Obama Administration’s Improved Screen for Transit Projects Will Help The Economy, Environment and Local Communities
January 14, 2010By Transportation for America
Transportation for America and Smart Growth America applaud repeal of rules that hampered communities seeking deserving rail and rapid bus projects
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to Secretary LaHood’s announcement today that funding guidelines for major transit projects will be selected based on livability benefits, including economic development and the environment, James Corless, campaign director of Transportation for America, and Geoff Anderson, president and CEO of Smart Growth America, had the following reactions:
“We applaud the Obama Administration for recognizing that smart transportation projects can have a powerful effect on the livability of communities across America,” Anderson said. “For too long federal rules have taken a blinkered approach to the cost-benefit analysis of transit projects, deliberately ignoring benefits to communities looking to provide more options, shape growth, reduce environmental impacts and spur economic development. This policy change represents a significant shift that will ensure our federal investments contribute to greater economic development, protect the environment and improve the health of the American people.”
“As discussion around the federal transportation authorization bill continues,” Corless said, “there could not be a more important moment for forward-looking, innovative approaches to transforming our existing system. The next step is to ensure our entire transportation program addresses the essential issues of economic development, the environment and public health by focusing on livability and sustainability in the selection of all transportation projects.”
“We need to complete our transportation network by devoting a greater share of funds for public transportation. We also need to give state and local leaders the option of choosing the best solutions for their communities, by equalizing both the rules and required funding matches for transit and highways. It is clear that Americans are looking for a new era of leadership to provide the safer, cleaner, and smarter transportation options that will help them save money pump even as our communities become more energy-efficient, healthy and livable.”
Cross-posted at Smart Growth America.
House Jobs Measure Provides Needed Boost for Infrastructure
December 17, 2009By Transportation for America
Changes Needed In Senate to Get Biggest Bang for the Buck
The transportation spending priorities in the jobs bill, set for a vote in the House of Representatives today, will provide much needed short-term funding for our roads, bridges and transit systems that will put Americans to work across the country. These “stopgap” provisions will save and create jobs, and give states and localities the opportunity to start bringing their crumbling transportation systems back into a state of good repair.
Riders of public transportation systems all over the U.S. will benefit in particular from the provision allowing large transit systems to use 10 percent of the $6.15 billion in formula funding for operations, a critical provision during this crisis in transit funding. This emergency operating assistance will save jobs and prevent debilitating fare increases and services cuts that make it more difficult for working people to get where they need to go.
But to get the biggest bang for the buck in job creation and increase accountability for transportation funding, the Senate can make meaningful changes that will focus investments in a smarter more responsible way towards projects that create the most jobs, fastest and build for the long-term health of our economy.
In adjusting the jobs bill the Senate should:
- Include language to ensure the $27.5 billion allocated to the traditional highway program goes towards projects that restore our transportation networks to a state of good repair. The American Society of Civil Engineers has estimated current road repair needs at $94 billion per year. These “fix-it-first” projects are ready to go faster than other projects and create 16 percent more jobs than new highway construction. Unfortunately, the current draft fails to include language ensuring highway money is prioritized to fix crumbling roads and bridges.
- Include funding for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and the Department of Transportation’s High Speed Rail and TIGER programs to create good green jobs modernizing our transportation system and provide significant long-term benefits for the nation. The merit-based investments in the TIGER program increase accountability of spending and ensure we are funding projects that would create the most jobs and deliver the biggest benefits. The $1.5 billion TIGER grants available in the ARRA attracted $57 billion in applications, leaving more than $55 billion unfunded.
- Include workforce development provisions to target new transportation construction jobs to the people who need them most. This can be done by dedicating one percent of all funding for apprenticeship and construction careers programs in the transportation sector and by targeting 30 percent of all construction work hours to local, lower-income workers.
This jobs bill will provide needed funding for transportation projects to stem the tide of continuing job losses. But short-term measures, based on an outmoded, 1950s-era transportation program, simply are not sufficient to meet the economic challenges of the 21st century.
