A lot of transportation advocates were left wondering what sort of reforms the administration would propose. Today we got a first look at their general proposal (via Transportation Weekly.)  Update: Elana Schor @ Streetsblog has the details on the National Infrastructure Bank.

As you may remember, Chairman James Oberstar and his House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are at odds over the timing of the authorization bill. Oberstar and company want to pass a full six-year authorization bill by September, while the Administration favors an 18-month transitional bill to patch the soon-to-be insolvent Highway Trust Fund.

At the forefront of the administration proposal is a $20 billion transfer from the general fund to keep the Highway and Mass Transit Accounts in the Highway Trust Fund from going bankrupt, keeping them solvent until March 2011. They propose to return the money to the general fund over 10 years.

In a section titled “Downpayment on Reform,” the administration outlines three proposals, including $310 million to help states and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) voluntarily improve their project evaluation process, helping them choose worthy projects based on data , preparing them “for improved accountability standards and merit criteria in the long-term reauthorization.”

The second proposal would provide $10 million for “USDOT to develop performance goals and establish guidelines for states and localities on project evaluation.” And in language that sounds similar to the stimulus spending, the third proposal aims to improve the transparency and accountability in transportation spending, to “lay the groundwork for further accountability reforms in the long-term reauthorization.”

Lastly is a section on livable communities and improving regional access:

Livability: developing guidelines for community plans and providing funding for approved projects with special emphasis on convenience of transportation options, reductions in travel times, smart growth, preservation of open space, and more integrated responses to land use and transportation needs.

Chairman Oberstar is still opposed to any extension and it’s worth noting that any 18-month proposal would have to pass through his committee in the House. Read the full memo to Congress below.

ADMINISTRATION PROPOSAL FOR STAGE I REAUTHORIZATION

This document outlines the Administration’s proposal for the first stage of surface transportation reauthorization, consisting of an 18-month plan to address the Highway Trust Fund shortfall and implement discrete, leading-edge capacity-building measures that a long-term reauthorization should expand upon. The following are the Administration’s core principles for this proposed 18-month reauthorization, which should be considered “Stage I” of the broader reauthorization process:

• A general fund transfer to the Highway Trust Fund is necessary to maintain its solvency.
• The general fund transfer should be paid for. The Administration will work with Congress to identify revenue-raising measures that will reimburse the general fund for the transfer over ten years.
• Stage I reauthorization should include State and MPO capacity-building measures. These measures are a “downpayment” on longer-term improvements in data-driven decision making, transparency, and accountability.
• As appropriate, the Stage I reauthorization should include measures to improve regional mobility and access and enhance the livability of all communities.

HIGHWAY TRUST FUND SOLVENCY

Analysis by the Department of Transportation shows the Highway Trust Fund running short of cash in late August or early September of this year. To extend the program 18 months at the baseline funding level will require $18 billion for the highway account and $2 billion for the transit account. Legislation to address the HTF shortfall should pass before August recess to avoid disruptions to state cash management and further strain on state budgets.

The Administration believes this transfer should be repaid to the general fund over the next ten years. A revenue measure that repays the general fund contemporaneously (i.e., over the two year period) is not feasible given the economic situation and the pressing needs of the transportation system. Instead, the Administration would support a range of options, including international tax enforcement proposals the President included in his budget.

DOWNPAYMENT ON REFORM

Although an extension of the HTF is urgent, the Administration believes that this opportunity can be used to put in place a limited set of carefully thought-out reforms that can form the basis for further reforms in a full six-year reauthorization.

Investing for Performance

The Administration strongly supports improving investment decisions at the federal, state, and local levels of government. Establishing performance goals and basing project selection on merit criteria will increase returns to transportation investment, which have fallen precipitously in recent decades. The following are concrete reform proposals with 18-month costs:

Improving state and MPO project evaluation capacity (Cost: $300 million).  The Administration proposes funding to help states and localities build capacity for collection and analysis of data on transportation goals. States and MPOs that choose to participate would be given funding to establish project evaluation infrastructure, including information on usage or ridership, accidents and fatalities, average speeds and travel times, and environmental impacts. This voluntary program would provide participating entities the opportunity to integrate analysis into investment decisions and prepare for improved accountability standards and merit criteria in the long-term reauthorization.

