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Transportation for America proposal creates more jobs than current transportation law, Economic Policy Institute finds

What if we could re-design our nation’s transportation policy to increase travel options, reduce oil dependency and create more jobs? According to an Economic Policy Institute study, we could do just that if Congress adopts Transportation for America’s proposal for the next surface transportation law.

The economy is showing some signs of growth, but that’s little encouragement for the millions of Americans without a job – the unemployment rate nationwide is still a notch below 10 percent. It is difficult to see how America’s economy can grow and recover without sustained job creation.

EPI ran the numbers and found that T4 America’s proposed $500 billion transportation bill would support 400,000 more jobs than would be created by continuing SAFETEA-LU, the existing transportation law, at that same $500 billion level. The T4 America proposal would support more than 7.2 million jobs.

T4 America’s proposal is an effective and swift job creator because it calls for investment in some of the more labor-intensive areas of transportation, such as repair and maintenance of existing infrastructure and public transportation, all reliable job creators. Many highway expansion projects take longer to move because they require permits and spend a larger percentage of funds on land acquisition rather than labor. As a result, many of these projects also end up employing less people.

Adopting T4’s plan would give a leg up to the Americans hardest hit by the economic downturn, especially low-wage workers and Americans who did not go to college. In fact, 80 percent of the new jobs created would be filled by Americans without a four-year degree. And the proposal is also a good deal for the working men and women of organized labor – 15 percent of the jobs created would be union jobs, compared to just 12 percent of the jobs in the overall economy.

And these are not just jobs for jobs sake – T4’s plan puts people to work building the transportation system we need for the 21st century, an all-of-the-above approach that rebuilds and maintains roads and bridges, expands travel options, implements real accountability for how we spend precious taxpayer dollars and ensures America’s small towns and rural areas take part in our economic recovery as well.

We need strong infrastructure to achieve steady growth and opportunity in the decades to come.

The ability of T4 America’s proposal to create good-paying jobs and promote economic growth has won our coalition broad support. Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, a T4 partner, praised the proposal as “an important and timely message for Congress” and “critical to economic development not only in metro Atlanta but across the country.” Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa says the kind of investment in clean transportation advocated by T4 America “will create millions of good paying quality jobs and put our nation on a path to a lasting economic recovery.”

You can read the full report here, or check out T4 America’s release and fact sheet.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer stumping for $2 billion transit aid bill

Sen. Chuck Schumer was joined by TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen on the left and Councilman James Vacca on the right.

Last week, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, a top Democrat in Washington and influential policy player, spoke out forcefully in favor of the Public Transportation Preservation Act, a $2 billion lifeline for the nation’s transit agencies.

The Act would provide emergency operating aid for buses, subways and other systems throughout the country and would give a significant boost to the tri-state region – hundreds of millions  of dollars would reach the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York, New Jersey Transit and neighboring systems. Schumer is joined by his fellow Senators from the tri-state area – Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Chris Dodd of Connecticut – in supporting this crucial legislation.

Schumer joined union members and transit advocates at New York City’s Penn Station last Friday, June 11, declaring that “mass-transit is the life-blood of our city.” The Act is gaining co-sponsors by the day, including Alaska Senator Mark Begich and Oregon Senator Ron Wyden.

See Steven Higashide’s write-up at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign for more information and a run-down of the unions and advocacy groups participating.

And if you haven’t already, tell your Senator to support the Act today and join as a co-sponsor.

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.

Video: John Robert Smith on helping politicos see the importance of passenger rail

In this short video, former Meridian, Mississippi Mayor and current T4 America co-chair John Robert Smith talks about the project to build a new multimodal train station in downtown Meridian when he was mayor, proposed cuts to Amtrak that happened shortly afterward, and how a few key Senators championed funding for Amtrak after seeing how ordinary people outside of D.C. depended on that service.

Dozens of bicyclists ride to USDOT Friday to tell Secretary LaHood “thanks”

Transportation for America was proud to co-author and circulate a letter thanking Secretary Ray LaHood for The U.S. Department of Transportation’s recent policy statement elevating walking and biking in national policy, “giving bicycles and pedestrians a seat at the transportation table,” as the Secretary put it on his blog this morning.

