All posts from the month of April 2010
Today’s Headlines – 4/30/10
April 30, 2010By Transportation for America
A complete draft of climate legislation, clinging to life after a key Senator bolted this week, has yet to be released. (Mother Jones)
Senator George Voinovich, an Ohio Republican, says “we can’t wait” to raise the gas tax. (Dispatch)
Environmental groups want the Senate to step up and get the bill done. (NRDC Blog)
The independent Government Accountability Office called the recovery benefits of the “cash for clunkers” program uncertain. (StreetsblogDC)
And, New Jersey’s sharp fare increases on trains and buses go into effect this weekend. (Star-Ledger)
Center for Public Integrity on the transportation lobby
April 29, 2010By Stephen Lee Davis
The Center for Public Integrity’s Transportation Lobby project visited South Florida to discuss the grassroots impact of lobbying activity in the nation’s capital, featuring a nice mention of Transportation for America. Video is 7 minutes long, but well worth your time. Narrated by CPI’s Matthew Lewis.
Today’s Headlines – 4/29/10
April 29, 2010By Transportation for America
States assessed how their roads stack up in PIRG’s new report. (Star-Ledger, Virginia Pilot, SacBee)
The Obama administration approved a wind farm off Cape Cod, but opponents vowed to keep fighting. (NYT)
Auto dealers are seeking an exemption from financial regulatory reform. (WSJ)
Pennsylvania may revive its push for an I-80 toll. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
And, a few good reasons to love Ray LaHood are noted. (Publicola)
Reports from AASHTO and U.S. PIRG highlight an unsustainable transportation status quo
April 28, 2010By Sean Barry
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Two reports out this week speak, in quite different ways, to the urgent need for a fresh approach to federal transportation policy.
In “Road Work Ahead”, U.S. PIRG sounds the alarm on the escalating deterioration of America’s infrastructure and the need to get serious about repair and restoration. The “Unlocking Gridlock” report from AASHTO, the trade association of state Departments of Transportation, emphasizes the problem of congestion in our increasingly urbanized nation, offering highway expansion as the solution.
The subtext of the PIRG report is that expanding highway capacity – whether by widening or building new roads — is generally a bad idea, because it comes at too high a cost: Deferred maintenance on existing roads and bridges, perpetuation of over-reliance on cars with an associated dependency on oil and other problems.
For AASHTO, congestion comes at too high a cost, and the report marshals a compelling case that people should have a way to avoid those costs. However, the report comes up short in two respects: It does not adequately explain how we built a system that functions so poorly for many commuters, and it offers only one solution — more of the same.
We believe strongly, and our polling shows most Americans agree, that maintaining existing roads and bridges in top condition is our first priority. This doesn’t mean we think highway expansion is over for good. But it cannot continue to be the default solution, simply because it is the only tool that current federal policy supplies to the entities that get most of the money – the state DOTs.
The real crux of the two reports is that we have a national policy that is decades behind the reality of this century: Whether in states with low or high population, Americans are concentrating more and more in urban areas, both large and small. Yet our national policy seems almost to be designed to thwart urban mobility. Roads and bridges in our towns and metro areas take the worst pounding, and are most in need of repair and maintenance, but don’t get the resources they need. Metros plagued by congestion need a full array of tools: fixes to bottleneck-creating highway designs, rail and busways, congestion-management technology and planning and land-use approaches that minimize impact on highways and maximize transit investments.
But as we said before, the DOTs have one tool: bigger highways. You know the old saw: When your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.
The figures are startling and compelling. By AASHTO’s estimates, poor road conditions cost U.S. motorists $67 billion a year in repairs and operating costs, which comes out to an average of $335 per motorist. According to the USDOT, 12 percent of America’s bridges are “structurally deficient,” and in some states that figure is higher than 20 percent. Among federal highways, 45 percent are in poor, mediocre of fair condition.
The traffic gridlock resulting from inadequate transportation options has hindered quality of life and slowed the economy, as AASHTO has pointed out. Drivers with a 30-minute commute lose 22 hours (roughly three full work days) sitting in traffic, and travel on U.S. highways has increased five-fold over the past several decades. Expanding capacity in a smart and targeted way has been and will continue to be a part of the solution.
