stimulus Archives - Transportation For America

The infrastructure stimulus will do more harm than good if policy doesn’t change

The Biden administration is preparing to release an infrastructure stimulus package, potentially as soon as next week. We’re having flashbacks to the Recovery Act of 2009, a package that missed a lot of opportunities. Here’s why the way funding is allocated matters as much — if not more — than how much funding is proposed.

Is this the transportation system we want to double down on? Fortunately, those involved in this crash on Houston’s I-45 suffered no life-threatening injuries. Photo by Adventures of KM&G-Morris on Flickr’s Creative Commons.

The vaunted “infrastructure stimulus” might be upon us, with rumored price tags (big price tags) for prospective infrastructure investments leaking out of the White House.

We’ve been here before: the 2009 Recovery Act put a lot of money into existing federal transportation programs—rather than targeting the funding for a specific purpose —in order to move money quickly. But these programs weren’t designed to solve the issue at hand: short-term job creation. So they failed to create the most new jobs as they could have.

This time around, Americans want an infrastructure package that addresses economic recovery through job creation; rebuilds crumbling roads, bridges, and transit systems; and reduces climate emissions and racial inequities. But our existing federal transportation programs aren’t built to achieve these outcomes—no matter how much more money is pumped into them. In fact, they often produce the opposite result: building new infrastructure we can’t afford to maintain, driving up emissions and creating barriers to people of color trying to get to work and essential services.

So as the White House unveils its approach to infrastructure, listen less to the price tags or the messaging and look more at specifically how they allocate the funding. For example:

If they say they’re “repairing crumbling roads and bridges” but just fund the existing transportation program that has failed to do so for decades then they’re not repairing crumbling roads and bridges.

If they say they’re investing in climate by electrifying vehicles but double down on a vehicle-only transportation system then they’re investing in climate half-heartedly — undermining the efficiencies they are getting from cars with inefficiencies and burdens from the transportation system.

If they say they’re helping communities of color but give states money to displace those communities in order to widen a road (like I-45 in Houston) or allow the construction of deadly roads that disproportionately kill Black and brown people then they’re not helping communities of color.

When it comes to infrastructure, the words often do not match the funding. We should not be fooled by that. We need to look at what they are doing with the money and hold them accountable for what they are promising.

Congress to pass billions in much-needed relief for public transit and Amtrak

Today, Congress will take a big step towards recovering the United States’ essential public transit and passenger rail network from the pandemic with a $1.9 trillion stimulus package. The bill—soon to be voted on in the House and signed into law by President Biden—includes $30.5 billion in emergency relief for public transit and $1.7 billion for Amtrak.

Riders waiting to board a MARC train at Baltimore’s Penn Station. Photo by Elvert Barnes on Flickr’s Creative Commons.

We’ve been researching, organizing, blogging, tweeting, meeting, rallying, advising, and even meme-ing about it for a year now: COVID-19 has thrown public transportation and passenger rail into crisis.

With revenue from fares and taxes declining, the operating budgets of these essential public goods have been running on fumes. The threat of permanent service cuts grows ever more serious by the day—despite the fact that public transit has been essential to our pandemic response. Limited funding even forced some transit agencies to consider service cuts as soon as this spring, mere months after the last infusion of emergency relief was passed in December.

Today, the House of Representatives will pass much-needed emergency funding that greatly reduces the threat of service cuts. The bill, known as the American Rescue Plan Act, includes $30.5 billion for public transit and $1.7 billion for Amtrak.

“Public transportation and passenger rail are essential to every aspect of American life. We’re thrilled that Congress understands this and is legislating accordingly,” said Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America. “The American Rescue Plan means that cities and towns will not reopen without transit and rail operating, and ensures that essential workers and riders counting on transit to reach jobs, healthcare, groceries, and other services throughout the pandemic will have these vital connections.”

The emergency funding for public transit includes much-needed operating funds and emergency funding for Capital Investment Grants (CIG), the main transit construction program. Senators increased the amount of funding House legislators provided for CIG by $250 million.

We consider the $30.5 billion for transit as a significant down payment towards the $39.3 billion in emergency assistance required to truly secure public transit from this crisis. The American Public Transportation Association found in an independent economic analysis that $39.3 billion is the amount needed to avoid service cuts and layoffs through summer 2023. The $30 billion provided in the American Rescue Plan will prevent cuts through 2022. We urge Congress to pass an additional $9.3 billion for transit in subsequent legislation.

But public transportation needs more than emergency funding to charge an equitable and sustainable economic recovery from COVID-19. Investment in public transit has long been undermined by a federal transportation program that overwhelmingly funds new and wider highways, limiting the impact of transit investments and the amount of funding transit even receives.