Last Friday, several of us at T4 took that appreciation a step further — or, several pedals further — by cycling with a handful of national partners, our local partners from the Washington Area Bicyclists Association, and about 50 local bicyclists to the DOT Headquarters across town to thank the Secretary in person.

The ride from Freedom Plaza at 14th and Pennsylvania in Northwest DC to the DOT building near the Southwest waterfront district took about 25 minutes. Most of the ride was taken on bike lanes, a number of which are relatively new, including new separated lanes right in the center of America’s main street, Pennsylvania Avenue.

Watch and share this video from Friday’s ride that we put together:

LaHood was on hand to receive our large bicycling posse, a group which collectively represented more than 200 organizations from every state in America. Lilly Shoup spoke on behalf of T4 America and was joined by Barbara McCann from the National Complete Streets Coalition, Margo Pedroso from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and Randy Neufield of America Bikes, who joked to LaHood: “it’s not surprising that people who ride bikes like your new policy.”

The Washington Area Bicyclists Association, one of signatories on the letter and a local T4 partner, presented LaHood with a thank you poster signed by hundreds of DC-area bicyclists at Bike to Work Day.

Making our streets safer and more accessible for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities is serious business to LaHood, a former Republican Congressman from Peoria, Illinois who cannot be accused of losing touch with mainstream Americans. LaHood goes home often and can be seen on weekends biking with his wife or grandchildren on converted rails-to-trails in both Illinois and Washington.

“You really do great honor to the people at DOT,” LaHood said, intentionally turning his back on the cameras for a few minutes to speak directly to the bicyclists gathered behind him. “What you have done is begin to change some attitudes on Capitol Hill.”

LaHood and to-be-named DC Bikeshare bike Originally uploaded by Transportation for America

The Secretary is right about that. Ohio Congressman Steve LaTourette, for instance, went from questioning whether LaHood’s policy statement on bicycle and pedestrian options was the product of drug use at USDOT to backpedaling with a pro-cycling message on his website actively endorsing the idea. LaTourette heard from his constituents, who liked the bike paths he bad been bringing back to the district over the years, and he listened.

Secretary LaHood was clear about that point: this change in policy is a reflection of what Americans are demanding, a theme which he returned to time and time again in his remarks.

The Secretary also knows, as do many of our partners, that we won’t make lasting progress on increasing walking and biking options without a comprehensive, forward-thinking reauthorization of our surface transportation law. In this crucial six-year bill, we can put real resources into projects that get kids walking to school safely, families biking together on the weekends, short trips being made by foot or bike, and everyone able to live a more active and healthy life.

LaHood was very gracious, saying this morning that our visit was a “great way to start the summer,” and we couldn’t agree more.

“I don’t know what this talk around DC is about livability not having anything to do with rural areas…”

Earlier this week, we hosted 15 of our partners from rural areas across America for a two day “fly-in” focusing on the transportation needs of rural areas and small towns. We hosted a briefing at the Capitol in the morning and then these partners from all over the country, from Virginia to California, took the message up to their leaders in Congress through dozens of meetings with legislative staff or Senators and Representatives themselves.

Kathy Moxon, the director of Redwood Coast Rural Action in (extreme) northern California, a participant and speaker at the briefing, took a few moments in between meetings at the Capitol to talk to T4 America about this idea of “livability” in rural areas that some in Congress have been questioning.

We wanted to know more about the view from rural northern California — is livability a rural value?

We’d like to thank Kathy for coming to D.C and participating in the fly-in and giving us a few minutes of her time.

T4 America’s rural and small town partners take their transportation message to Capitol Hill

Arkansas Square Originally uploaded by whiteknuckled

Tuesday’s Congressional lobby day hosted by Transportation for America on the needs of rural and small-town America displayed a growing urgency for transportation options, livable communities and good access to jobs and opportunity — as great as one would find in any of our nation’s urban and metropolitan centers.