We applaud the House leadership for addressing the short-term needs for job creation while keeping a focus on taking up the successor legislation to the expired SAFETEA-LU law in earnest in this Congress. We look forward to supporting Congress and the Administration in bring about a bold new vision for our transportation program that supports long-term economic growth and creates a safer, cleaner, smarter system for everyone.
Transportation for America Praises Boost in High-Speed Rail Funding
December 9, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
John Robert Smith, co-chair of the Transportation for America campaign and former Amtrak Board Chairman, released the following statement in response to Congress’ allocation of $2.5 billion for high-speed rail:
“We are pleased that the Consolidated Appropriations Committee bill for fiscal year 2010 includes $2.5 billion for high-speed rail. This is an important step forward and will build off the $8 billion previously allocated to high-speed rail in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. High-speed rail is a key priority of the Transportation for America campaign and our vision of expanded transit choices, intercity connectedness and less reliance on foreign oil.”
“This $2.5 billion would not be possible without the efforts of Congressman John Olver, a friend of public transportation throughout his 18 years in Congress. We applaud Congressman Olver’s efforts and look forward to our continued partnership.”
Transportation for America Applauds President Obama and Department of Transportation’s High-Speed Rail Initiative
April 16, 2009By Transportation for America
| CONTACT: Cosabeth Bullock 202.478.6128 202.904.7466 Cbullock@mrss.com |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2009
Washington, D.C. — James Corless, Director of the Transportation for America campaign, today issued a statement in support of President Barack Obama’s high speed rail initiative:
“Today, President Obama, along with Vice President Biden and Department of Transportation Secretary LaHood, unveiled a plan to connect America’s cities and communities through a network of high-speed and revived conventional rail corridors. While this is only one step in the work needed to modernize the nation’s transportation network, this down payment will expand transportation options for all Americans, spur commerce and economic development and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”
“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.”
“We look forward to working with President Obama’s administration and Congress to move beyond the current, 1950s-era federal transportation program and build a safe, clean and smart transportation system for the 21st Century.”
###
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.
Though a Worthy Down Payment, Stimulus Raises Urgent Need for New Transportation Vision
February 13, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
| Download this Release (.pdf) Download this Release (.doc) |
||
| Contact: David Goldberg 202-412-7930 david.goldberg@t4america.org Ben Grossman-Cohen 202-478-6185 bgrossman-cohen@mrss.com |
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The transportation spending priorities in the stimulus bill conference report passed by the House of Representatives today are a significant departure from the status quo and ought to represent the leading edge of a major new thrust in our national infrastructure policy. The Senate is expected to pass the conference report as soon as tonight.
Given the need for haste in crafting the bill, congressional and Administration negotiators were handcuffed by backward-looking, existing programs even as they tried to shape investments for a future of reduced oil dependency, greater opportunity for Americans to join the middle class and cleaner transportation choices. Despite some shortcomings resulting from current transportation law, Congress has adopted a bill that if properly enacted by state and local authorities, could be a down payment on a new direction for America’s infrastructure:
- $27.5 billion allocated to the Surface Transportation Program (STP) that should go a long way to restoring our transportation networks to a state of good repair. Unfortunately, Congress neglected to include language ensuring this money is prioritized to fix crumbling roads and bridges, so now the onus is on state and local governments to ensure these funds are not spent improperly.
- Unprecedented flexibility for spending STP funds — traditionally spent mostly on highways — on ports, transit, passenger and freight rail or other projects as national, state or regional needs may require.
- A significant share of transportation dollars directed to local decision makers and metropolitan regions rather than state departments of transportation.
- $8.4 billion for public transportation, recognizing the strong and growing demand for transit service. However, none of these funds can be used to prevent cuts in service and jobs at transit agencies suffering from massive budget shortfalls. It is up to Congress to ensure this gap is filled in upcoming appropriations negotiations.
- $9.3 billion for intercity and high-speed passenger rail, an encouraging indication that Congress realizes how important it is to expand alternatives to our overburdened highway and aviation networks.
- The inclusion of up to $825 million for projects that will make our streets safer for walking and biking, providing help for commuters who have increasingly turned to these alternatives to save money and increase their physical activity.