Improving project assessment tools (Cost: $10 million).  As states and localities build informational and analytic capacity, the federal government must work to refine assessment tools and develop standards for cross-modal comparisons of projects. The Administration proposes funding for USDOT to develop performance goals and establish guidelines for states and localities on project evaluation.

Increasing transparency in state and local public reporting (Cost: Low).  The Administration also proposes stronger requirements for tracking and reporting on the projected and actual outcomes of transportation investments that use federal dollars. These requirements would include information on project costs, timelines, and selection process as well as expected and actual outcomes of individual projects. Improved reporting requirements would increase the transparency of transportation spending and improve state and local decision-making. These requirements would also lay the groundwork for further accountability reforms in the long-term reauthorization.

Regional Access and Livability Initiatives

The Administration supports efforts to improve regional access and mobility and enhance the livability of communities. Possible reforms in Stage I reauthorization could include:

• Regional Access: developing guidelines for multimodal regional access plans, establishing local transportation governance standards and best practices, and funding approved multimodal access plans.
• Livability: developing guidelines for community plans and providing funding for approved projects with special emphasis on convenience of transportation options, reductions in travel times, smart growth, preservation of open space, and more integrated responses to land use and transportation needs.

There’s no reason why we can’t do this. This is America. There’s no reason why the future of travel should lie somewhere else beyond our borders. Building a new system of high-speed rail in America will be faster, cheaper and easier than building more freeways or adding to an already overburdened aviation system — and everybody stands to benefit.

They also posted some details about the corridors eligible for funding, including this map below, which is very similar to an older Department of Transportation map from several years ago.

According to the information from the White House site, the potential corridors eligible for funding are:

1. California: San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego
2. Pacific Northwest: Eugene, Portland, Tacoma, Seattle, Vancouver, B.C.
3. South Central: Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Little Rock
4. Gulf Coast Corridor: Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Birmingham, Atlanta
5. Chicago Hub Network: Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louisville
6. Florida: Orlando, Tampa, Miami
7. Southeast: Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Macon, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville
8. Keystone: Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh
9. Empire: New York, Albany, Buffalo
10. Northern New England: Boston, Montreal, Portland, Springfield, New Haven, Albany

Transportation for America released a statement this morning from Campaign Director James Corless in support of the President’s initiative:

We applaud President Obama’s leadership, and look forward to working with him to help shape the sustainable transportation solutions that will bring our system into the 21st Century. It is clear that President Obama and his administration are ready to move America in a new direction. Transportation systems have enormous impacts on the lives of the American people – from our pocket books to climate change, from our household expenses to the global economy.

Americans are increasingly rejecting the status quo in favor of more transportation options that will make our communities more walkable, more energy efficient, more equitable and healthier. The President’s commitment to high speed rail is an important piece of what must be a bold new vision for our national transportation program.

You can watch video of the press conference here, via Politico.com

Updated: More details and a statement from T4 posted here

President Obama made headlines this morning by presenting a blueprint for creating a high-speed rail network in the United States.

By articulating this vision, the administration has put to rest any doubts that it is ready to connect our cities and regions with a 21st century network of passenger rail that will make us globally competitive and help us rebuild our economy for the long haul.

The new administration has already made the single biggest investment in high-speed rail by committing $8 billion in the recovery bill passed in February. At his press conference today, President Obama let Americans know that building out a technologically advanced rail network isn’t a pipe-dream — it’s a much-needed strategy for making our economy viable and putting us on the level of other developed countries for train travel:

“A major new high-speed rail line will generate many thousands of construction jobs over several years, as well as permanent jobs for rail employees and increased economic activity in the destinations these trains serve,” Obama said in prepared remarks. “High-speed rail is long-overdue, and this plan lets American travelers know that they are not doomed to a future of long lines at the airports or jammed cars on the highways.”

Aside from simply articulating his administration’s commitment to passenger rail, President Obama announced the release of a new report that shows how we can help protect our climate, strengthen our economy, and regain our competitive edge by building on a set of 100 to 600 mile rail corridors across the U.S.

Geoff Anderson, the president of Smart Growth America and co-chair of Transportation for America, has been working at the front lines for years to help us grow smarter and build better transportation systems, and found much to support in Obama’s statements.

“It’s really exciting that this administration, unlike past administrations, is interested in transportation and will play a role,” Anderson said. “From the American public standpoint that’s an exciting thing, particularly when he has an understanding of how transportation affects us, from our pocket books to climate change, and from households to the global community.”