Though the specifics may take a different form compared to big coastal cities, the values these participants described in a morning briefing and then in dozens of meetings with members of Congress didn’t sound all that different from residents of anywhere else in America, small or large.

Americans from big urban areas all the way down to rural communities and small towns want good access to job opportunities. We want roads that aren’t cracked and crumbling and bridges that don’t fall down. We want our town or city centers to be vital places to live, work and shop. We want safe places to walk and bicycle. We want options other than long car trips for absolutely everything. Call it “livability,” or call it something else.

The dozen-plus participants who came to Washington, D.C. from small communities in Virginia to Arkansas to Northern California and places in between expressed their hope that a new federal transportation bill can help address these needs in rural communities across America.

The “fly-in” kicked off with a Hill briefing, followed by dozens of meetings on Capitol Hill with the participants and their Senators and Representatives about how transportation policy impacts smaller communities.

Participants came from all corners of America and hit many of the same notes when discussing the challenges facing their friends and neighbors. Billy Altom hails from North Little Rock, Arkansas, where he serves as executive director of the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL). Terry Suphahn runs his own consulting firm in rural Northern California, working closely with Native Americans. Barbara Bayes splits time between urban Charleston and her farm, helping low-income West Virginians with access to transportation. Carol Miller heads an organization focused on heavily rural frontier communities — her own New Mexico county is so sparse, she must travel to the neighboring county just to vote and use the post office.

All participants talked about helping their neighbors back home access the basics — groceries, health services and jobs. They also talked of spurring economic opportunity so people can find a job in the same place they grew up. Many felt their towns, tribes or counties were ready to move on innovative projects that improve access and quality of life, if only federal policy would give them a little nudge. Far from asking Washington to tell them what to do, they were asking for resources to make change for themselves possible.

Kathy Moxon (left) and Terry Supahan from Northern California Originally uploaded by Transportation for America
Kathy Moxon and Terry Supahan from Northern California posed behind the Capitol for a picture after a day of meetings with members of Congress. Kathy shared a powerful story of a rural community in Northern California that took matters into its own hands. The town transformed a wide highway through the middle of the community into a more suitable main street to help preserve the area as an enjoyable place to walk and live.

Carol Miller of New Mexico, a panelist during the morning briefing, put it well: “We believe good ideas come from the community, that there’s creativity there, but there hasn’t been a channel to bring those ideas up through the system.”

Washington needs to “make doing the right thing easy,” added Kathy Moxon, another panelist.

Billy Altom, the rural independent living director from Arkansas, rounded out the panel by discussing the transportation challenges facing older Americans and people with disabilities. He called on audience members to no longer see those with unique transportation needs – whether due to reliance on a wheelchair, inability to afford a car or age-related limitations– as an “us versus them” situation. Getting transportation right is not just about changing public policy, Altom said, but “changing public perception.”

John Robert Smith, the former mayor of Meridian, Mississippi and co-chair of the Transportation for America campaign, served as moderator for the panel.

Rural fly-in briefing panel 2 Originally uploaded by Transportation for America
Billy Altom, left, Carol Miller, John Robert Smith, and Kathy Moxon all spoke at the briefing at the Capitol Visitors’ Center.

Participants visited the offices of Senators Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Barbara Boxer of California, Max Baucus of Montana, Robert Byrd of West Virgnia and Mark Warner of Virginia, to name a few. Congressman Mike Thompson of California and Senator Jim Webb, along with a handful of others met personally with their constituents to hear their concerns.

Although connecting constituents with their representatives is critical, what happens next matters too – making sure Congress follows-through on a transportation bill that helps Americans from smaller communities get where they need to go and connect to a better life.

American Public Health Association outlines hidden health costs of transportation

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by President Obama earlier this year was a step toward expanding health coverage while lowering costs. But there’s far more to be done. A truly comprehensive approach to health must account for transportation’s role in our levels of physical activity.

The American Public Health Association tackles that in a new report titled “The Hidden Health Costs of Transportation.”