When President Obama signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it will provide a down payment on the transportation investment needed to get our economy moving. But the urgency of recreating our national transportation program to address the challenges of the future is more starkly clear than ever.
Now Congress and the Obama-Biden administration must begin consideration of the successor legislation to the expiring SAFETEA-LU law — our current, 1950s-era federal transportation program. This critically important legislation must provide a new 21st Century vision for investment in our transportation system that is safer, healthier, cleaner, more equitable and smarter so that our nation can compete and thrive in the future economy.
House Appropriations Recovery Bill Could Shortchange Crumbling Infrastructure, Undermine Existing Public Transit and Rail Initiatives
January 16, 2009By Transportation for America
Updated analysis as of 1-16-09 3:30 p.m.
WASHINGTON — The American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment proposal coming out of the House Appropriations Committee today fails to move America forward in reducing our oil dependency, creating opportunity for all Americans, and making us competitive for the 21st Century economy.
| Contact: David Goldberg 202-412-7930 david.goldberg@T4America.org |
||
| Download this Release (.pdf) |
The House Appropriations has two key shortcomings, especially in comparison to the superior proposal put forward last week by Congressman Oberstar, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee:
First, the proposal only pays lip service to ensuring that the recovery bill puts Americans back to work by maintaining and repairing our crumbling roads and bridges. Without explicit language prioritizing a fix-it-first approach to infrastructure investment written into the legislation, federal funds could be wasted adding new highways to a system the House bill describes as “crumbling”. This would have the effect of digging ourselves a deeper hole of oil dependence, even as we invest stimulus money elsewhere in the hope of finding a way out.
Second, the House Appropriations proposal does nothing to provide immediate help for America’s transit systems, which employ thousands of hard working Americans and transport millions more to their jobs every day. Even as ridership has surged over the last year, transit providers have been hit by falling local revenues and volatile fuel prices. Without federal funds to keep our existing public transportation operating, transit agencies in towns and cities across the country will be forced to institute massive layoffs, service cuts and fare increases for the American workers who are already struggling the most to make ends meet. If the federal government can provide billions of dollars in operating assistance to our banks and financial institutions on Wall Street, then it should be able to provide operating assistance to a transit system used by Main Street Americans.
President-elect Obama’s nominee for transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, can see this firsthand: The transit system in his home town of Peoria, IL just this week announced possible deep service cuts and higher fares in the face of a potential $3 million budget shortfall. These jobs and services can be saved with an investment that is modest in the scheme of the recovery package. The significantly superior stimulus proposal by Rep. James Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would solve these issues with a $2 billion assistance fund.
In fact, Transportation for America finds the Oberstar bill to be far more likely to provide a meaningful stimulus while guiding investment to areas of greatest need and productivity. As Oberstar designed it, the measure would ensure the job creation we need immediately without slowing the process down with a lot of red tape.
Below is an analysis showing the differences between the House Appropriations proposal and Congressman Oberstar’s forward-thinking approach:
*Updated analysis as of 1.16.09 3:30 p.m.
