All posts from the month of February 2009
A grim milestone: 80 U.S. transit systems facing cutbacks
February 27, 2009By Andrew Bielak
 The Monterey-Salinas Transit System in California is one of the 80 systems chronicled on our map facing job cuts, service cuts, or fare increases. Photo submitted by Danny Avina and the MST. |
Here at Transportation for America, we’ve spent a lot of time documenting examples across the country of transit agencies cutting service, raising fares, or laying off workers to cope with slashed budgets and growing deficits. In nearly every instance we’ve found, there’s a similar pattern — declining state and federal aid, paired with decreasing revenue, pushes a local transit agency to make cuts, even while ridership remains at all time highs as residents look for cleaner or more affordable ways to get to work or go to the store.
Unfortunately, we’ve hit a grim new milestone in our search for transit cuts. Transportation for America has now documented 80 communities across the United States (even stretching up to Alaska) being hit by these service reduction, fare increases, and layoffs. You can look at all the cuts we’ve found on our transit cuts page. (Continue to let us know if we’re missing any.)
At a time when cash-strapped Americans are continuing to drive less, these harsh cutbacks are hitting people who depend on transit service the most incredibly hard. While the American Recovery and Reinvestment will provide some assistance by feeding $8.4 billion into local transit agencies across the country, the language in the bill does not allow agencies to spend a single cent to help them with keeping their systems running, which would prevent some of these harsh cuts. Agencies might get stimulus money to buy new buses or railcars, but they won’t be able to pay the drivers to operate them or the maintenance workers to keep them running.
People in every corner of the United States are being affected by draconian cuts in a service that connects them to their jobs, their schools, and their communities. Ultimately the lesson here is simple — If we want to provide a down payment on a greener future and stronger economy, we need to provide public transportation with the robust investment it deserves.
If you’d like to see that situations like this become a thing of the past, sign your name onto our Platform urging Congress to make sure that our transportation spending charts a course for a bold new direction.
Today’s Headlines — 02/27/09
February 27, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- The San Francisco Chronicle looks at a familiar phenomenon — commuters switching from cars to transit to avoid high gas prices.
- The National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission recommends congestion pricing, a vehicle miles traveled tax, and a temporary gas tax increase. (New York Times)
- Ohio Department of Transportation supports investment in rail in its new budget. (Columbus Dispatch)
- A look at the possibilities for small American cities in a more sustainable future. (Boston Review)
Crafting a vision for the future — and then paying for it
February 26, 2009By Andrew Bielak
As Congress moves towards the reauthorization of our transportation program, we can expect that one of the biggest challenges the federal government will face will be figuring out just how to pay for our vast transportation needs. After all, as Americans continue to drive less, revenues from the gas tax — which hasn’t been raised since 1994 — continue to decline, and both federal and state governments are increasingly unable to find enough money to fund basic maintenance and repair work.
The National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission took a shot across the bow today by releasing its report on the funding needs for our system — advocating, among other things, a 10-cent increase in the gas tax, a long-term transition to a mileage-based system that taxes people based on how much the drive, and an expansion of innovative funding mechanisms like congestion pricing and high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
While the report advocates some respectable principles including long-term sustainability and energy independence, we believe the authors missed a golden opportunity to provide a vision for the 21st century. Before figuring how to collect money from taxpayers, we need to decide what we should be building today and for the future, rather than merely spending money on yesterday’s priorities.
As the results on transit-related ballot measures across the country demonstrated on November 4, Americans are more than willing to pay for a green, modern transportation system, as long as they have a good idea of where their dollars are going. If we hope to find new ways to pay for that system, and are to expect present and future generations to foot the bill, the new administration and Congress needs to come out with a bold vision that breaks with the old ways of the status quo — and should show the American people just what a 21st century transportation network could look like .
Transportation For America officially launches campaign platform
February 26, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Today in Washington, D.C., Transportation for America held an event on Capitol Hill to formally announce our new coalition of more than 225 organizations and 17,000 individual members and to release the platform drafted with input from dozens of practitioners and stakeholders. In opening remarks, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) called the coalition perhaps the “most formidable” such coalition assembled on behalf of transportation reform.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer addressed the guests and VIP’s gathered in the Capitol Caucus Room of the Cannon House Office Building
With events last night and this morning on Capitol Hill, we brought together leaders in the worlds of transportation, public health, business and social justice to launch the platform.
Our campaign platform calls on President Obama and Congress to launch a new federal transportation mission that breaks with the worn out ways of the status quo, helps put an end to America’s oil dependency, brings opportunity to all Americans and allows our country’s businesses to compete and thrive in the 21st Century.