For decades, Americans have made great use of the interstate highway system, but our transportation system is outdated and in need of retooling. The promise of convenient inter- and intra-city driving came with unseen drawbacks: long commutes and gridlock that keep Americans stuck in their cars and away from their families.

It doesn’t take a doctor to figure out sitting at work for eight hours a day and driving for another 1-2 can’t be all that good for you. Where we live and how we get there matters. The APHA put it well: “transportation investments and the systems that are developed from them shape lives and communities.”

It’s not just a lack of physical activity that ails us. Our current habits expose us to high asthma rates from pollution and unsafe streets for pedestrians and bicyclists, as outlined in our Dangerous by Design report last year.

So what needs to change? One place to start is by expanding transportation options. Driving will always be a necessity, but Americans have shown their desire for public transportation with their votes and feet. Pollsters found that 82 percent of American voters believe the U.S. would benefit from an improved and expanded public transportation system, and 79 percent of rural residents shared that sentiment as well. Build it and they actually will come, it turns out. The APHA writes:

An investment in a “healthier” transportation system is critical. Providing convenient alternatives, encouraging active modes of transport, and a establishing a transportation system that fosters connectivity and social interaction can not only offset health impacts and costs, but generate health benefits.

In addition to increasing access to other transportation options, the APHA also stresses that health impacts should be considered during the planning and decision-making stages of transportation projects to the fullest extent possible.

Growing recognition of the connection between transportation, land development and health has resulted in some studies and examples where health impacts and costs have been considered and assessed. These examples not only demonstrate that health costs should be a significant factor in decision-making, but also show that calculating such costs is indeed possible.

The APHA has laid out the reasons why our long-term health is distinctly linked to how we get around, and the passage of health care reform should serve an impetus to take the right next steps. Will Congress heed APHA’s counsel as the next surface transportation bill advances?

Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” report says walking and biking key to healthier kids

Photo courtesy of Reuters.

Earlier this month, we highlighted two reports on the integral link between health and transportation. First Lady Michelle Obama’s recent Let’s Move report on childhood obesity goes one step further — endorsing a new surface transportation bill that encourages more walking and biking.

Noting the pivotal impact transportation options and the built environment have on health and physical activity, Transportation for America encouraged First Lady Obama to include the built environment in the final product. We are gratified that the task force did just that.

The full White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity report contains five components: Early Childhood; Empowering Parents and Caregivers; Healthy Food in Schools; Access to Healthy, Affordable Food; and Increasing Physical Activity. Our interest is primarily in the last section, which has a section on the built environment. According to the report:

How communities are designed and function can promote—or inhibit—physical activity for children and adults.  The built environment consists of all man-made structures, including transportation infrastructure, schools, office buildings, housing, and parks.  Children’s ability to be physically active in their community depends on whether the community is safe and walkable, with good sidewalks and reasonable distances between destinations.

The report notes that several studies have already attributed obesity and health problems to aspects of our current built environment, such as sprawling subdivisions and lack of places to walk. It makes intuitive sense too. When we live further and further from where we work, where we go for recreation, where we go to school or where we shop, it makes us all the more reliant on automobiles, especially in the absence of viable alternatives. In urban areas, one-fifth of all automobile trips are one mile or less. These distances could easily be walked or biked with the proper infrastructure in place, as the report notes.

To that end, the task force lends an unequivocal endorsement to “active transportation.” Improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure is one place they suggest we start, as is the continuation and expansion of the Safe Routes to Schools program, currently funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Active transport refers to approaches that encourage individuals to actively travel between their destinations throughout the day, such as by biking or walking.  Children who walk or bike to school report being more physically active, including engaging in more moderate to vigorous physical activity, than those who travel by car, bus, or train.

The First Lady’s recommendations also embrace an exciting new way of linking health to the built environment in the form of Health Impact Assessments (HIAs). Many communities are already embracing this approach, which evaluates whether a new project helps or hinders public health.

The built environment section’s key benchmark: increase by 50 percent by 2015 the percentage of children between the ages of 5 and 18 who walk or bike to school. That’s a goal we can all get behind, and one Congress ought to remember as the new surface transportation bill progresses.

