Yesterday, President Obama announced a new Department of Transportation: Charlotte, NC mayor, Anthony Foxx. Now, with the understanding that Foxx will be implementing policy for, well, the entire nation, some of the programs he spearheaded in Charlotte sound awfully similar to things we're trying to do in the city he's about to inhabit. So, yeah, he'll have to care about more than just the District, but here are some reasons that Foxx should feel right at home.
1) He supports Streetcars: Foxx presided as the mayor over the start of construction of the Charlotte Streetcar Project. While our own streetcar project seems to be further along, projecting testing of cars as early as this fall, at this point, we'll believe it when we see it. But, perhaps a pro-streetcar Secretary of Transportation will provide some incentive to move things along? One can hope.
2) He's been seen on bicycles: He's an avid cyclist who has launched a Bike to Breakfast event in Charlotte. It wouldn't be a total stretch to see him riding a red Capital Bikeshare bike, or perhaps taking his own through our city's bike lanes. As such, he'll probably understand the needs of D.C.'s own growing community of commuters-on-bicycle.
3) He gets that commutes can be terrible: In Charlotte he also supported highway widening projects. Not to put down that metro area's traffic, but maybe he can put some of that same incentive into making Beltway traffic less miserable (if that's possible.)
· Meet Your Next Transportation Secretary, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx [Slate]
· Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx Tapped to Head the Department of Transportation [Atlantic Cities]