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Dear Colleagues: As the Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Transportation... Today, our agencies are calling on local education, transportation, and housing leaders to work together on issues at the intersection of our respective missions in helping to guarantee full access of opportunity across the country.

On June 16, 2009, EPA joined with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to help improve access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide. Through a set of guiding livability principles and a partnership agreement that will guide the agencies' efforts, this partnership will coordinate federal housing, transportation, and other infrastructure investments to protect the environment, promote equitable development, and help to address the challenges of climate change.

Hillary Clinton is urging the White House to reject Norwegian Air’s application to fly to the United States over questions about its labor practices, adding her voice to a growing chorus of criticism surrounding the low-cost air carrier. .... Norwegian Air has for years been seeking access to more airports in the U.S. and European Union, by establishing a subsidiary — Norwegian Air International — in Ireland, a member of the EU. The Department of Transportation (DOT) tentatively approved the application last month. But critics have slammed the company for attempting to skirt more stringent Norwegian labor and tax laws...

The Department of Transportation is appointing three new members to the board that oversees Washington’s Metrorail system to improve safety at the beleaguered transit agency. The announcement on Thursday comes amid heavy frustration with Metro’s continued safety problems and rail disruptions, including an unprecedented shutdown of the entire system for emergency inspections last month. “Building a safety culture is not easy and requires relentless focus at every level,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement. “These three new Federal members will build on our promise to bring a laser-like focus on making the transit system of our nation’s capital...

Like other Wisconsinites, Rob Miller doesn’t know how many traffic roundabouts the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has installed on state highways since DOT started replacing selected intersections with roundabouts 15 years ago. Unlike other Wisconsinites, Rob Miller is a DOT spokesperson. “I don’t know. I don’t have those numbers,” Miller replied when asked how many roundabouts DOT has installed since 2000. In 1999, there were two traffic roundabouts in the entire state. Two years ago, the number was 268. At the time it was reported DOT had plans for more than 100 additional roundabouts. Miller acknowledged DOT has more roundabouts...

I have a growing construction business and am thinking about using an extended cab long bed truck with a 14' enclosed trailer for tools. I currently use a Chevy Express van. I wanted the truck so I could haul material or debris while leaving the trailer onsite. The combined weight of the truck and trailer will be over the 10,001 lbs limit and require DOT numbers. I know about inspection requirements but what about fees and insurance requirements? I have commercial vehicle insurance but I will have to up my weight for policy ratings. Is it worth it to have...

Everything you really need to know about the Constitution (and that’s barely an exaggeration) -- why it is structured the way it is, what led to it, its purposes -- is found in pages 2 – 12 of the March 9 concurring opinion by Justice Thomas in the Dept of Transportation v Assn of American Railroads case. Although it received little media attention, Justice Thomas has provided us a masterpiece of constitutional thinking, explaining why “administrative law” -- the practice of delegating to bureaucrats the making and enforcement of rules with the force of law – is so profoundly unconstitutional....

With EVs and other fuel-efficient vehicles saving consumers money at the pump, Oregon will be the first to issue a per-mile road tax to refill its coffers. Automotive News reports the state will offer two options to its motorists: pay at the pump, or pay a 1.5-cent rate per mile traversed. The latter will be conducted through a device that plugs into a vehicle’s OBD port, then gathers mileage data to determine how much the motorist will pay in tax. Right now, the program — set to begin July 1 — will be implemented by the Oregon DOT in partnership...

The Washington Post reported that The Department of Transportation has some pretty big ideas about the future of transportation. Before diving into a thicket of transportation data and questions, a hefty new federal study makes a traffic projection that could get a chuckle, even from folks in Nebraska: Omaha, the new Los Angeles. That’s by 2045, the study says, when traffic congestion in Omaha (current population of 435,353) could be just as bad as it is in L.A. (current population of 10 million). The provocative prospect of gridlock in the heartland sets the stage for a 316-page document produced by...

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has appointed Sarah Feinberg as acting administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Former FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo stepped down on Friday. Feinberg becomes the second woman to lead the FRA since its founding in 1966. She joined the USDOT in September 2013 as chief of staff. One of her key priorities in the position was to lead efforts on the $302 billion surface transportation reauthorization plan sent to Congress last year. "Sarah has been my partner and served as my closest advisor during her tenure as chief of staff. With her ability to...