Guest post: public transit made accessible in Mississippi’s capital city

Scott CrawfordIn the midst of discouraging news coming from hundreds of transit agencies across the country facing difficult choices in the midst of budget crises (see our map), we bring some encouraging news from Mississippi, and an update to a story we’ve covered previously. This post was written by T4 America supporter and friend Dr. Scott Crawford, who we’ve periodically been in contact with about incomplete streets and the state of public transportation in Jackson, Mississippi. (Read more about Dr. Crawford and Jackson.)

Our congratulations go out to Dr. Crawford — a true hero for Jackson.

—

For years, the capital of Mississippi ran a public transit system that was largely inaccessible to people with disabilities. Fixed route buses routinely ran without working wheelchair lifts and the complementary paratransit vans were booked up at least a week in advance. The system was slowly allowed to deteriorate as the existing fleet aged and became unreliable for even able-bodied people.

Three years ago, a group of people with disabilities in the Jackson metro area began a movement to change things. When phone calls and letters failed to make an impression or a difference, we protested outside city hall, forcing the city to appoint an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance officer. That was just the beginning. As lead plaintiff in the case and a wheelchair user myself with multiple sclerosis, I photographically documented countless times I was left on the side of the road by non-working bus lifts.

Bus Lift Failure Originally uploaded by Transportation for America
Dewone Banks waves goodbye to a bus operator who is forced to leave him after his lift fails to work. The bus was more than a decade old. Photo by Scott Crawford

After sending complaints to the Federal Transit Administration’s Office of Civil Rights and seeing little in the way of progress, in September 2008, Disability Rights Mississippi filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of myself and others. Not for money, but for compliance with the ADA. In the summer of 2009, the Federal Department of Justice’s Section on Disability Rights got involved and intervened on behalf of the plaintiffs and joined the lawsuit. The City threatened to shut down JATRAN altogether and serve no one rather than comply with the equity requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. They eventually relented at the last possible minute at the urging of the plaintiffs and the Department of Justice.

Stranded at night Originally uploaded by Transportation for America
The author is stranded into the night (December 10th, 2007) after three buses failed to pick him up. After about six hours, the police from a neighboring jurisdiction loaded him into a pickup truck to get him home (about 10:30pm). Credit photo to Scott Crawford

More than two years later, Jackson’s Public Transit (JATRAN) has eight new paratransit buses to take people with disabilities to their doctor’s appointments, shopping centers, and jobs.  In addition, there are now thirteen brand new regular fixed route buses with reliable ramps and lifts so that people in wheelchairs will no longer be forced to watch others board while they are left stranded on the side of the road.

I was on a bus several weeks ago when I met an older woman in a power wheelchair. She asked me if I rode the buses frequently, and I told her, “All the time!” The woman replied, “This is my first time — they never used to pick me up.” She added that she was so happy to be out of her apartment and going places again. “I want to get an all-day pass and just ride!”

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  – Margaret Mead (1901 – 1978).

New Paratransit Buses Originally uploaded by Transportation for America
Dr. Scott Crawford tests out the lift on a new paratransit bus for JATRAN in Jackson, Mississippi.

Nationwide reports identify transportation policy as essential to improving health

Two reports out this week highlight growing awareness of the integral link between health and transportation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Transportation Recommendations acknowledge what we at Transportation for America have stressed for months: not only is our nation’s approach to transportation outdated and inefficient, it also takes a toll on our health and quality of life. Being stuck in traffic and living in places with no chance to safely walk or bike is having a negative impact on our health, and the CDC points out that many Americans yearn for greater physical activity and choices for how they get around. The CDC sees this link between health and transportation as both a challenge and an opportunity.

Expanding the availability of, safety for, and access to a variety of transportation options and integrating health-enhancing choices into transportation policy has the potential to save lives by preventing chronic diseases, reducing and preventing motor-vehicle-related injury and deaths, improving environmental health, while stimulating economic development, and ensuring access for all people.