With the light finally at the end of our pandemic tunnel, and with long-term federal transportation policy expiring this year, it’s time for Congress to make public transit and passenger rail a cornerstone of our transportation program: not an afterthought that only receives 20 percent of federal funds.

Thriving Together: A springboard for equitable recovery & resilience in communities across America

In our work to inform the policy response to COVID-19 and how the pandemic is compounding housing, climate, and other crises, we’ve emphasized the need for policy makers to take a unified approach to these issues rather than treating each one separately. The problems are interconnected, and our solutions must be as well.

But a new collaborative effort from more than 100 people and organizations, including Transportation for America, takes that work even further. Thriving Together: A springboard for Equitable Recovery & Resilience in Communities Across America goes beyond the issues of transportation, land use, and our built environment to tackle the whole person and our whole society, creating a jumping off place—a springboard—that “shows how we can convert our immense loss from COVID-19 and other crises into renewal.”

The Deep Dive on Reliable Transportation (page 232) is a comprehensive look at how we ended up with inequities present in transportation today and what we can do in both the short and longer term to create a more equitable transportation system.

Download the report Read the two pager Learn more about the project

Thriving People and Places

“Shovel-ready” projects just dig a deeper hole

Investing in “shovel-ready” projects—projects that are allegedly ready to go but just lacking funding—is an attractive idea for stimulating job growth. But as we learned in the 2009 stimulus, “shovel-ready” projects often aren’t all that shovel-ready, are frequently old road projects designed for the needs of the last century, fail to create jobs, and won’t help us build a safer, cleaner, and more equitable transportation system.

“Shovel-ready” was a good candidate for phrase of the year back in 2009, as the federal government put together a massive stimulus package to jumpstart the economy during the Great Recession. Elected leaders from both parties were enamored with the idea of pumping billions of dollars into so-called shovel-ready projects, putting millions of Americans back to work in the process. On paper it seemed like a great idea—except it didn’t really work. As Congress faces a new economic crisis from COVID-19, talk of “shovel-ready” infrastructure investment is starting to creep into the discourse again.

It would be wise to just stop it.

First, “there’s no such thing as shovel-ready projects,” as President Obama reflected in late 2010, after championing “shovel-ready” infrastructure spending early in his first term. The Federal Highway Administration doesn’t even use the term. When all was said and done after the Recovery Act, it was pretty clear that most “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects took months or years to get off the ground, versus the days that the Obama administration was hoping for at the time.

Second, even if we could throw billions at highway projects—the thing the federal transportation program was (and still is) designed to pour money into most rapidly—those projects won’t create the most jobs or deliver the greatest return on investment. In fact, of all the ways you could invest in infrastructure, new road construction is the least effective category for creating new jobs. If the goal of a stimulus is to create jobs, then investing in “shovel-ready” projects won’t do it.

Take for example the Alabama Northern Beltline project—a 52-mile proposed highway that would circumvent Birmingham at an estimated cost of $5.3 billion—that’s been on the books for decades. Slated for completion in 2054, nearly three decades away, it’s a good poster child for what “shovel-ready” often looks like with one, unfinished 1.3-mile section of it built and $155 million spent before Alabama ran out of state and federal money and the work stopped. This ill-conceived dinosaur of a project might employ some people, and it’s certainly a hole for us to sink money into, but it will also lead to more pollution, more driving, and only further entrench systemic inequities in our transportation system that COVID-19 has laid bare for all to see. But if our goal is to build back better—to meet pressing needs, employ more people, and create a more resilient society—this project, and “shovel-ready” projects like it, are not the answer.

Just because a project is supposedly “shovel-ready” doesn’t mean that it will meet today’s needs or make any long-term sense.

Ready for a different kind of infrastructure investment

Last month we released a short report—Learning From the 2009 Recovery Act—that provided six lessons learned from the last stimulus and six recommendations for the next. When it comes to creating jobs, we found that investments in public transportation “produced 70 percent more job hours” than equal investments in road projects. And while the 2009 stimulus prohibited populous (>200,000) areas from spending any money on transit operations, that’s an urgent need right now in rural and urban areas alike and would produce the most jobs of any infrastructure spending. Funding transit operations is essentially 100 percent jobs, allowing transit agencies to avoid layoffs, hire more workers for ramped-up cleaning, and run more buses and trains to prevent crowding. If Congress wants to produce more jobs, let’s invest in operations for existing transit. “Operations-ready” if you will, no shovel required.