| House Transportation Recovery Proposal | Oberstar Transportation Recovery Proposal | |
| Highway and Bridge Projects | $30 billion | $30.25 billion |
| Transit Projects and Service | $9 billion | $12 billion |
| Capital Investment Grants (New Ready-to-go Transit Construction through the New Starts Program) | $1 billion | $2.5 billion |
| Assistance for Transit Upgrades, Repair, & Purchase of New Equipment | $8 billion | $7.5 billion |
| Energy Assistance to Prevent Transit Layoffs & Fare Increases | – | $2 billion |
| Amtrak and Intercity Rail | $1.1 billion | $5 billion |
| Total Roads and Bridges Funding | $30 billion | $30.25 billion |
| Percentage Roads and Bridges | 75% | 64% |
| Total Transit & Rail Funding | $10.1 billion | $17 billion |
| Percentage Transit & Rail | 25% | 36% |
| Timeline for Projects | Priority will be given to projects that can award bids in 120 days. | Priority will be given to projects that can award bids in 90 days. |
| Accountability Measures | All bids & projects must be posted on a special website, including a description, purpose, and justification for each project. A Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board will be created to review management of recovery dollars. The seven member board includes Inspectors General and Deputy Cabinet secretaries. | Recipients must submit a plan of projects within 90 days, then provide regular updates on the status of bids, contracts, and construction, and the number of jobs created by projects. (Reports at 30 days, 60 days, 120 days, 180 days, one year, and three years) |
| Distribution of Funding | Priority should be given to projects that are located in areas that have lower per capita income and higher unemployment rates than the national average, as well projects included in an approved Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and/or Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), are projected for completion within a three-year time frame. | Requires recipients of funds to ensure that the money is distributed equitably throughout the state and metropolitan areas. |
| Funding for Metro Governments (in addition to States) | $7.39 billion of the highway & bridge funds sub-allocated to Metropolitan Planning Organizations. | Requires highway & bridge funding to be sub-allocated to Metropolitan Planning Organizations. |
Release: Stimulus funding needs accountability and transparency
January 8, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
Washington — Shelley Poticha, Co-Chair for the Transportation for America campaign, today issued a statement in advance of President-elect Obama’s speech on the state of the economy:
| Download this Release (.pdf) |
“This morning, President-elect Obama intends to present his vision for a renewed economy, both with a short-term stimulus package and a long-term plan for recovery. According to his prepared remarks, Obama will call for investment in ‘a new infrastructure that [is] necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st Century.’ He will also reiterate that the success of the recovery package will be determined by whether it creates jobs and grows our economy.
The President-elect is right to seek an economic recovery package that includes infrastructure spending to create jobs, boost our economy and make America competitive over the long term. When it comes to transportation, however, infrastructure spending could do more harm than good if it goes primarily toward building bigger roads rather than the clean transportation network we need for a truly ‘green’ recovery.
Yesterday, Congressman David Obey (D-WI), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, stated on National Public Radio that stimulus funding directed towards transportation infrastructure will be allocated directly to states to determine how best to use the American tax dollars. While T4America agrees with the sentiment of letting states and localities decide what projects best suit their needs, a review of 19 proposed ‘ready to go’ project lists developed by state Departments of Transportation (DOT’s) indicates the need for Congress to set clear standards for how the spending of these federal dollars should be prioritized.
According to the 19 lists, most state DOTs favor big, new highway projects at the expense of repair and maintenance needs, and investing in energy-saving options, such as public transportation and safe walking and biking. For example, the proposed $1.9 billion expansion of I-94 in Chairman Obey’s home state makes up nearly one quarter of the Wisconsin DOT’s ‘wish-list.’ It makes little sense to allow a handful of such large highway expansions, which can take years to complete, to gobble up near-term ‘stimulus’ money while existing highways and bridges are allowed to crumble.
The key goals of the stimulus package’s transportation infrastructure investment should be to preserve America’s existing highway and transit networks, while giving our growing nation more options for getting around, in turn allowing Americans to use less gasoline. If we spend this money the right way, we should get a three-for-one-return on our investment: A revitalized economy positioned for long-term health; less dependence on oil; and a reduction in climate-damaging emissions.
We can get there by investing $100 billion to repair and preserve highways, bridges and existing public transportation service; build modern rail and rapid bus lines and upgrade all forms of service in cities large and small; develop high-speed and other forms of inter-city rail; and make streets safe for walking and biking.
Such investment has the potential to create more jobs than simply building and expanding more highways. A recent report by Reconnecting America identified 78 communities around the country with more than $240 billion worth of planned investment in light rail, commuter rail, subway and rapid bus projects. If all were to be funded, this could support as many as 6.7 million jobs.
We agree that time is of the essence and job creation should be a top priority. But if the incoming Obama-Biden administration wants the recovery package to truly effect change, it should be seen as a down-payment on a new, 21st Century federal transportation mission.”
Contact:
Cosa Bullock, 202-478-6128
cbullock@mrss.com
Transportation For America Announces New Campaign Director
January 7, 2009By Transportation for America
Transportation for America brings aboard James Corless, Senior Planner for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in San Francisco
| Download this Release (.pdf) |
Washington, D.C. — Transportation for America, a broad coalition of housing, environmental, public health, urban planning and transportation organizations focused on creating a 21st Century national transportation program, has selected James Corless as the new campaign director.
