John Robert Smith, our T4 America co-chair and former Mayor of Meridian, Miss., is fond of saying that there are no Republican or Democrat potholes or bridges or roads. Fixing and updating our country’s transportation system is something that should have broad support, no matter what party is listed after a name. With nearly 12 percent of all U.S. bridges requiring replacement or repair, there’s plenty of work to be done in districts of all parties.

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, one of Mayor Smith’s former compatriots leading an American city, was in Washington, D.C. this week for a gathering of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and as it turned out, the lone Republican in the group. Perhaps this made him an obvious interview subject since the President’s American Jobs Act, which would invest billions in infrastructure, has been largely panned by Republicans for the most part in Congress.

Despite that, Mayor Cornett is supportive of the President’s efforts to raise the profile of infrastructure investment and the fact that the American Jobs Act would invest billions in our transportation system. He gave an enlightening interview on NPR’s Morning Edition this week.

GREENE: You’re going to face some heat when you go home after a visit like this to the White House?

CORNETT: Always do. And, you know, and some of it gets misconstrued. You know, some people will hear what I said at the steps of the White House and say that I endorsed the president’s plan, which I didn’t do. I think there are some elements of it that are good. And I probably disagree greatly on how we’re going to pay for it. I don’t necessarily think we ought to be raising taxes to do it. But if the president’s going to draw some attention to infrastructure, then I want to be there for him, because that voice doesn’t get spoken loudly enough. And although Oklahoma City doesn’t have the infrastructure needs of a lot of cities, if I can be a voice for these large eastern cities that have this deferred maintenance, then I’m going to do so because I think the future of our country relies on it.

For all the political posturing over the President’s $47 billion plan or the House draft transportation bill that would cut transportation spending by 35 percent, when you get down on the ground in our cities and communities, people know that spending money on our infrastructure and transportation system is a good idea. It creates jobs, boosts local economies, and makes us safer as deficient bridges are repaired or replaced.

As an aside, the mayor does suggest that he’s standing up for “large eastern cities,” but crumbling bridges unfortunately aren’t a problem limited to one region of the country or one type of city. Oklahoma is actually third worst in our ranking of states by percentage of deficient bridges and in fact, there are more midwestern states in the top 10 than there are states east of the Mississippi River.

Ninety-eight percent of mayors identified affordable, reliable transit as crucial to their city’s recovery and growth, according to a survey of 176 mayors unveiled this week by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (right) on behalf of the Conference.

Commanding majorities favor an increase in the federal gasoline tax, but only if more funding is allocated to transit, biking and walking, and local governments are given greater discretion over project selection. Eighty-percent said new highway projects should be a low priority, preferring to focus on repairing and maintaining what we have. Federal financing tools like Build America Bonds or the TIFIA programs receive the support of 75 percent of mayors.

The mayors also agree with T4 America that finding new revenue sources for a larger transportation bill without changing any policies is a non-starter. Just 7 percent of respondents said they would support a gas tax increase without a shift in priorities.

The mayors are in good company — 51 percent of voters in last year’s Smart Growth America poll identified “maintaining and repairing roads, highways, freeways and bridges” as their top priority, compared to 16 percent who chose expanding and building new infrastructure.

While the focus of the mayors’ attention is on the needs of metropolitan areas, most if not all of their policy preferences — increased local decision-making to meet local needs, reforms to the program, a broader array of travel options and a focus on fixing what’s already built — certainly apply equally to rural areas as well.

George J. Pierson, President and CEO of survey sponsor Parsons Brinckerhoff, put the results in perspective, noting that U.S. invests about two percent of GDP in infrastructure, compared to five percent in Europe and nine percent in China. He said:

When mayors in the United States speak to their need to improve the quality of roads and transit systems in their cities, they are responding to a public need in a way that will arm their cities for success in global competition.

You can read more about the survey at Streetsblog or the U.S. Conference of Mayors website.

Photo: U.S. Conference of Mayors

Did you know that almost half of all the trips we take each day are under three miles? So why aren’t more of us walking or biking for some of these shorter trips each day? Frankly, most of our streets just aren’t designed for safe and comfortable use by everyone — and almost all of us are pedestrians at some point during each day.

Complete streets are safe and accessible for everyone that needs to use them — cars, transit users, bicyclists, pedestrians, young, old, disabled, and everyone else.

Over the last two days, Complete Streets bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate.

Introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin in the Senate, and Rep. Doris Matsui in the House, these bills need our support — and more congressional sponsors. (Sen. Tom Carper and Rep. Ellen Tauscher, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and Rep. David Wu are the current co-sponsors.)

Complete streets make it possible for children to walk and bike to school safely, give seniors more security traveling to appointments, and provide everyone with safer, greener and more convenient ways of getting around without their cars.

Photos of La Jolla, California before and after by Dan Burden

For the last few years, local governments have been the ones leading the way. More than 80 state and local governments have passed ordinances mandating that new road construction provide a full menu of transportation options to meet the needs of everyone using the road. As you can see from the quote from Mayor Diaz in Miami at right, mayors — and the cities they lead — have seen and experienced the immeasurable benefit that complete streets provide for their communities.

Now we need Congress to take the next step.

With these bills in Congress, we have a chance right now to make sure our streets are safe and inviting for everyone who uses them — not just those driving cars.

The Complete Streets Act (H.R. 1443 and S. 584) would direct state and metropolitan transportation authorities to adopt and implement complete streets policies for upcoming federally-funded transportation projects.

Complete streets provide a full menu of transportation options to meet the needs of everyone using a road — pedestrians, cyclists, the disabled, and users of public transportation. They are cost-effective because they save money on retrofits and reduce congestion, improving conditions for existing businesses and attracting new development. They help us reduce our oil dependence by making it easier for people to leave their cars at home. And complete streets improve safety for everyone and encourage healthy and active lifestyles, saving all taxpayers money in future health care costs.

Write your member of Congress today and tell them to support or co-sponsor this important legislation.

From the National Complete Streets Coalition release:

The gradual conversion to complete streets will reduce crashes, deaths, and injuries, particularly the almost 5,000 annual fatalities and 70,000 injuries among vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists, including older Americans and children. Studies have found that designing for pedestrians by installing raised medians and redesigning intersections and sidewalks reduces pedestrian risk by 28 to 40 percent, and some treatments reduce automobile crashes as well.

More resources:

» Press release from Rep. Matsui’s office.
» Press release from Sen. Harkin’s office.
» More about Complete Streets from T4 coalition member The National Complete Streets Coalition.
» Guest post from Barbara McCann with the CS Coalition at the Infrastructurist
» Read the press release from the National Complete Streets Coalition. (pdf)
» Questions? Ask away in the comments. Some experts might stop by to answer.