Beyond transit operations, we found “transit preventive maintenance had by far the highest direct job-per-dollar result, followed by rail car purchase and rehabilitation, transit infrastructure, and bus purchase and rehabilitation.” Similarly, there is a huge unmet need here, with an estimated $98 billion backlog in deferred transit maintenance and replacement according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. “Repair-ready” transit projects would create much needed jobs and address urgent needs that “shovel-ready” funding likely would not.

Repairing our roads, bridges and other infrastructure can also create jobs, but only if Congress actually stipulates that funds are spent on repair. “Crumbling infrastructure” is the rhetoric that’s always used to plead for more infrastructure money but then repair is mostly neglected once the money arrives in state DOT coffers. Time and again, including in the 2009 stimulus, when Congress has given states the flexibility to spend funds on repairing roads and bridges or building new roads, the vast majority choose to build new roads instead.

Every roadway repair project is also an opportunity to identify safety issues, particularly for the most vulnerable users, and make improvements. Most roadways today are designed for speed, not safety, resulting in the carnage that we see on our roads every year. But many localities are interested in redesigning roads to make them safer. And in the era of COVID-19, many localities are also redistributing public road space, opening it up for people that need more space to move while physically distancing. These redesigns can often be achieved with nothing more than plastic posts, potted plants, and paint, and usually lean on the existing transportation, bike/ped, or other mobility plans that localities have adopted. Supporting these “paint-ready” efforts can help us create more livable communities while improving our existing infrastructure.

Rainbow Crosswalk at Christopher Street and 7th Avenue in celebration of NYC pride month Manhattan

Focusing on some mythical “shovel-ready” projects for any future stimulus is an unwise use of public funds, and Congress must ensure that funds actually accomplish their goals, such as creating the most new jobs, actually addressing the repair backlog, improving safety and access, and building infrastructure that will support a long-term recovery.

We need a new way of thinking

It is time for change, but that will only happen if Congress learns from the past and uses the possibility of any stimulus (and the certainty of upcoming transportation legislation) to support different kinds of projects.

We want safer projects—streets that will save lives with slower speeds that are safer for people walking, biking, and rolling. We need cleaner projects—the transportation sector is the largest source of carbon pollution and a major source of other air pollutants that harm public health. We need more equitable projects—Black Americans are dying at disproportionate rates from COVID-19, due (in part) to decades of higher exposure to transportation-related pollution.

We should not use the need for a quick economic stimulus as an excuse to speed up poorly-conceived projects designed in the last century—projects that will fail to serve our needs today and tomorrow.

Building a better stimulus package: here’s how

With the $2 trillion rescue plan approved, Congress is already eyeing another COVID-19 relief and recovery package later this month. Based in part on what we learned from the 2009 stimulus, Transportation for America contributed infrastructure proposals to Smart Growth America’s detailed recommendations for economic stabilization and recovery. We must ensure that any further stimulus empowers communities to be economically prosperous, socially equitable, and environmentally sustainable.

After passing the largest stimulus in United States history last week—$2 trillion, with $25 billion in aid for transit agencies and $1 billion for passenger rail—members of Congress know that more is needed to protect the country from the immediate and long-term impacts of COVID-19, and plan to work on another stimulus later this month.

With the economy crumbling and millions of Americans’ lives at risk, the U.S. can’t afford to waste this opportunity for relief. We can’t squander our money on programs that fail to create the most new jobs or build lasting economic prosperity. It’s critical that this funding go to investments that give all Americans the opportunity to live in places that are healthy, prosperous, and resilient.

As part of Smart Growth America, we contributed to a new short SGA report outlining 20 recommendations for any economic recovery package that will boost our economy and give Americans equitable, accessible, safe and low carbon transportation options into the future. Here’s a summary of the transportation-related recommendations —read the full list here.

Invest in projects that create the most jobs: that means maintenance, not expansion

Road or bridge repair and maintenance projects actually create more jobs than building new capacity. One reason is that with a new roadway project, a huge share of the cost goes toward buying property—an activity that has little to no stimulative or reinvestment value while also creating future liabilities (new roads) in the process. Meanwhile, maintenance projects spend money faster, are open to more kinds of workers, spend less money on equipment and more on wages, and spend less time on plans and permits. In fact, roadway maintenance creates 16 percent more jobs per dollar compared to roadway expansion.

And luckily, the U.S. is swimming with potential roadway maintenance projects, as found in our report Repair Priorities. It would be a win-win to require states to actually make progress on our repair backlog—something too few states did with 2009’s stimulus. Doing so would create the most jobs while finally addressing our “crumbling” infrastructure—instead of just using that rhetoric to approve new money that then gets spent on new roads.