They recommend a series of changes to federal transportation policy, all of which correlate closely with Transportation for America’s goals. These include:

  • Reducing injuries associated with motor vehicle crashes
  • Encouraging healthy community design
  • Promoting safe and convenient opportunities for physical activity by supporting active transportation infrastructure
  • Reducing human exposure to air pollution and adverse health impacts associated with these pollutants
  • Ensuring that all people have access to safe, healthy, convenient, and affordable transportation

The National Physical Activity Plan touches on many of these same subjects with an elegant and straightforward vision: “One day, all Americans will be physically active and they will live, work, and play in environments that facilitate regular physical activity.” According to the Plan’s research, the average American spent 64 minutes per day in a vehicle, and nearly three-quarters feel they have no choice but to drive as much as they do, a figure echoed by Transportation for America’s poll earlier this year.

Improving active transportation “will require many individuals and agencies – transportation engineers, city planners, architects, schools, health professionals, government agencies at all levels, community advocates, citizens, and employers – to rethink the way we plan and develop our communities,” according to the Plan’s text, stressing:

More transportation options can help us achieve our recommended levels of physical activity, while lowering pollution rates and increasing access to essential destinations like grocery stores, schools, jobs and health care services.

For more information on the National Physical Activity Plan, visit their main site here, or the Transportation section – which includes tactics for each of the four strategies here. You can read more about the CDC’s transportation recommendations here.

Center for Public Integrity on the transportation lobby

The Center for Public Integrity’s Transportation Lobby project visited South Florida to discuss the grassroots impact of lobbying activity in the nation’s capital, featuring a nice mention of Transportation for America. Video is 7 minutes long, but well worth your time. Narrated by CPI’s Matthew Lewis.

Reports from AASHTO and U.S. PIRG highlight an unsustainable transportation status quo

Two reports out this week speak, in quite different ways, to the urgent need for a fresh approach to federal transportation policy.

In “Road Work Ahead”, U.S. PIRG sounds the alarm on the escalating deterioration of America’s infrastructure and the need to get serious about repair and restoration. The “Unlocking Gridlock” report from AASHTO, the trade association of state Departments of Transportation, emphasizes the problem of congestion in our increasingly urbanized nation, offering highway expansion as the solution.

The subtext of the PIRG report is that expanding highway capacity – whether by widening or building new roads — is generally a bad idea, because it comes at too high a cost: Deferred maintenance on existing roads and bridges, perpetuation of over-reliance on cars with an associated dependency on oil and other problems.

For AASHTO, congestion comes at too high a cost, and the report marshals a compelling case that people should have a way to avoid those costs. However, the report comes up short in two respects: It does not adequately explain how we built a system that functions so poorly for many commuters, and it offers only one solution — more of the same.

We believe strongly, and our polling shows most Americans agree, that maintaining existing roads and bridges in top condition is our first priority. This doesn’t mean we think highway expansion is over for good. But it cannot continue to be the default solution, simply because it is the only tool that current federal policy supplies to the entities that get most of the money – the state DOTs.

The real crux of the two reports is that we have a national policy that is decades behind the reality of this century: Whether in states with low or high population, Americans are concentrating more and more in urban areas, both large and small. Yet our national policy seems almost to be designed to thwart urban mobility. Roads and bridges in our towns and metro areas take the worst pounding, and are most in need of repair and maintenance, but don’t get the resources they need. Metros plagued by congestion need a full array of tools: fixes to bottleneck-creating highway designs, rail and busways, congestion-management technology and planning and land-use approaches that minimize impact on highways and maximize transit investments.

But as we said before, the DOTs have one tool: bigger highways. You know the old saw: When your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

The figures are startling and compelling. By AASHTO’s estimates, poor road conditions cost U.S. motorists $67 billion a year in repairs and operating costs, which comes out to an average of $335 per motorist. According to the USDOT, 12 percent of America’s bridges are “structurally deficient,” and in some states that figure is higher than 20 percent. Among federal highways, 45 percent are in poor, mediocre of fair condition.

