’s Data on Metropolitan Congestion
September, 1999
9/23/1999  Road Work Ahead: Is Construction Worth the Wait?
May, 1999
5/6/1999  High Mileage Moms
April, 1999
4/1/1999  Agressive_Driving-Are_You_At_Risk
STPP ranks aggressive driving by metropolitan area and examines the causes.
August, 1998
8/1/1998  Tea-21 Users Guide
January, 1998
1/29/1998  Address by David Burwell—Making The Connection—Now!
1/1/1998  Dead End
Why the Mon-Fayette Expressway and the Southern Beltway Are Bad Choices for the Pittsburgh Region
November, 1997
11/1/1997  Transportation And The Livable City
An Address to the Boston 400
October, 1997
10/10/1997  Why We Need To Get Beyond The Automated Highway System
Hank Dittmar critiques the Automated Highway System.
June, 1997
6/19/1997  The Impacts of Transportation Investment on Equity and Land Use: A longitudinal Analysis of Three American Metropolitan Areas
Annotated Bibliography (by Topic)
April, 1996
4/11/1996  Transportation, The ISTEA, and American Cities
from the STPP Monograph Series
4/10/1996  Transportation and the Changing Face of America
from the STPP Monograph Series
4/10/1996  Standing in the Cold: Mobility and the Mentally Challenged
from the STPP Monograph Series
September, 1995
9/17/1995  Is Rail Transit Right For Your Community? Asking the Right Questions; Measuring the Benefits
Asking the Right Questions;
Measuring the Benefits
October, 1994
10/1/1994  ISTEA Planners Workbook
May, 1991
5/1/1991   STPP: Acting in the National Interest 1991
Filed Under: STPP Reports

Traffic Fatalities Involving Older Adults 2003 to 2012

March 28, 2014 by

According to a March NHTSA publication, Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data: Older Population, in 2012, there were 5,560 people 65 and older killed and 214,000 injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes. These older people made up 17 percent of all traffic fatalities and 9 percent of all people injured in traffic crashes during the year.

Compared to 2011, fatalities among people 65 and older and injured people in this age group increased by 16 percent…

“…[A]mong the 65-and-older age group from 2003 to 2012, pedalcyclist fatalities increased by 80 percent (males increased by 83% and females by 50%)… [In this age group, total pedestrian fatalities decreased by 5 percent during this time, however male pedestrian fatalities increased by 6 percent while female fatalities decreased by 16 percent.]”

Download Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data: Older Population

Filed Under: Current Topics