Give transit and passenger rail operating support, not just capital funds

The limited federal funds that public transportation receives are only for maintenance and construction. With ridership plummeting and costs for cleaning vehicles and protecting personnel skyrocketing—as well as the fallout from a rapidly contracting economy—transit and passenger rail need operating support now more than ever.

The $25 billion for transit and $1 billion for passenger rail Congress provided in last week’s stimulus is a great start. But with TransitCenter estimating COVID-19-related losses to transit agencies between $26 and $38 billion, and Amtrak experiencing unprecedented drops in ridership, both public transportation and passenger rail will still need more. Congress should increase the amount of emergency operating funding in the next stimulus, and target transit agencies that need it the most.

Expand transit and passenger rail

An economic stimulus is a rare and powerful opportunity to invest in the infrastructure that has the most potential to reduce our carbon emissions, increase access to opportunities, and make our country more equitable. But the focus of any stimulus package should be creating the most jobs per dollar, and capital funding for transit and rail creates far more jobs than road projects, according to research on the 2009 stimulus.

Public dollars devoted to making capital improvements to public transportation systems also support thousands of manufacturing jobs, in communities small and large, in nearly every state across the country. Every $1 billion invested in public transit creates more than 50,000 jobs and economic returns of $3.7 billion over 20 years. The supply chain for public transportation touches every corner of the country and employs thousands of Americans who produce tracks, seats, windows, communications equipment, wheels, and everything else in between.

T4America has other specific recommendations for how to increase funding for expanding transit and passenger rail—including increasing the federal share of projects to 80 percent (the same as roadways). You can check those out here.

Final thoughts

Infrastructure will be an obvious topic for any stimulus, but we need a more comprehensive solution. Smart Growth America’s proposals for housing and community development are focused on the highest-returning investments that can also give more Americans a shot at opportunity. Check out the full list here, and stay tuned for ways that you can help us get these recommendations to Capitol Hill. To get updates, subscribe to T4America’s email list and follow us on Twitter.

Transit is a public good—let’s treat it that way

Across the country, transit agencies are urging people to stay home to protect public health. The steep decline in ridership over the past week due to the COVID-19 outbreak has caused transit to enter an unprecedented fiscal crisis. But Congress refuses to recognize how urgently transit needs support.

Send a message to your representatives in Congress: we must save transit before it’s too late.

Take action

Public transit is just that—public. It’s a public service and a public good that millions of Americans rely on to access jobs, healthcare, pharmacies, and groceries. And right now, transit agencies across the country are taking a huge hit from dramatic decline in ridership due to COVID-19.

The amount of money transit agencies large and small are losing is staggering. Ridership on Washington, DC’s Metro dropped 85 percent, and the agency projects an unprecedented loss of $52 million a month. Chicago’s transit system saw rail ridership down 75 percent and bus use down 59 percent. BART in San Francisco says a sustained ridership loss of 85 percent and a 50 percent reduction of economic activity could reduce BART’s monthly revenues by $55 million. And New York City’s MTA is requesting $4 billion to stay afloat.

The stories of small transit agencies suspending service are also beginning to emerge. Greater Glens Falls Transit in Upstate New York plans to suspend all service in a few days. Green Bay Metro Transit in Wisconsin stopped regular public transportation service on March 16. Macatawa Area Express, which serves Holland, MI, suspended all bus routes March 18. And this is just the beginning.

Even as their ridership plummets and their ability to survive is in question, transit agencies and public officials are urging people not to take transit. It’s the right thing to do to slow the spread of the pandemic. But while public transit takes a hit for the common good, airlines are trying to entice customers with cheap airfares.

Transit is a public service and deserves support from Congress right now, not in some later stimulus package. By then—whenever “then” is—it could be too late. Senate Republicans unveiled their latest economic relief package on March 19, and not a single dollar is dedicated to supporting transit.

For transit, short-term financial losses now could easily damage the level of service transit agencies are able to provide in the long-term. It’s not as simple as turning on a spigot and starting up transit service again. It could take years for transit agencies to recover from the loss of fares and tax revenue and provide frequent service again. Robust transit service demands skilled staff—drivers, operators, mechanics, engineers, and numerous others—who need to be retained for the future.

The transit system is an extension of the healthcare system and part of the healthcare response to COVID-19. Healthcare and other essential workers need the system to get to their jobs and we need to support transit to ensure that it can provide robust service in the future. We need Congress to act and treat transit like a public good.

Take action

Do you know a good job-creation story from the stimulus?