Our continued challenge will be to draw from every tool we have to make our transportation system smarter, safer and more sustainable. Although PIRG and AASHTO come at transportation issues from a different perspective, both agree that the status quo is unsustainable, and our team at Transportation for America couldn’t agree more. We look forward to working with AASHTO, PIRG and all interested groups toward a reauthorization bill that increases affordable and efficient transportation options, creates benchmarks to ensure accountability for taxpayer dollars and makes our roads safer and less congested. Only with an “all of the above” approach that says yes to safer highways, yes to transportation choices and yes to accountability can we truly say our system has met 21st Century needs.
Today’s Headlines – 4/28/10
April 28, 2010By Transportation for America
About 200 DC Metro employees joined thousands in protesting transit cuts on Capitol Hill yesterday. (WP)
U.S. PIRG’s contention that Congressional earmarking and politics lead to road deterioration is considered. (Infrastructurist)
Dallas may scrap the next 20 years worth of rail expansion plans due to low revenues. (Morning News)
Caltrain, a San Francisco area rail system clinging to life, hopes California’s high-speed rail will give it a boost. (Chronicle)
And, an economist considers the inherent efficiency of cities. (NY Times)
Transit workers rally near Capitol, Rev. Jesse Jackson calls for action to halt cuts and layoffs
April 27, 2010By Sean Barry
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| DSC_0028 Originally uploaded by Transportation for America |
Thousands of transit workers gathered near the Capitol today in protest of the crippling service cuts and layoffs that are devastating transit agencies throughout the country.
The “Keep America Moving” rally, co-sponsored by the Amalgamated Transit Union and Transport Workers Union, aimed to turn up the heat for Congressional action on operating aid. One look at Transportation for America’s transit funding crisis map shows how dire things are, reminding us that the problem is bigger than any single agency, city or state. A national crisis requires a national response, and that is exactly what today’s event was about.
The mix of bus drivers, station agents and other industry workers came primarily from New York, although Washington, Atlanta and Boston were represented as well. Many carried signs with messages like “hands off my station agents,” “think before you cut” and another with “don’t cut the _____ bus route,” with workers filling in the blank. T-shirts distributed to participants bore the message “mass transit is America’s future.”
The rally built upon a recent series of high-profile events with similar objectives. In an unusual and provocative move, buses or trains targeted for deep cuts or elimination in Atlanta’s MARTA system were marked with large X’s last week to show residents the transportation options they’re slated to lose. Both MARTA and the neighboring C-Tran in Clayton County, Georgia — a system that was forced to close entirely — were cited by speakers today.
Congressman Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minneapolis, told the crowd he is committed to fighting for transit assistance this year. He reminded all the workers present that this issue isn’t just about them — the vital workers who keep our buses and trains running — it’s about the millions who depend on those buses and trains to get to work each day. With federal money to keep transit systems running, “we not only help save your jobs, we help you get other people to their jobs,” Rep. Ellison said. “I’m going to be fighting for you and telling your story right here on the House floor today.”
He was followed by Rev. Jesse Jackson, who got the crowd fired up and demanded hope despite the clouds on the horizon.
Calling cuts to bus service in Atlanta and elsewhere “an economic heart attack,” Jackson said “people with dialysis can’t get to the hospital, children can’t get to school, workers lose their jobs.”
Jackson called for broader partnerships to save transit jobs and halt cuts, saying “students must join the coalition, teachers must join the coalition, environmentalists must join the coalition. This is not just about the drivers, it’s about the riders, about health, the environment.”
And in a call-and-response, Jackson told the audience to “keep hope” and “roll on, bus drivers.”
Upon the conclusion of Jackson’s remarks, JP Patafio of the ATU thanked him for “giving us a voice.” It was clear from the reception the Reverend received that he was right.
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| TWU Local 100 Originally uploaded by Transportation for America |
Today’s Headlines – 4/27/10
April 27, 2010By Transportation for America
More than 600 local transit workers and 60 from New York are expected to rally on Capitol Hill this afternoon against deep service cuts. (WP)
Forbes identified ten cities in free fall, many noted for their sprawl. (Forbes)
Los Angeles was recognized for its clean truck program. (NRDC Blog)
LaHood blogs about bike infrastructure, citing T4 America’s poll: “we know people want it.” (DOT Blog)
And, America could benefit from reviving the long-neglected Amtrak. (Bellingham Herald)
Equity caucus stresses need for equal access to transportation options
April 26, 2010By Akshai Singh
Despite featuring organizations from a wide range of backgrounds, this month’s Social and Economic Equity Caucus yielded a great deal of agreement on policy.
The event, sponsored jointly by Transportation for American and Policy Link, brought a mix of labor, faith-based, environmental, civil rights, health and other groups to Washington to address the need for equal access to transportation options throughout the country.