James Corless, a senior planner for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) in San Francisco, and the former California director and national campaign director for the Surface Transportation Policy Project, brings over 15 years of transportation and campaign experience to Transportation for America.
His work with MTC includes promoting efforts to reduce transportation demand through smart growth strategies, working with local governments to finance and promote transit-oriented development, and overseeing the agency’s environmental justice and livable communities efforts that have included the expenditure of millions of transportation dollars in neighborhoods and low-income communities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. While at STPP, Corless wrote California’s groundbreaking Safe Routes to School law and the first bill authorizing regional growth “blueprints” by transportation planning agencies throughout the state.
“This is an exciting and challenging time, as the future of transportation in America evolves daily,” says Geoff Anderson, co-founder of the Transportation for America Campaign. “We are looking forward to furthering our nationwide mission under the direction of James’ leadership, and are confident that he will help shape a new direction for federal transportation policy.”
The Transportation for America coalition is working to help reform the nation’s transportation policies and investments to preserve the existing network while promoting the transition to a clean, efficient, energy-independent future. Currently the campaign is focused on the economic recovery package and securing investments that fix crumbling bridges and highways as well as increase support for the cleanest forms of transportation — public transit, high speed rail, walking and biking.
Contact:
Cosa Bullock, 202-478-6128
cbullock@mrss.com
Obama and Congressional Leaders Must Set Standards for Transportation Spending in Stimulus
January 5, 2009By Transportation for America
Washington — The Transportation for America coalition today responded to President-Elect Barack Obama’s meetings with Congressional leaders on the economic recovery package with a statement from co-chair Geoff Anderson:
| Download this Release (.pdf) |
“As President-elect Obama begins his personal campaign to pass the critically needed recovery package, we urge the administration and Congress to align their goals for transportation investment with their aims for a clean-energy economy and accountable spending.
The President-elect has vowed to make “strategic investments that will serve as a down payment on our long-term economic future.” Speaker Pelosi expressed similar sentiments at a Transportation for America event this fall when she said, “Rebuilding America is an economic issue.”
We call on President-elect Obama to make a clear declaration that transportation funds should be used, first and foremost, to clear the serious backlog in maintenance and repair, well before adding new highways that will merely add to the maintenance burden. Second, stimulus funds should be used to preserve and expand the system of public transportation and safe walking and biking that will provide Americans options as we build the post-oil dependent economy.
Specifically, Transportation for America is calling for a $100 billion investment to:
- Repair and preserve highways, bridges and existing public transportation service, and the green jobs associated with it;
- Build modern rail and rapid bus lines and upgrade all forms of service in cities large and small;
- Develop high-speed and other forms of inter-city rail; and
- Make streets safe for walking and biking.
The transformation of our national transportation system is critical to meeting the President-elect’s goals for a financially strong and clean-energy future. This is why Transportation for America — a coalition of housing, real estate, environmental, equitable development, public health, urban planning and transportation organizations committed to moving America into the 21st Century by building a modernized infrastructure — stands ready to support a stimulus initiative targeted at these goals.
Contact:
Cosa Bullock, 202-478-6128
cbullock@mrss.com
-
- Transit grants out the federal door, but what about the cuts?
March 8, 2010 - Transit riders in Atlanta face massive cuts, “wholesale restructuring” of service
March 5, 2010 - Opposition to Senate extension results in looming shutdown of federal transportation programs
February 26, 2010 - T4 jobs proposal would create nearly half a million jobs, according to Economic Policy Institute
February 17, 2010 - Obama’s 2011 budget gives a lift to livability and transportation
February 2, 2010
- Transit grants out the federal door, but what about the cuts?
The United States of Transit Cutbacks
Driving is down and transit ridership is at record highs. Yet transit agencies across the country are considering layoffs, service cuts and fare hikes. Find out more and learn what you can do to help at t4america.org/transitcuts
Transportation: In your eyes
Send us your transportation-related photos.