The $787 billion stimulus from 2009 included roughly $30 billion for transportation, and $8 billion specifically for transit. Also, large transit agencies had the flexibility to use a portion of their stimulus money to operate trains and buses, in many cases keeping already painful cuts and fare increases from getting any worse.

So here’s the call: Did you get a job or keep a job by virtue of the spending on transit in the stimulus? We want to hear from you and hear your story. Are you building railcars or buses? Some other part of the supply chain for transit?

Share your story with us directly at info@t4america.org. And pass this along to anyone you know who might have a story to share with us.

Making Normal, Illinois the new “norm” for transportation planning

T4 Director James Corless speaks in Normal, Illinois on the site of the new multi-modal transportation hub. Photo courtesy of the Bloomington Pantagraph.

Last week, Transportation for America Director James Corless (right) was in Normal, Illinois, a town of 45,000 and recipient of a $22 million grant for a new city transportation hub, touting the project as a model for smarter federal transportation spending in the next six-year transportation bill.

The TIGER grant program, created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, doled out merit-based federal funding for projects that merge transportation with economic development, the environment and other criteria. This new multimodal transportation center in Normal received a $22 million grant from the first round of TIGER grants earlier this year, helping to bring Amtrak trains, city buses, regional buses and taxis all in one centrally located building.

Normal Mayor Chris Koos said making uptown accessible for walking, biking and public transit was a key goal of the redevelopment effort, allowing more residents a place where they could live, eat and shop. The project also played a crucial role in attracting the Marriott Hotel and conference center, both walking distance from the site.

Other elected officials were just as effusive, with State Representative Dan Brady, a Bloomington Republican, calling the project a “shot in the arm for the economy.”

James joined 25 local stakeholders, including Representative Brady and Mayor Koos, at a press conference last week to demonstrate local support for the transportation hub. Attendees included local labor leaders and representatives from the McLean County Chamber of Commerce, Amtrak and the Bloomington Normal Economic Development Council. Staff members for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and local Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson were also on hand.

“We think the transportation bill needs momentum and vision,” Corless told the participants. ”The reason we are here today is because we think that what Normal is doing is exactly that type of vision and kind of momentum that will give the transportation bill the kick in the pants it really needs.”

Normal should be the new “norm” for smaller cities, a example of livable and sustainable development resulting in real job creation and investment from businesses both large and small. Mayor Koos himself has been owner and operator of Vitesse Cycle Shop/Often Running in Uptown Normal since 1979. Normal’s leadership demonstrates to smaller cities that focusing on increased transportation options, investing in their town and city cores and expanding biking and walking can improve quality of life.

“We celebrate this type of spending,” said Brian Imus, state director of Illinois PIRG. “The multimodal center is an example of how to invest in a smart way.”

He added, “the next federal (transportation reauthorization) bill should encourage similar projects.” Transportation for America agrees, and is working toward a new bill that makes these types of transit hubs more easily funded and ready to move.

If projects like Normal’s can truly become the norm, that would be progress indeed.

A number of local media covered this event, including the Bloomington Pantagraph, WMBD and TV10 at Illinois State University.

UPDATED: We have some photos from the event on our Flickr page, and you can watch this short video of James Corless’ remarks at the event. Apologies for the quality of the audio, which is fairly quiet.

Transit grants out the federal door, but what about the cuts?

Park and Ride Ribbon Cutting Originally uploaded by WSDOT

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is (rightfully) touting the great news on his blog this morning that the Federal Transit Administration met their ambitious deadline for distributing 100% of the transit funds from the stimulus package. That’s great news, but it should be accompanied by the sobering reminder that these public transportation systems that get people to work each day largely couldn’t use that money to keep from having to cut service at a time when it’s needed the most.

The FTA has now doled out 881 grants totaling $7.5 billion since the stimulus was signed last year, and LaHood notes that these grants have funded the purchase of nearly 12,000 buses, vans and rail vehicles; construction or renovation of more than 850 transit facilities; and $620 million in preventive maintenance to keep systems running smoothly.

But what about the hundreds of agencies cutting back service, raising fares, or laying off workers — like the terrible story from Atlanta we chronicled last Friday, where 25-30% of all service may be history come June?

Unfortunately, the FTA’s hands were tied with the rules for the grants set by Congress, which meant that almost all of the money had to be used to purchase new equipment or perform maintenance, even if those agencies couldn’t afford to hire or train the new drivers to operate the buses or railcars. We say “most of the money,” because a group of lawmakers were able to successfully include a provision in a separate bill during the summer that made it possible for local transit agencies to spend up to 10% of their transit stimulus money on operations. But in many places like St. Louis, where the deficit was ten times the $4.6 million they could now spend on service, that’s not enough to keep from having to make drastic cuts or lay workers off, even while getting an influx of federal money.