PolicyLink’s Radhika Fox pointed out that recent cuts to transit agencies throughout the country have hit America’s most vulnerable communities hardest. Indeed, it is these communities that rely most upon transit. Transportation for America’s transit funding crisis map takes a closer look at these painful cuts.
The event also highlighted how transportation issues should be looked at through a number of lenses. Transportation is, as PolicyLink founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell put it, “a civil rights issue.” It is often forgotten, Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights pointed out, how central transportation issues have been to the struggle for civil rights, from Plessy vs. Ferguson, to Rosa Parks and the ensuing Montgomery Bus Boycotts.
Walkability and livability are important for all income levels, whether rural, suburban, or urban. Places with these two qualities can help avoid concentrations of poverty that lead to massive health, safety, and environmental disparity. At a time when goods and services are increasingly expensive for many families, and jobs scarce, the cost of accessibility to these necessities should not be prohibitive.
Other speakers articulated the methods in which the Obama Administration has worked to ensure that all Americans have access to services and jobs. Roy Kienitz, undersecretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation, noted that walkable, transit-accessible environments are expensive precisely because they are in high demand, and more need to be built. This fact makes DOT programs that promote livability, such as the TIGER Grant Programs, all the more important.
Central to the overarching message was the need for strong advocates were outside of the federal government, people who can push and prod when things aren’t moving. “In many ways we’re counting on you as much as you’re counting on us,” said Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to the President on Urban Affairs.
Today’s Headlines – 4/26/10
April 26, 2010By Transportation for America
Climate legislation, already endangered, could be beyond saving after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham walked away. (NYT)
Co-sponsor Joe Lieberman, however, thinks the bill is still on track. (AP)
Democrats may be attempting to “win by losing” in the push for immigration reform over climate legislation. (HuffPost)
The DC Metro will rely on borrowing and more fare hikes rather than service cuts to close a $189 million shortfall. (WP)
And, Bike Santa Fe was inspired to push their own plan after USDOT announced its “equal footing” policy for bicyclists. (Independent)
Ohio Congressman recants, decides LaHood’s complete streets policy is not so “radical” after all
April 23, 2010By Sean Barry
In an Associated Press story on April 15, Ohio Congressman Steve LaTourette was quoted decrying the apparently “radical” idea that the safety and comfort of people on foot or bicycle deserve as much consideration as those in cars. He even jokingly asked if the new “equal footing” policy for bicyclists may have the product of drug use at the USDOT. LaTourette created a strawman – equal funding for bicycle infrastructure and roads – to attack a sensible and long overdue change.
To his credit, LaTourette has fully recanted the statement and apologized for any misunderstanding, a result due in part to significant pushback from the bicycling community in his 14th Congressional District and throughout the country. In a message aimed at the cycling community, the Congressman said his comments were intended for levity rather than insult and called biking a legitimate form of transportation that ought to be taken seriously.
I regret the online story caused so much anxiety and that it made some of you question me. Nothing has changed my ardent support of bike trails, bike lanes and the right of cyclists to share the road. This has been a lesson on the power of the Internet, and it sure has given me a new respect for the fierce advocacy from the cycling community.
LaTourette also cited his support for the Safe Routes to Schools program and other active living efforts. LaTourette’s consistent support for funding bike paths in his own district was not lost on Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who noted after the initial hearing: “He knows people in his district like them.”
Transportation, like most issues these days, is highly polarized, but LaTourette’s experience with his own constituents confirms what Transportation for America’s recent poll found: people want their streets to be safe enough for kids to ride their bikes to school. They want seniors to be able to cross the street safely and for bicycling and walking to be legitimate ways of getting around. None of this takes away from cars. If anything, giving a greater voice to bicyclists makes our streets safer and more accessible to everyone.
LaTourette did the right thing by clearing up this controversy and making amends with cyclists in Ohio’s 14th Congressional District and around the country.
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- Saving a transit system and turning the tide for the future of a mid-sized city
May 15, 2012 - U.S. communities step up, hoping a strong federal commitment to infrastructure will follow
May 10, 2012 - Graphic: A closer look at the Senate MAP-21 vote by state
March 27, 2012 - Fixing the House bill: Cutting regulatory burdens and bureaucracy
March 15, 2012 - Fixing the House bill: reducing air pollution by providing more travel options
March 13, 2012
- Saving a transit system and turning the tide for the future of a mid-sized city
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