Barack Obama
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Eyes on the street: Four new Red Line stations are ready for their closeups
Thanks Obama! If you're psyched about the four new ADA-accessible, aesthetically pleasing Red Line stations that opened in Uptown and Edgewater this morning, give a hat-tip to the 44th president, a former Chicagoan.
July 20, 2025
Obama Center work starts this summer. What does the plan mean for transportation?
The Obama center should improve the Jackson Park green space and pedestrian and bike access within the park. But it's a shame that LSD and Stony Island had to be widened as part of the bargain.
February 4, 2021
100-Plus U. of C. Professors Oppose the Current, Car-Centric Obama Center Plans
While the faculty members are opposed to pedestrianizing Cornell Drive, they also note that it would be inequitable to use parkland to house a garage for the center and spend taxpayer money to widen nearby roadways.
January 8, 2018
Obama: Closing 6-Lane Road by Presidential Library Will Create a More Vibrant Public Space
Although some community leaders have opposed the idea, arguing that it would create carmaggedon, the former president noted that it’s important not to get so “fixated on traffic that we lose sight of what's possible."
May 4, 2017
Obama’s Politically Impossible Transpo Plan Is Just What America Needs
It may be "seven years too late," as tactical urbanist Mike Lydon put it, but President Obama has released a transportation proposal that calls for big shifts in the country's spending priorities.
February 5, 2016
With No Transport Funding Fix, U.S. DOT to Cut State Payments Next Month
State transportation departments could see the federal funding they receive pared back as early as a few weeks from now if Congress doesn't come up with a transportation funding solution.
July 2, 2014
Obama Administration Sends Transportation Bill to Congress
The Obama administration today sent Congress its proposal for a multi-year transportation bill, which it's calling the GROW AMERICA Act. The bill, based on the budget proposal President Obama released two months ago, relies on corporate tax reform to raise $87 billion to fill the hole in the Highway Trust Fund. The four-year bill would cost $302 billion.
April 29, 2014
In Obama Budget, a Glimpse of What Beefed-Up Transit Funding Could Do
The budget proposal released by President Obama yesterday fleshes out the transportation ideas put out by the White House last week and includes specific grants for transit upgrades and expansions in 2015, but many of them won't be part of this budget unless Congress agrees to increase funding for transportation.
March 5, 2014
Obama Becomes First Prez to Walk Down a Bike Lane on Inauguration Day
The networks were busy tripping over themselves trying to point out all the "firsts" during yesterday's inauguration ceremonies. But when Barack and Michelle Obama stepped out of the presidential motorcade to greet well wishers on Pennsylvania Avenue, they missed a huge one: Obama is now the first U.S. president to walk down a bike lane during his inauguration.
January 22, 2013