With a full transportation bill likely months away, in the short term we need to urge the Senate to include money in any future jobs bills to help keep transit systems running.

With millions who depend on these systems each day to get to work, making sure that reliable transit service doesn’t disappear will help get them to their jobs quickly and conveniently each day, ensuring that many of them stay employed.

Will the TIGER grants reinforce metropolitan areas?

Rob Puentes of the Brookings Institution, writing for New Republic’s The Avenue, wrote a post this morning examining where transportation stimulus dollars have been directed. You can’t get too far reading the Brookings Metro Program without seeing a notable statistic: the 100 largest metro areas contain two-thirds of our population and produce 75 percent of GDP on just a fraction of the country’s land area. Puentes notes that the transportation element of the stimulus was not especially well targeted to metro areas to best leverage that economic power.

With most of the stimulus money flowing through state DOTs that don’t always prioritize spending in metropolitan areas, that’s probably not surprising.

But he found a different story entirely when he and his colleagues examined the $1.5 billion in TIGER grants announced earlier this week. He writes:

But what about the geographic spread? Over 80 percent of the projects and 70 percent of total TIGER funding is targeted to the 100 largest metro areas. That’s not just the super-large places like New York and Chicago, but also important metros like Louisville, Tulsa, and Providence.

As Washington considers the additional steps needs to retain and create jobs, the TIGER’s recognition of the economic primacy of U.S. metropolitan area should be illustrative.

TIGER Grants Offer Critical Support to Communities with Innovative Transportation Projects

Merit-based program an excellent model for the next transportation authorization

The Obama Department of Transportation today broke historic ground in unveiling projects chosen in a first-ever program to award federal dollars on a competitive basis to innovative projects that address economic, environmental and travel issues at once.

The 51 projects announced under the TIGER grant program, funded by $1.5 billion included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), meet a broad array of challenges, including:

Bridge replacements in Oklahoma, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky and Indiana that can support multiple modes of travel;
Port and freight-rail projects to spur economic growth in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, Hawaii, Pennsylvania and Ohio;
Modern streetcar construction to support vibrant urban corridors in Tucson, Dallas, Portland and New Orleans and light rail in Detroit;
Innovative highway funding and operations in Texas, North Carolina, Colorado, South Carolina and Arkansas;
Bicycle and pedestrian networks in Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and a complete streets project in Dubuque, IA;
The long-awaited rebirth of New York’s former Penn Station as Moynihan Station.

“These are the kinds of projects that will create good paying jobs, spur local economic development, revive our city centers and create regional integrated transportation solutions,” said John Robert Smith, the co-chair of T4 America and former Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi. “Today’s announcement clearly shows the administration’s commitment to supporting livability initiatives in metropolitan regions, smaller communities and rural areas alike.”

A complete list of recipients can be found on the US DOT press release.

Project applications had to show multiple benefits, with priority give to these criteria: 1) that projects improve the condition of existing facilities and systems, 2) contribute to the economic competitiveness of the U.S. over the medium- to long-term, 3) improve the quality of living and working environments for people, 4) improve energy efficiency, reduce dependence on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and benefit the environment, and 5) improve public safety.

Secretary LaHood spoke from Kansas City, showcasing the city’s Green Impact Zone, an area of high unemployment and concentrated poverty that is being revitalized with green buildings, clean transportation options including public transportation and bicycle and pedestrian projects.

DOT Secretary Ray LaHood noted that the program was extraordinarily sought-after, garnering 1,400 applications totaling nearly $60 billion for the $1.5 billion pot. “The sheer popularity of this ground-breaking approach is testament to how many states and localities are struggling to build innovative projects that simply don’t happen under the pre-existing program,” Mayor Smith said.

“We hope this is a glimpse of what the next transportation authorization could look like,” Smith added. “Congress needs to build on this success and authorize the surface transportation program along similar lines to support innovation and integrated transportation solutions in communities of all sizes.”

SGA analysis reveals transportation projects create the most jobs at the lowest cost

Seattle Streetcar Lake Union Park Originally uploaded by paulkimo90

A new analysis of federal stimulus spending confirms what many of us have suspected for months: investment in public transportation gets more people to work, faster, in just about every sense.

The report’s analysis, co-authored by Smart Growth America, the Center for Neighborhood Technology and U.S. PIRG, reveals that during the first ten months of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), investments in public transportation produced twice the jobs per billion dollars as did highway projects.

