Joseph Yawn

U.S. DOT Orders Review of All Grants Related to Green Infrastructure, Bikes — Streetsblog USA Now U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is coming for our bike lanes!

Bike lanes and complete streets create a safer environment for every roadway user. It's difficult to see where there is a commitment to enforcing the 'highest standards of safety' with actions like this.

usa.streetsblog.org/2025/03/12/b...

Regional Extreme Weather Resilience: 3 Emerging Priorities From wildfire risk to hurricanes to extreme heat and more, hazard mitigation and resilience efforts from utilities and state and local agencies are critical.

ICF recently convened a roundtable in DC with leaders from government, utilities, and the private sector about extreme weather, disaster mitigation, and resilience. Check out the key takeaways here: forwrd.it/r/6M8e/eyJlb...

Metro Atlanta is dead last when it comes to economic mobility - SaportaReport Read Metro Atlanta is dead last when it comes to economic mobility by Maria Saporta for SaportaReport here.

This report is damning, y’all. Housing and transportation are also essential to economic mobility. If we’re serious about addressing this issue, the Region as a whole will have to change how we approach zoning and our transportation investments.

saportareport.com/metro-atlant...

NEPA Changes 2025 Recent executive orders (EOs),, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) interim final rule, and federal court actions have changed NEPA compliance.

My ICF colleagues put together a great summary on recent and potential upcoming NEPA changes.

www.icf.com/insights/env...

MARTA train ridership fell in 2024 despite gains nationally Only two cities saw ridership fall more compared to the prior year, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of monthly ridership reports from the FTA.

We have rail ridership data through 2024 now and it’s down compared to 2023. But MARTA says the drop doesn’t reflect actual ridership, only continued issues with fare gates that are either a) broken in the open position b) aren’t recording Breeze taps as a ride www.ajc.com/news/atlanta...

Pedestrian death at Peachtree Center renews crosswalk safety debate Merchant killed by car at faded crosswalk after previous road safety measures were reversed.

Atlanta narrowed three blocks of Peachtree Street in 2021 and installed a crosswalk. Then after opposition, the city converted the road back - partly: The crosswalk wasn’t removed, just left it to fade. Last month, a man was hit by a car in the crosswalk and killed. www.ajc.com/news/health-...

Trump Administration 'Reviews' Threaten to Delay Transportation Projects Nationwide — Streetsblog USA So much for the administration that said it wanted to cut red tape...

Trump Administration ‘Reviews’ Threaten to Delay Transportation Projects Nationwide - usa.streetsblog.org/2025/02/26/t...

Great Orange Slices interview with my ICF colleague John Rabin about his career in emergency management, including as a former FEMA Assistant Administrator, and his insights into current disaster management priorities.
forwrd.it/r/6IaG/eyJlb...

Time for the periodic reminder that the gas tax hasn’t been raised since 1993 and does not cover the cost to build and maintain highways. Transit users, however, are expected to pay fares for each use. Good to keep in mind when discussing what’s fair in infrastructure financing.

Billions of dollars for US projects remain frozen by Trump, managers and advocates say President Donald Trump has placed holds on tens of billions of dollars in congressionally-approved spending for projects across the U.S. that range from Iowa soybean farmers adopting greener practices to a Virginia railway expansion, a Reuters analysis found.

"Of the approximately $21 billion of funding that could be clawed back by the Department of Transportation, almost $7 billion is directed for projects in states that voted for Trump in 2024." @corrigansalerno.bsky.social for @reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/bil...

Column | This data may vanish under Trump, so we charted it When some of the most valuable datasets in human history briefly vanished from U.S. government websites, it felt like watching the Library of Alexandria go up in smoke.

“Any disruption to the ACS — or Census data more broadly — would be massively disruptive to the U.S. economy. I hope that people understand that,” Walker told us. “These data power insights in every corner of the U.S. economy."

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Streamlining Permits While Protecting Oregon’s Waterways After changes to Oregon's permitting process, ICF is reducing the time between proposal and project completion while ensuring that nature is adequately protected

Interesting read from my ICF
colleague Maggie Poyant about how recent regulatory changes in Oregon could benefit both project developers and conservation efforts. bit.ly/3CUdMAJ

“Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost” - Thomas Jefferson, 1786

Farmers on the hook for millions after Trump freezes USDA funds The White House had repeatedly said the funding freeze would not affect benefits that go directly to individuals.

"Farmers who signed contracts with the USDA under those programs paid up front to build fencing, plant new crops and install renewable energy systems.... Now, with that money frozen, they’re on the hook."
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

You are not powerless, and he is not unstoppable. Look at, and learn from, the funding freeze and how quickly he was forced to surrender.

Finally!

Government crackdowns on the church’s ability to serve our refugee and immigrant neighbors is where actual anti-Christian bias is occurring.

What is USAID's impact on Georgia? This peanut product manufacturer says it's 'massive' The United States Agency for International Development remains in turmoil as federal government agencies are targeted, with suppliers and recipients awash in confusion. Georgia farmers and peanut prod...

Dismantling USAID doesn’t just have impacts abroad. It has impacts on Georgia Farmer’s as well.

www.gpb.org/news/2025/02...

Being a scattered team up and down the East Coast may limit our chances to meet in person, but it is a lot of fun when we have opportunities to do that!

Community-Based Transportation Plans: How To Secure a Grant Federal planning grants can provide the necessary funding to help state DOTs and MPOs implement innovative and effective community-based transportation plans.

ICF’s team of experts share four key focus areas for state DOTs and MPOs to consider when applying for grants, and highlight the key benefits and features of community-based transportation plans. Check it out. bit.ly/42JLOlN

One Response to Trump’s Tariffs: Trade That Excludes the U.S. A growing number of countries, including American allies, are striking trade deals as the Trump administration erects a higher fence around its global commerce.

As President Trump opened what could become a global trade war, a growing number of countries, including America’s closest allies, are forging their own economic partnerships without the U.S.

Monday's Headlines Question Sprawl — Streetsblog USA Do Americans really want to live in car-centric suburbs, or are they forced to because that's where most of the housing is built?

Do Americans really want to live in car-centric suburbs, or are they forced to because that's where most of the housing is built?

Car Prices Face $3,000 Increase as Trump Tariffs Hit Auto Sector President Donald Trump’s tariffs against Canada and Mexico will threaten production at automakers across North America and send record vehicle prices even higher, with about a quarter of a trillion do...

With car prices already near all-time highs, tariffs are making vehicle ownership all the more expensive. Now more than ever, investing in public transportation is essential to providing affordable mobility options.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

two men are sitting in front of a crowd and one of them is talking on a phone ALT: two men are sitting in front of a crowd and one of them is talking on a phone

Starting a trade war with our three biggest trading partners.

From the coldest January that I remember in a while, to shorts and a T-Shirt the first day of February. Welcome to winter in the South.

“It’s never a good time to bow down to a tyrant. Don’t give into the lies. Don’t give into the fear. Hold onto the truth and hope.”Jim Acosta

I haven’t deleted that account yet only because I am still reconnecting with everyone over here as they make the move. But man, that place has somehow become even more unhinged and racist this past week.

USDA Publishes Interim Rule on Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks

The ICF team helped USDA estimate the potential GHG impact of farmers adopting climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices in biofuel production. This helped inform USDA's new interim rule on technical guidelines for CSA crops used as biofuel feedstocks! bit.ly/42wcuqe

To my white evangelical friends, this is what the trampling of religious freedom actually looks like.

It is wild to watch people show up on social media accounts ran by climate scientists, make some claim without providing any evidence to support it, and then demand others to provide evidence to disprove said wild claims when they have zero evidence to support it.