Other panelists, including Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association, Judith Bell of PolicyLink, Richard Baron of McCormack Baron Salazar and Transportation for America campaign director James Corless, spoke on behalf of the public health benefits, implications for real estate development and the need for local areas to have greater latitude to address their mobility issues.
Mayor John Robert Smith of Meridian, Mississippi — a city that has worked hard to turn their rail connections into downtown reinvestment and vice versa — spoke at length about the need for the next phase of our transportation system to unite our country in the same way that Eisenhower envisioned the interstate system would help a collection of States be unified as a truly “United” States of America:
Few national issues offer a greater opportunity for imaginative change. And we need a Congress that will reach across the aisle that separates their parties, and reach across the geography that separate their states. These issues are complex and daunting, but we must act and act now. Our children and children’s children will hold us accountable. To fail would be to leave this nation as Eisenhower said, “As many separate parts.”
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| Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association shows off his copy of the Platform. |
The Platform is now available for you to download and read.
Also today, the National Association of Realtors released a poll done in conjunction with Transportation for America that shows strong support for investment in public transportation, walking and biking and a better-managed and maintained highway system. Read the details about the NAR/T4 poll.
Transportation for America also announced that the coalition will launch a series of town hall meetings and provide materials for self-organized house parties where engaged citizens can talk about what a renewed national vision for transportation investment could mean for their communities. Watch here for more to come on that over the next several days and weeks.
Mayor John Robert Smith of Meridian, Mississippi, left, and Rep. Earl Blumenauer take their respective turns at the mic this morning on Capitol Hill.
Photos licensed with Creative Commons by Steve Davis/Transportation for America
Transportation for America issues call to President Obama and Congress to launch a new federal transportation mission
February 26, 2009By Transportation for America
| CONTACT: Cosabeth Bullock 202-478-6128 cbullock@mrss.com Download this release (.PDF) (.DOC) |
Download our PlatformWASHINGTON — With the federal transportation program set to expire later this year, the Transportation for America coalition brought together leaders in the worlds of transportation, public health, business and social justice to release a groundbreaking national campaign platform. The platform calls on President Obama and Congress to launch a new federal transportation mission that breaks with the worn out ways of the status quo, helps put an end to America’s oil dependency, brings opportunity to all Americans and allows our country’s businesses to compete and thrive in the 21st Century.
As debate opens on the next transportation spending bill, a poll released today by the National Association of Realtors and Transportation for America found that the American people overwhelmingly favor a more diverse and smarter portfolio of investments in public transportation, walking and biking, and strongly prefer to repair and maintain our roads before we build more of them. Nearly a third support expansion and improvement of bus, rail, and other public transportation options as a top national priority, while 16 percent said the same for expanding highways.
The event featured a robust panel discussion on how the Obama-Biden administration and Congress can commit to robust and forward thinking change by replacing the expiring SAFETEA-LU — our current, 1950s-era federal transportation program — with an investment in the clean, smart and efficient transportation infrastructure critical to our future.
“Accessible, affordable transportation is essential to expanding economic opportunity for all people,” said Judith Bell, president of PolicyLink. “Targeted investments that expand public transit and create walkable, bikeable communities offer a triple bottom-line return — creating living-wage jobs, providing a vital link between low-income Americans and job centers, and improving health by reducing congestion and our carbon footprint. The nation must commit to bringing reliable, responsible transportation options to all communities.”
“The transportation system our society builds drives our economic and real estate growth,” said Chris Leinberger, president of Locus, an organization of forward-thinking real estate developers. “The development of the Interstate highway network over the past half century was appropriate for the time. A more balanced approach today, including far more transit, biking and pedestrian systems, along with repairing our existing highway network, is crucial for the real estate industry and the markets we serve.”
“Our transportation policy must solve our nation’s energy and climate threats, not exacerbate them,” said NRDC Federal Transportation Policy Director Deron Lovaas. “Transportation for America’s roadmap will launch a visionary national infrastructure project for the first time in fifty years, creating jobs while also protecting the environment.”
Functional, safe, and efficient transportation is one of the cornerstones upon which this country was built. America’s economic strength and the health of its people depend on our ability to connect people with opportunity and the ability to move products to market quickly, safely, and efficiently.
A change in direction is needed to help the nation meet its growing demand for transportation while addressing challenges of energy security, global warming, shifting demographics, healthcare costs, and global economic competition. As Congress works on the new national transportation program, Transportation for America urges policymakers to commit to:
- Responsible investing that holds recipients of federal funds accountable for progress toward national objectives.
- A new strategy for creating a 21st Century transportation system that enhances economic opportunity for all, creates jobs, and elevates our position in a competitive global economy.