This is a critical lesson as the Senate takes up a jobs-creation measure passed by the House late last month, based almost entirely on the previous ARRA formula. If the Senate jobs bill were to instead invest equally in public transportation and highways (rather than the uneven split of ARRA), an additional 71,415 job months would be created, equivalent to year-round employment for nearly 6,000 additional workers. And this could be done without spending a dime more than the House.

It is imperative that Senators utilize this opportunity. As Smart Growth America President Geoff Anderson put it: “If we are serious about creating jobs and bringing about the economic recovery our nation desperately needs, members of the Senate will insist on investing a greater percentage of the transportation funds in public transportation.”

Why do public transportation projects put more people to work dollar-for-dollar? First, public transportation projects invest more in labor than in land acquisition. Second, the projects tend to be more complex, resulting in greater employment diversity in both job numbers and required skills.

Public transportation has also proven itself to be just as “shovel-ready” as roads. Compared to highway infrastructure projects, public transportation projects are spending money at roughly the same rate nationwide.

In addition, every job saved or created for America’s bus drivers, rail operators and station agents is valuable in and of itself. But we often forget public transport does not just provide work, it also gets people to work. Millions of Americas rely on buses and subways each day for employment and essential services, especially during tough times. Investing in public transportation is an investment in their lives and livelihood too.

Read the report for yourself here, or read the full press release.

Secretary LaHood takes on Senator Coburn’s “stimulus waste”

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood didn’t pull any punches in a blog post yesterday about one senator’s “stimulus waste” list.

Senator Tom Coburn is a persistent critic of transportation “enhancements” and the author of a failed amendment earlier this year to strip bicycle and pedestrian projects from a spending bill. His latest waste list includes two bike paths. Coburn told the Washington Times, “When we run $1.4 trillion deficits, the money we spend ought to be a high priority for the American people as a whole.” To which LaHood retorts: “What he really means is that, because he doesn’t get bikes, no one else does either.”

LaHood goes on to cite an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act project extending a bike trail between downtown Minneapolis and the new Minnesota Twins stadium.

“I guess a better connection to Minneapolis’s central business district doesn’t count as infrastructure to some folks,” the secretary wrote. In fact, projects aimed at improving biking, walking and livability are central to both economic recovery, livability and future prosperity.

“We don’t call that waste,” LaHood concluded. “We call it progress.”

How have states fared with the billions in transportation stimulus funds?

You may recall that the $787 billion economic stimulus bill that passed in February had nearly $30 billion allocated for transportation investments. That money was given out to states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) — largely free of any criteria or requirements for what projects it should be spent on.

Smart Growth America released a report today examining how well states have been spending these billions. As they say on the Smart Growth America blog today, not only did the money arrive in a time of economic recession, but “at a time of embarrassingly large backlogs of road and bridge repairs, inadequate and underfunded public transportation systems, and too-few convenient, affordable transportation options.”

So after 120 days, how have states done in addressing these pressing needs and investing in progress for their communities?

After analyzing project descriptions provided by states and MPOs, Smart Growth America found forward looking states and communities that used the stimulus money as flexibly as possible, repairing roads and bridges and making the kinds of smart, 21st century transportation investments that their communities need to support strong economic growth.

Other states and communities missed this golden opportunity to create jobs while making progress on their most pressing transportation needs. These states spent their precious funds on building new roads rather than repairing existing roads, and ignored the chance to spend the money flexibly on the kinds of options that their residents really want — like public transportation or streets safe for walking and biking — leaving their communities stuck in traffic and stuck in the past.

…Despite the golden opportunity of extra funding, most states did not use the opportunity to make as much progress as possible on long-term goals. Even though repair backlogs can stretch years or decades into the future, nearly one-third of the money, $6.6 billion, went towards roadway new capacity projects. At a time when public transportation ridership is hitting all-time highs and the budget crunch is causing transit agencies to cut routes, service and jobs, an abysmal 2.8% was spent on public transportation. Only 0.9% percent was spent on non-motorized projects (i.e., bike and pedestrian projects).

Read more about the report and download the full version from Smart Growth America.

Choosing where to invest transportation dollars in Houston

I-45 in Houston unusually empty after Hurricane Ike. From Flickr user codydildy

We wanted to highlight this piece from Reuters’ Infrastructure Summit — especially an appearance by T4 America Partner The Citizens’ Transportation Coalition. Chairwoman Robin Holzer and the CTC have been working hard to bring attention to one of the most wasteful projects receiving money from the stimulus, using it as one more example to show how “the federal transportation funding system is broken, it’s just broken.”

