Posts about John McCain

Transit

GO VOTE

by David Alpert   •   November 4, 2008 7:38 am

Posting will be light today because 1) I'll be voting (will there be long lines?) and 2) You should be voting instead of reading blogs. Voting is the most important thing you can do all year this year, especially if you live in Virginia.

Here are the top urbanism-related races here and elsewhere:

President: Barack Obama and Joe Biden are a dream ticket for cities. Obama voted for Amtrak funding, and Biden has been one of the Senate's Amtrak supporters, while John McCain opposes rail transit. Obama has made high-speed rail, mass transit and bicycle lanes a centerpiece of his economic policy. Obama had the right position on gas prices while McCain was dead wrong and still is. This choice couldn't be more clear. Plus, there are thousands of other reasons to vote Obama that have nothing to do with metropolitan policy.

DC: Patrick Mara is the best urbanist candidate for At-Large City Council. Also see my recent profiles of 2B09, 3C03, and 7D06. Vote for Eleanor Holmes Norton, of course.

Virginia: In Virginia's 11th district (Fairfax/Prince William), Democrat Gerry Connolly supports Metro to, and density at, Tysons; has fought BRAC-related auto-dependent sprawl; supports better bicycle infrastructure, and more. Here's the profile for the primary.

Maryland: Is there anything interesting? What do you think about slots? Anyway, vote.

New York: Vote for Obama on the Working Families Party line (Row E). It counts just the same, but strengthens progressive forces that are working for green jobs, affordable housing, public transportation, and more.

North Carolina: I'll be watching the nail-biter of a Senate race in North Carolina, where Democrat Kay Hagan strongly supports transit. Some extremely controversial and outright false Dole ads in the final days have made this a firestorm and a very close race.

Minnesota: Vote for Al Franken, because he's a really good guy, and so is his family, whom I had the pleasure to get to know while in New York.

California: Two ballot propositions are extremely exciting. As an urbanist, I'm rooting for 1A, which will fund a high-speed rail system from San Francisco to Los Angeles (with future spurs to Sacramento, Irvine and San Diego), giving Californians a sustainable way to traverse their state. As a person who believes in basic human rights, I'm rooting for the defeat of Proposition 8, which will reverse California's recently-won freedom for all couples to marry. That's yes on 1A, no on 8.

Have you voted yet? What other races are you watching around the nation?

Roads

Dinner links: Yes we can reduce auto dependency

by David Alpert   •   October 22, 2008 4:34 pm

McCain pretends to like transit: An Obama spokesperson proudly touted Obama's support for Dulles rail, Metro funding and infrastructure investments in a Q&A with WTOP's Adam Tuss, while the McCain spokesperson danced around his candidate's constant opposition to transit projects.

Floreen pushing parking tax: Maryland Politics Watch reported on a roundtable on Nancy Floreen's proposed parking tax. Here's Floreen's own take on the discussion.

It wasn't me: WTOP's Tuss encountered a really terrible driver on U Street. Tuss writes, "The reckless, "me first" driving has to be kept in check." I agree, and would also agree if we deleted those first four words.

Height limit debate #538: Kojo Nnamdi and Roger Lewis discuss the height limit some more on today's show.

Development

Dinner links: Three jeers and a cheer edition

by David Alpert   •   October 2, 2008 4:43 pm

Urban planners in blue: Ike Leggett wants to give the police sole decisionmaking power about what pedestrian paths should go around the Fillmore. Meanwhile, planners and elected offiicals will have almost no say. (Just Up the Pike)

MPD still ticketing cyclists on New Hampshire: MPD still seems to feel that the best way to devote their resources on bicycle safety is to ticket wrong-way cyclists on the single one-way blocks around U Street, even though DDOT plans to make it legal. Red Sky At Night just got a ticket today. Why not station someone at 20th and R and watch out for right hooks instead?

McCain really, really hates trains: Not suprisingly, John McCain voted against the Metro bill (Obama voted in favor, also not surprisingly). McCain may "flip-flop" on many issues, but he's never wavered in his intense opposition to anything on two rails. Adding in Biden, the Senate's top rail champion, and Palin, who couldn't name any trains if Katie Couric asked, when it comes to transit, this election couldn't be starker. (Yglesias)

Good design for Skyland: And Now, Anacostia is really impressed with designs for the Skyland Town Center, near the Maryland border in Southeast. Next, can we get a streetcar over there?

Development

Smart candidates, smart editorials

by David Alpert   •   August 13, 2008 11:01 am

The Kojo Nnamdi show (with Kojo himself on vacation) is talking up a storm on transportation issues. Last week, it was a segment on Smart Growth featuring Roger Lewis, CSG's Stewart Schwartz, and others. Lewis explains how Smart Growth is about focusing development around an "armature" of transportation infrastructure, and how the original "wedges" plan for the DC region, of dense radial corridors with lower density and open space in between, fell short as jobs stopped all being in the center city; metropolitan development should organize in a "lattice" or "cobweb" instead.

Barack Obama is starting to cave on his energy leadership by agreeing to some drilling (which will not solve the problem and only prolong our oil dependence), but his energy plan is still much better than McCain's. Track Twenty-Nine compares the candidates' energy plans.

The Post's editorial board likes the last bullet point in Obama's plan, a nod to Smart Growth. "The changes in behavior brought on by the current gas crunch must be the start of fulfilling the promise of more livable and sustainable communities," they write.

Now if only they'd stop whining about each change that makes more livable communities but inconveniences some suburban driver. Am I ever going to stop needling the Post about their "war on pedestrians" article? Who knows?

Roads

Urgent Political Proposal

by David Alpert   •   May 5, 2008 1:58 pm

This secret email was recently leaked from John McCain and Hillary Clinton's draft email folder:

CONFIDENTIAL/URGENT POLITICAL PROPOSAL

Dear Sir

First we must solicit your confidence in this issue. This is by virtue as being utterly confidential and "top secret".

We are SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON, the wife of the former United States head of state, PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, and also SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, friend and associate of current head of state PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH. We got your contact through business inquiries as we were searching for contacts of a citizen who can help save our and our family's political careers since our country has been frustrating us.

We are top officials of the United States Senate Government who are interested in importation of oil into our country with funds that are presently trapped in the FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND dedicated to improving transportation. We wish to send this money to overseas accounts in the MIDDLE EAST but cannot due to restrictions in Congress Transportation Equity Act requiring that this money must be spent to build roads, bridges and high speed trains.

If you accept we will deliver to your a sum of 30 DOLLARS in the summer 2008 in form of a "GAS TAX HOLIDAY". You will then deliver this money to accounts of our friends in Middle East by taking it to your nearby gasoline station where they have information to forward the money. Please supply your bank account, social security number, address and your vote in DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES AND NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION.

But bear in mind that this transaction requires absolute confidentiality. Do not visit WWW.GASTAXSCAM.COM where there is information about dangers of our proposal and a petition to stop us from this diversion of funds.

PLEASE NOTIFY US URGENTLY OF YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THIS PROPOSAL

Awaiting your rapid response

Yours truly

SENATORS HILLARY CLINTON AND JOHN MCCAIN

Read more and sign the petition at www.GasTaxScam.com.

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.