- A program that improves essential connections within and between metropolitan areas while reducing dependence on petroleum and meeting national objectives for curbing climate change.
- A more strategic approach to managing land use and transportation to improve efficiency, access, health, and safety, while reducing per capita vehicular travel.
- A serious and concerted effort to address the impacts that transportation systems have on the health and safety of Americans.
Americans Agree: Smart Growth Approach to Transportation Helps Build Communities
February 26, 2009By Transportation for America
| Download this release (.PDF) (.DOC) Download the full poll results (.PDF) (.DOC) |
WASHINGTON (February 26, 2009) — An overwhelming majority of Americans believe restoring existing roads and bridges and expanding transportation options should take precedence over building new roads, according to a survey sponsored by the National Association of Realtors® and Transportation for America.
The 2009 Growth and Transportation Survey describes what Americans think about how their communities are handling development and how the transportation needs of communities can best be met.
“Realtors® build communities and know how important an organized transportation structure is in supporting neighborhood growth,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “A well planned investment in transportation will help create more livable and vibrant communities.”
To accommodate future U.S. population growth, which is expected to increase by 100 million by 2050, Americans favor improving intercity rail and transit, walking and biking over building new highways. When asked what the federal government’s top priority should be for 2009 transportation funding, half of all respondents recommended maintaining and repairing roads and bridges, while nearly one third said “expanding and improving bus, rail, and other public transportation.” Only 16 percent said “expanding and improving roads, highways, freeways and bridges.”
When asked about approaches to addressing traffic, 47 percent preferred improving public transportation, 25 percent chose building communities that encourage people not to drive, and 20 percent preferred building new roads. fifty-six percent of those surveyed believe the federal government is not devoting enough attention to trains and light rail systems, and three out of four favor improving intercity rail and transit.
The 2009 Growth and Transportation Survey was conducted by Hart Research Associates, January 5-7. Hart Research Associates telephoned 1,005 adults living in the U.S. The study has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
Be sure to download the poll results linked above if you want to read the questions and results.
Today’s Headlines — 02/25/09
February 25, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- Ray LaHood says the U.S. DOT will follow the lead of top White House environmental advisers on climate change. (New York Times)
- NPR takes another look at the potential impact of stimulus funds on high-speed rail in the U.S.
- The Council on Foreign Relations reflects on the state of America’s transportation infrastructure.
- Oil begins to climb back upward. (Wall Street Journal)
Telebriefing: Transportation experts discuss transportation stimulus spending
February 24, 2009By Transportation for America
| Click play to listen to the full telebriefing. You can download the full file here |
In a telebriefing last week moderated by Transportation for America campaign manager James Corless, a panel of transportation experts from range of backgrounds discussed the transportation infrastructure portion of the stimulus bill and what it means for the future of our transportation system.
The group of panelists – which included Meridian, Mississippi Mayor and rail advocate John Robert Smith, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials President Allen Biehler, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) General Manager and CEO Beverly Scott, and Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Rob Puentes – spoke optimistically about the potential for stimulus dollars to jump start the economy with investments in projects across the country and put a down payment on a balanced, 21st-Century transportation system.
A variety of transportation and infrastructure reporters, including Alex MacGillis of the Washington Post and Michael Cooper of the New York Times, were included in the call, and asked the panelists a number of questions about the logistics of spending the stimulus dollars, the impact it will have on reauthorization, and the how the stimulus compares to previous investments in infrastructure.
(Continue Reading)
Today’s Headlines — 02/24/09
February 24, 2009By Andrew Bielak
- After Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs shoots down the idea of a tax on motorists based on miles traveled, Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar fires back. (ABC News)
- Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson says Americans “want the buses and trains of a new America to run on time.”
- Bob Herbert writes about the importance of rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure. (New York Times)
Attend our platform launch this Thursday at the U.S. Capitol
February 23, 2009By Transportation for America
Come and join us!
This Thursday on Capitol Hill, we will be releasing our full campaign platform for the upcoming transportation bill, with some very special guests in attendance. If you are in the DC area, (or can make it here by Thursday!), please join us for an entertaining, informative discussion on the future of transportation in America as we officially launch Transportation For America’s platform.
Be sure to keep tabs here on the campaign blog throughout this week. We’ll have the full platform posted later this week after the launch.
Hope to see you Thursday.
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September 2, 2010 - Livability in small towns #5: Davidson, North Carolina
September 1, 2010 - Livability in small towns #4: Laconia, New Hampshire
August 31, 2010 - Livability in small towns #3: Cache Valley, Utah
August 30, 2010 - Livability in small towns #2: Menominee Indian Reservation, Wisconsin
August 27, 2010
- Livability in small towns #6: Breckinridge, Colorado
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