(Our good friends at Streetsblog just beat us to the punch and posted the story, so we’ll summarize and point you there.)

While bridges crumble and roadways crack, and the poor state of our infrastructure far outweighs the amount of money we intend to spend on maintaining what we already have, we’re sending $181 million in stimulus funds to Houston to build a section of a new outer loop highway (the outer outer outer outer loop, to be completely correct.)

In the piece, Robin Holzer discusses the waste of building an unneeded new highway — but more pointedly, how spending scarce federal funds on an unnecessary project will keep Houston from spending money where the investment (or repair) is needed the most.

From Ben Fried’s post on Streetsblog:

Reuters just wrapped up a two-day “Infrastructure Summit” and published a great collection of stories about the state of transportation policy in the U.S. I especially like this piece, featuring Robin Holzer of the Houston-based Citizens’ Transportation Coalition, who does a great job illustrating some of the major deficiencies that the federal stimulus bill failed to address:

Under the current system that U.S. President Barack Obama has maintained, at least for now, the U.S. government will pay as much as 80 percent of the multibillion dollar cost of a proposed 180-mile ring road around Houston — its fourth such loop — even though it serves a thinly populated rural area.

In contrast, an expansion of the city’s light-rail system is only eligible for getting 50 percent of the cost paid by the federal government, she said.

Yet more than 147,000 people live within a half-mile of the ten stations on the light rail system, Holzer said.

Summary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

For those of you who don’t check the “Campaign News” tab at top on a regular basis or get the full RSS feed, we posted our full summary of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. If you are interested in the full, detailed, numerical breakdown of transportation spending in the stimulus package, this is the post for you.

Read Transportation For America’s full summary of the provisions and funding requirements for transportation in The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Though a Worthy Down Payment, Stimulus Raises Urgent Need for New Transportation Vision

	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.

Comparing transportation spending in the Senate and House stimulus

With the stimulus successfully passed through the Senate, it moves into conference with the House, where the two chambers will try to hammer out the version to be voted on again by each house before heading to the President’s desk if it passes.

Here is our side-by-side comparison on the transportation spending in the two versions. For the non-policy wonks out there, you’ll want to stick to the numbers at the top before it descends into the particulars of the second half of the table.

Check back here later Tuesday or Wednesday morning for our complete list of what we’re asking Congress to do in conference. (For example, keep the House’s $12 billion for transit.)

You’ll need to click through to see the full table if you’re on the main blog page. (more…)

Senate compromise preserves transit funding — for now

It appears the Senate compromise on the stimulus package keeps transit and highway funding unchanged. Neither the high speed rail funding or competitive grants for any mode were reduced, as was originally thought to be the case. We’re suspending our appeal to make calls for now.

The Senate will move to vote on the overall stimulus package Monday or Tuesday. Then it moves to conference committee with the House to determine the balance between the two bills that will ultimately be voted on by both chambers and sent to the President’s desk.

Streetsblog Network members The Transport Politic and Greater Greater Washington both had good summaries of the Senate compromise. The Transport Politic breaks down the funding compared to the House version, and points out some crucial differences that will be hashed out in conference:

The final version of the compromise stimulus bill, which was formulated by a group of about 20 moderate senators, has been released by Senated Ben Nelson (D-NE). It does not decrease funds currently proposed to be allocated to high-speed rail or transit programs, but it does not meet the higher standards for funding for fixed guideways and New Starts that were provided in the amendment added to the House version of the bill by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY).

Greater Greater Washington reminds us that while transit wasn’t raided and redirected to highway funding, there’s still no assurance that the highway funds will be directed to where they can be the most effective. Repair and maintenance will create more jobs, spend money more quickly, and will not come with the price tag of future billions in maintenance like new highways do.

People on the left and right have plenty of other complaints about this stimulus. And it still gives the lion’s share of money to states under the old formulas which favor highways. There’s no “fix it first” requirement making sure state DOTs repair crumbling bridges before building greenfield freeways. Still, we were able to stop the Senate from making things a lot, lot worse. That’s a start.

Nothing is truly finished yet. Until the Senate passes their version, amendments could still spring up and funding levels could change. If it passes, the House and Senate will conference together next week to determine how to balance out portions of the bill that are not in line with each other.

For example, the House has $12 billion for transit, while the Senate has less than $9 billion. As TP points out, “the bills are different enough that we won’t know what the final bill will look like until the Senate/House conference committee releases its report after it meets.”

Stay tuned here on the blog or on Twitter to follow updates next week as the bill proceeds. Watch Monday for news about urging the conference to keep the House’s higher transit figures.