Ray LaHood

Short-term recommendations include hiring a Chief Mobility Officer and piloting dockless scooters.

Hopefully the new task force will ensure that the city proactively sets shared-mobility and AV policy, rather than scrambling to deal with disruptive technology.

Several of the last few Chicago Transit Authority presidents have had little or no background running a public transportation agency. However, Mayor Emanuel’s new pick to run the agency, Dorval R. Carter, Jr. has over 30 years of experience in transit at the city and federal levels.

Sometimes transportation and food intersect in curious ways. The northwest Chicago suburbs of Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, and Elk Grove Village are home to the region’s largest Japanese expat community. I was bummed to find out that Mount Prospect’s Torishin, my favorite izakaya (Japanese pub-eatery) recently shut its doors. The tavern was a popular place for local salarymen to hang out after work over drinks and delectable bar snacks.

The annual Bike to Work Rally serves as a state of the union for Chicago cycling, and this year there’s a lot of news to report, with the impending launch of the Divvy bike-share system, completion of the Milwaukee protected lanes, and financing secured for the Chicago Riverwalk. This was the first time Mayor Rahm Emanuel has appeared at the rally and he seemed to enjoy soaking in the crowd’s enthusiasm for the many bike initiatives that have launched since he took office about two years ago.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx just accepted President Obama’s nomination to be the next transportation secretary.

At a waterside press conference this afternoon with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, outgoing U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood promised that the roughly $100 million federal loan that will bankroll the Chicago Riverwalk will definitely be finalized by June. Earlier this winter the Chicago Department of Transportation sent LaHood’s agency a letter of interest for a loan through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act. Now the USDOT is inviting CDOT to submit a formal application for the loan, which will cover almost the entire project cost.

Things are looking promising for our city’s latest high-profile public space plan, the Chicago Riverwalk extension. In an interview Tuesday with Streetsblog Capitol Hill editor Tanya Snyder, outgoing U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood implied that a Transportation Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act loan will soon be approved that will help bankroll the $90-100 million project.

I had the chance to sit down with Ray LaHood yesterday morning before he spoke to the U.S. High-Speed Rail Association. Our conversation covered a wide range of topics, looking back on his four years at the helm of the U.S. Department of Transportation. We'll publish the interview in three installments over the next few days. Here's the first part.