Politics

Presidential candidates on transit, cycling and walking

by David Alpert   •   January 31, 2008 10:24 am

Streetsblog's LA correspondent Damien Newton researched the Presidential candidates' positions on transportation. For the Democrats, both Obama's and Clinton's platforms hold a great deal of promise. Obama is the most pro-cycling candidate, extols the virtues of walking, and supported Chicago's transit system while in the Illinois legislature, but Clinton is the one to officially propose $1.5 billion per year for public transit and feels that "sprawl is not only a threat to the environment but to our communities as well."

On the Republican side, none support a vision of an America less dependent on cars, but John McCain, now looking more and more the sure nominee, seems to be the lesser of evils. McCain supports higher fuel economy standards but has been a longtime critic of Amtrak and of investment in high-speed rail infrastructure. Romney, meanwhile, courted the gas-guzzling vote and had his lieutenant governor veto a bill to better train police on bicycle laws to increase safety. As for Huckabee, his biggest idea for the East Coast is to build more roads.

David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington and Greater Greater Education. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.