... Carpool lanes are so clogged in California, the state could lose federal funding and approval for projects if it doesn’t fix the problem. Under federal law, carpool lane drivers in California must be able to go an average of 45 miles per hour or faster during peak hours. Additionally, over a six-month period, traffic has to go that fast 90 percent of the time. Caltrans explains that means the lane’s average speed can drop below 45 no more than two days a month ...

August 27, 2014By Terence P. Jeffrey The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the Department of Transportation, published last week an "advanced notice of proposed rulemaking" on "vehicle-to-vehicle communications." What NHTSA is proposing could begin a transformation in the American transportation system that makes our lives better and freer — or gives government more power over where we go and when. In announcing its proposed rulemaking, NHTSA is stressing its intention to protect the "privacy" of American drivers. "This document initiates rulemaking that would propose to create a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, FMVSS No. 150, to require...

SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - The federal government will spend $2 billion to extend a subway line under Los Angeles' storied Wilshire Boulevard, an effort to ease congestion in one of the country's most transited corridors and to eventually link downtown to the beach with a "Subway to the Sea." The project is meant to improve traffic in a part of the city where it can take hours to go just a few miles, with train stations to be built at major cultural attractions, including museums and the glitzy shopping areas of Beverly Hills. Backers hope at some point to expand...

More than three years ago, I wrote that the Department of Transportation should be dismantled for the simple reason that we’ll get better roads at lower cost with the federalist approach of returning responsibility to state and local governments. I echoed those sentiments in this CNBC interview. Dan Mitchell Arguing to Get Washington out of the Transportation SectorSince there’s only an opportunity to exchange soundbites in these interviews, let me elaborate on some of the reasons why transportation should be a state and local responsibility. 1. Washington involvement is a recipe for pork and corruption. Lawmakers in Congress – including...

Feds To End Controversial Secret Alcohol Testing At Roadblocks After drawing considerable ire from the public over a program that tested drivers for drug and alcohol use — the latter secretly and without their consent — federal transportation officials today said they will no longer surreptitiously collect breath samples from drivers at roadblocks. The Associated Press reports that a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official said roadblock testers will now get motorists' permission before using a passive alcohol sensor, which previously gathered breath samples before drivers could consent to the study. NHTSA has been conducting their National Roadside Survey of...

<p>HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut lawmakers will hold a public hearing on a bill that would impose lengthy prison sentences on people who commit crimes with drones.</p> <p>The legislation would make it a felony carrying up to 20 years in prison for committing a crime using an unmanned aircraft equipped with a deadly weapon, and up to 10 years in prison for other crimes with a drone.</p>

A report yesterday from Government Executive detailed how the Obama Administration's predictions of doom and gloom from sequestration has backfired. The predictions of furloughs for government workers, nearly across the board, were exaggerated. The most significant example of furlough reductions has been the Defense Department. The Pentagon originally planned to furlough all 750,000 of its civilian employees for 22 days. It then used reprogramming to trim that number to 11 days, and more recently -- through a series of cost-cutting measures and inter-service transfer of funds -- reduced the days of unpaid leave to six. The furloughs are now estimated...

Ever since the Senate rejected President Obama’s cap-and-trade scheme in 2009, his administration has been hard at work to find other ways to implement a radical, environmentalist agenda. Obama made these intentions clear at a press conference in 2010 when he explained, “Cap and trade was just one way of skinning the cat. … It was a means, not an end, and I am going to be looking for other means to address this problem.” And this is a promise he’s doing his best to keep. With the help of the Environmental Protection Agency and other departments, this administration has...

In the early '80s, miles driven stayed below the previous peak for 39 months. Currently miles driven has been below the previous peak for 58 months - and still counting. Gasoline prices were up in September compared to September 2011. In September 2012, gasoline averaged of $3.91 per gallon according to the EIA. Last year, prices in September averaged $3.67 per gallon, so - just looking at gasoline prices - it is no surprise that miles driven decreased year-over-year in September. Just looking at gasoline prices suggest miles driven will be down again in October - especially with the very...

Stop the roundabouts The vast majority of us hate roundabouts. Unfortunately, the state Department of Transportation loves them, as do their close friends, the road builders. Why the road builders love them is simple - they can charge us 10 times more to put them in. Sadly, the DOT prefers to make its friends happy rather than the taxpayers. They now have taken to trying to hide their plans from us by referring to them as "broad, looping, free-flowing." Often we will be told that they work so well in Europe. However, Europe's idea of a big truck is about...