The Orwellian Era of Transportation Planning: NMA E-Newsletter #629
By Christopher M. DiPrima, NMA Board Member George Orwell’s seminal 1984 has defined political discourse for over 70 years. Among the book’s most prescient concepts is doublethink, the practice of using contradictory terminology to obscure the government’s actions. In 1984, the Ministry of Peace propagates war; the Ministry of Plenty rations goods; the Ministry of […]
Officials Pitch Wishful Thinking as Fact in Washington State Plan to Reduce Driving: NMA E-Newsletter #626
By guest writer Mariya Frost, Director, Coles Center for Transportation Washington Policy Center Editor’s note: This post first appeared on the Washington Policy Center Blog. The state Department of Commerce is very clear about its views on driving: officials must reduce or altogether eliminate people’s need to drive. In their latest draft of the state energy […]
Compunction to Shame Motorists needs to Stop
Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared as an NMA Weekly Newsletter #593 emailed to members in May 2020. If you would like to receive the newsletter, join today the thousands of other active motorists who have made that choice! From the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, anti-car groups have shamed, cajoled, and humiliated city officials […]
Vision Zero: The Consequences of Intolerance
Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared as NMA E-Newsletter #373 in March 2016. Motorists need to understand what we are facing when it comes to Vision Zero. This piece outlined just one example and was written before the current COVID-19 crisis. Ecosystem: A system, or a group of interconnected elements, formed by the interaction of a […]
Don’t Let Congestion Pricing Take Hold in the US
Before the pandemic, cities around the country were talking about implementing congestion pricing. Experts believe that charging a fee for parts of streets and highways used the most at the busiest times of day reduces demand. They believe that this tax incentivizes drivers to switch to other modes, other routes, or even travel at different […]
Open Letter to the Boston City Council: Privacy Concerns about Boston’s Facial Recognition Ban
By Joe Cadillic, writer/editor of the MassPrivatel Blog and Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director The first part of today’s NMA Street Surveillance Watch Blog first appeared on Joe’s MassPrivatel Blog on July 14, 12020. Open letter to the Boston City Council: Privacy Concerns about Boston’s Facial Recognition Ban. I commend the Boston City Council for […]
Summer Update from the ALLIANCE FOR TOLL-FREE INTERSTATES
Editor’s Note: The ATFI is a coalition (of which the NMA is a member) which work tirelessly to maintain the longstanding policy of protecting existing interstates from new tolls. ATFI’s Charlie Kiefer has given the NMA permission to showcase the summer update. Due to the current global pandemic caused by COVID-19, the tolling industry has […]
Big Changes for Toll Roads in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director Despite NMA and public opposition plus general condemnation for holding hearings during a pandemic, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority voted unanimously on May 27 to increase tolls on two of the state’s largest toll roads. The increase takes effect on September 13, 2020, and would increase the average Turnpike […]
Another Study on Why we don’t like Driverless Cars
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director I don’t know about you, but I am tired of seeing stories on why we don’t “like” driverless cars. How many studies has it been already? The latest study comes from an advocacy group called Partner for Automated Vehicle Education or PAVE. Nearly half of the 1,200 adults surveyed […]
The Fight over NYC Congestion Pricing Goes on. And on…
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director Could congestion pricing for New York City be over? Probably not, but it will likely not meet its January 2021 start date and not necessarily due to the COVID-19 crisis. The scheme was already in doubt in February before everything hit the proverbial fan. Metropolitan Transportation Administration Chair Pat […]