The Ferguson Group Blog

U.S. DOT Awards 72 TIGER Grants

An official DOT TIGER announcement wasn’t expected until mid-September, but after several lawmakers pre-emptively announced projects in their states last week, DOT released award announcements early.

On Friday, Secretary Foxx announced $600 million in TIGER awards among 72 transportation projects in 46 states and the District of Columbia. The TIGER program is a unique opportunity within DOT that invests in high-impact projects including roads, bridges, freight and passenger rail, transit buses and streetcars, port infrastructure, and bicycle and pedestrian paths, in order to achieve critical objectives for the nation. This year, DOT funded 26 road projects, 17 transit projects, 12 regional planning projects, 7 maritime projects, 7 rail projects and 3 bike pedestrian projects.

View the full list of FY2014 TIGER award recipients here.

Does your community have a high-impact transit project that needs additional funding? If so, you should learn more about DOT’s TIGER Program by visiting http://www.dot.gov/tiger.

Wednesday News Roundup

Every Wednesday, the TFG Blog posts a series of articles published over the previous week that discusses topics of interest to local governments. Learn about emerging trends and keep up on key policy issues by browsing the TFG Wednesday News Roundup!

Congress is Back. It’s Mission? Keep Government Open

The House and Senate returned Monday for a brief work period, with an agenda that includes a number of messaging bills, potentially a bill to extend the Export-Import Bank, and a critical measure to fund the government before leaving town again for the campaign trail. Passing a continuing resolution through the middle of December is priority one, leadership says, emphasizing that members want to get home for the election. Read More...

3 Cities to Collaborate in Anti-Poverty Fight

Louisville, Philadelphia and Nashville are the first cities in a new program that will dedicate $3 million in technical assistance to help cities reduce poverty. The philanthropic arm of Citigroup, in partnership with the nonprofit Living Cities, has launched this effort in hopes to understand and replicate municipal innovation. Read More...

Innovative Plans Help Cities Effectively Live with Water

If predictions about weather patterns and sea-level rise prove correct, living with large amounts of water will become an inevitable part of the future. New York City and New Orleans are taking a collaborative approach to addressing a water and hurricane-intensive future, including a focus on working with water rather than trying to pump it all away. Read More...

Following Ferguson, Senate Weighs Use of Military-Grade Equipment

Yesterday, Congress held its first hearing in response to the events in Ferguson, Missouri last month, looking at how Washington has played a role in militarizing local law enforcement through federal programs that equip thousands of local police agencies with gear made for war. Popular local programs, such as the DODs 1033 program and DOJs Byrne JAG program, were under fire for lack of accountability, transparency, and misjudgments in risk assessments. Read More...

Anthony Foxx Takes a Futurist Turn at the Department of Transportation

Politicians are often accused of failing to look past the next election. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx wants to look past the next fifteen, leading a DOT effort to create a 30-year outlook for the state of transportation in the U.S., an ambitious effort he hopes will shift the country out of its stubborn, single-track focus on short-term needs. Read More...

Wednesday News Roundup

Every Wednesday, the TFG Blog posts a series of articles published over the previous week that discusses topics of interest to local governments. Learn about emerging trends and keep up on key policy issues by browsing the TFG Wednesday News Roundup!  

2014 Senate Race Ratings

Politico is keeping readers up-to-date on all things elections this fall. Check out their Senate Race Ratings map and chart to see which way your states’ Senate elections could sway this November. Read More...

A Mayoral U.N.?

It is no secret that local governments are the breeding grounds for policy innovation. The “Global Parliament,” an idea envisioned by a small group of urbanists, would be a global network of cities – similar to a “U.N. for mayors” – where cities could ensure best practices and shared resources. The idea may sound a little far-fetched, but it’s not too far from reality. Read More...  

The Indianapolis Plan for 100% Recycling

Indianapolis is launching a program to bring recycling to all single family homes, increasing the amount of material recycled in the city by up to 500 percent at no additional costs to the city or residents. The city hopes this project will act as a model for sustainability methods to effectively recycle and reduce energy consumption for other cities. Read More...

Austin Turns to Crowdsourcing to Improve Traffic Congestion

Austin, Texas plans to re-time traffic lights on the fly based on data from drivers’ smartphone locations. The technology will track how fast motorists are going, how many motorists are in a certain location and which directions they are traveling so traffic lights can adjust. If you are from Austin, this could be a welcome change; Austinites know how it feels to sit in traffic jams after University of Texas football games. Read More...

Facing Climate Change, Cities Embrace Resilience

Lacking substantial state or federal support, local governments throughout the country are using natural disasters as a way to get their infrastructure, personnel and budgets better prepared for the next. Restructuring cities to be prepared for the increasing effects of climate change has become a top priority. Check out what cities across the country are doing to prepare. Read More...