Transportation and Community Development News
Monday, April 11th, 2011
CNT was pleased to join Transportation for America (T4A) and other partners at a recent media event in Chicago designed to call attention to the deteriorated condition of our state’s – and nation’s – transportation infrastructure. T4A hosted the event to announce the release of its new report, The Fix We’re In For: The State of Our Nation’s Bridges, which provides a detailed assessment of current conditions and investment needs in Illinois as well as the rest of the country. Read more »
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Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
In three short weeks, 87 companies have enrolled in the Transit Ridership Improvement Program (TRIP), which gives Cook County employers up to $1,700 for enrolling their employees in a pre-tax transit benefit program. So far, the program has extended pre-tax benefits to an estimated 800 commuters, who can save between 30 percent and 40 percent on their commuting costs by purchasing transit fares before taxes.
Companies large and small are eligible. CNT has enrolled firms with as few as 1 employee to as many as 1,800. 56 companies are entirely new to pre-tax transit benefits, while 31 are taking advantage of the incentive by enrolling more employees. There’s still time to sign up for this incentive program, but no time is better than right now. Read more »
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Monday, March 28th, 2011
Many of the towns comprising Chicago’s south suburbs have suffered years of economic hardship and diminishing revenues necessary to attract and retain businesses and adequately serve residents. However, these communities possess abundant rail assets and a resilient industrial base that can be leveraged to attract new industrial businesses, remediate environmentally contaminated properties, and improve connections between housing and jobs. Read more »
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Monday, March 21st, 2011
How can we protect households and communities from the impact of higher gas prices? What can local officials do avoid the brunt of high gas prices and reduce the cost of living this year?
In today’s Planetizen, CNT’s President Scott Bernstein says that the most effective solution is to reduce the demand by creating “location-efficient” communities. In 2008, when gas prices hovered around $4, our research showed that households in “location-efficient” communities were less vulnerable to the gas spike. Residents of the most location efficient communities—cities and suburbs served by transit—were able to hold down their costs partly by increasing their use of public transit, and in fact those places saw the greatest increases in transit ridership. Communities with poor transit access had the lowest increases (or even declines) in transit use over that period. Read more »
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Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
CNT staff have racked up frequent flyer miles in recent days as they share our research and initiatives to audiences from coast to coast.
Economic Development Planner Kyle Smith presented CNT’s BUILT In Ohio work to the Local Employment Dynamics (LED) Partnership Workshop in Arlington, VA on March 9.
The BUILT in Ohio project, completed in summer and fall 2010, brought together regional leaders in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati to assess strengths and weaknesses in regional growth patterns and identify infrastructure investments that could spark a more sustainable pattern of economic development. Using Locational Employment Dynamics (LED) data, CNT characterized how these three urban centers anchor the economy of the state. Read more »
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Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
Gas prices got you down? How about tax-free transit passes? CNT is administering the Transit Ridership Improvement Program (TRIP) for the Regional Transportation Authority and Cook County Department of Environmental Control, which provides up to $1,700 to Cook County businesses that enroll employees in a pre-tax transit benefit program. Commuters can save between 30 percent and 40 percent on their commuting costs by purchasing transit fares before taxes. The incentive program has $250,000 made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the limited funds will be disbursed to employers on a first come, first served basis. Read more »
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Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
A new study released today by CNT and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) reveals how small, medium and large metro regions across the country have become leaders in providing affordable and accessible transportation options for their residents.
Fifteen U.S. cities are profiled for their leadership in innovative transportation policies and practices, based on metrics drawn from the U.S. Census and CNT’s H+T® Affordability Index, which quantifies transportation costs by location. Read more »
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Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
On Monday, President Obama proposed a budget to guide the nation’s public investments over the coming six years. CNT welcomes and supports the president’s transportation investment proposal. By investing in America’s infrastructure, the president’s proposed budget will bring home the benefits of sustainable transportation and build our local economies.
CNT’s analysis of the president’s proposed transportation budget finds that it does indeed combine common sense reforms with the transformative investments necessary to keep America globally competitive and economically secure.
The President’s announcement coincided with the release of a new poll from the Rockefeller Foundation examining American sentiment toward transportation infrastructure investment. The data show that Americans recognize a vibrant transportation system as essential to household, community and national economic security. But the polling also indicates that investment must come with meaningful reform of how the decisions are made. Read more »
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Friday, February 11th, 2011
Last summer, I-GO Car Sharing tested the i-Miev and added a charging station at our headquarters.
The Chicago Tribune’s Julie Wernau recently covered the city’s near-term plan to bring electric vehicles (EV) and infrastructure to Chicagoans. CNT’s I-GO Car Sharing has been working hand in glove with city government to bring the initiative to fruition. I-GO will have 36 electric charging stations dedicated to its car sharing vehicles, and this spring I-GO is taking the green EV project a step further by installing solar canopies at 15 stations so its electric fleet will run on clean solar power. Read more »
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Monday, January 31st, 2011
Chicago is northeastern Illinois’ historic center of commerce and employment, yet over the last half century, economic activity has continuously dispersed to outlying suburbs. For the most part nationally, the attention to neighborhood development around transit has focused on mixed-use development with residences, street-level retail and, occasionally, office space.
This paradigm ignores the fact that much vacant land within station areas is strictly zoned for manufacturing or commercial purposes that could attract businesses offering living wages. Next Stop: New Jobs, a new analysis by CNT, addresses these disparities by identifying opportunities to create transit-friendly employment in Chicago. Read more »
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