Last night’s election will have several impacts on national and regional transportation policy:

The Obama Administration

President Barack Obama’s administration could significantly change national policy on transportation, land use, and development. As Streetsblog put it, the White House’s new occupants are a city cyclist and a rail commuter (see right), and it’s likely that the new administration will do a better job of funding Amtrak and promoting smart growth. Less clear is how much enthusiasm Obama’s Department of Transportation will have for current-administration priorities like road privatization/public-private partnerships and congestion pricing.

(Obviously, rumored personnel moves like NJ Gov. Jon Corzine leaving to become Treasury Secretary or NYCDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan moving to USDOT would also have major repercussions.)

Changes in the House of Representatives

Voters in Staten Island elected to an open House seat Democrat Michael McMahon, who made transit a key issue in his campaign and says he will seek membership on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

On Long Island, Democratic incumbent Carolyn McCarthy easily defeated Jack Martins, who had made opposition to the LIRR Third Track a signature issue (some local elected officials had assailed McCarthy for not taking a strong stance against the project, with one calling the race a “referendum on the Third Track“).

In New Jersey’s 7th District (an open seat) the winner was Republican Leonard Lance, who as a state senator took the lead in questioning whether toll revenue could be used to finance the ARC Tunnel.

Democratic Control of Albany?

In New York, Democrats now hold a slim majority in the State Senate, the first time they have controlled that chamber in decades (however, an “independent caucus” of four Democrats has not ruled out throwing its support to the Senate Republicans). A situation where Democrats control the State Assembly, Senate, and governorship could mean agreement on the need to raise revenues to support the MTA — and agreement on the means to do so, whether it be through a “millionaire’s tax,” a commuter tax, or any number of proposals that have so far been supported mainly by the State Assembly.

Also of note: Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith hesitantly supported NYC’s congestion pricing plan last summer, while new Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos was an avowed opponent.