The traffic gridlock resulting from inadequate transportation options has hindered quality of life and slowed the economy, as AASHTO has pointed out. Drivers with a 30-minute commute lose 22 hours (roughly three full work days) sitting in traffic, and travel on U.S. highways has increased five-fold over the past several decades. Expanding capacity in a smart and targeted way has been and will continue to be a part of the solution.

Our continued challenge will be to draw from every tool we have to make our transportation system smarter, safer and more sustainable. Although PIRG and AASHTO come at transportation issues from a different perspective, both agree that the status quo is unsustainable, and our team at Transportation for America couldn’t agree more. We look forward to working with AASHTO, PIRG and all interested groups toward a reauthorization bill that increases affordable and efficient transportation options, creates benchmarks to ensure accountability for taxpayer dollars and makes our roads safer and less congested. Only with an “all of the above” approach that says yes to safer highways, yes to transportation choices and yes to accountability can we truly say our system has met 21st Century needs.

Ohio Congressman recants, decides LaHood’s complete streets policy is not so “radical” after all

In an Associated Press story on April 15, Ohio Congressman Steve LaTourette was quoted decrying the apparently “radical” idea that the safety and comfort of people on foot or bicycle deserve as much consideration as those in cars. He even jokingly asked if the new “equal footing” policy for bicyclists may have the product of drug use at the USDOT. LaTourette created a strawman – equal funding for bicycle infrastructure and roads – to attack a sensible and long overdue change.

To his credit, LaTourette has fully recanted the statement and apologized for any misunderstanding, a result due in part to significant pushback from the bicycling community in his 14th Congressional District and throughout the country. In a message aimed at the cycling community, the Congressman said his comments were intended for levity rather than insult and called biking a legitimate form of transportation that ought to be taken seriously.

I regret the online story caused so much anxiety and that it made some of you question me. Nothing has changed my ardent support of bike trails, bike lanes and the right of cyclists to share the road. This has been a lesson on the power of the Internet, and it sure has given me a new respect for the fierce advocacy from the cycling community.

LaTourette also cited his support for the Safe Routes to Schools program and other active living efforts. LaTourette’s consistent support for funding bike paths in his own district was not lost on Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who noted after the initial hearing: “He knows people in his district like them.”

Transportation, like most issues these days, is highly polarized, but LaTourette’s experience with his own constituents confirms what Transportation for America’s recent poll found: people want their streets to be safe enough for kids to ride their bikes to school. They want seniors to be able to cross the street safely and for bicycling and walking to be legitimate ways of getting around. None of this takes away from cars. If anything, giving a greater voice to bicyclists makes our streets safer and more accessible to everyone.

LaTourette did the right thing by clearing up this controversy and making amends with cyclists in Ohio’s 14th Congressional District and around the country.

T4 America outlines priorities in letter to key Senate Environment and Public Works Committee members

With the health care debate resolved and the U.S. Senate facing a full plate for the remainder of the year, Transportation for America joined with nearly 50 partners to explain our campaign priorities to a key Committee.

The letter was addressed to Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer, Ranking Member Jim Inhofe and senior members Max Baucus and George Voinovich. In it, we outlined how America’s transportation policies have not kept up with changing priorities.

Our National Transportation System has little changed since the 1950’s, when gas was 20 cents a gallon and President Eisenhower launched the interstate highway system. Today, we live in a very different world. Americans are stuck with lengthy commutes that reduce time available for their families and community engagement. Bridges are crumbling, potentially reducing critical rural and urban access. Volatile energy prices are crippling rural economies and stranding Americans young and old. Populations are being exposed to greater levels of air pollution and having to walk on unsafe streets. Our dependence on foreign oil continues to be a threat to our climate and energy security.

Americans are ready for a new direction and demanding transportation options that are cheaper, cleaner and safer. We called on members to act on these demands.

Congress must move toward a 21st Century system that focuses on accountability and results, while creating jobs, providing access to opportunity for all Americans, reducing carbon emissions and our dependence on foreign oil, and improving America’s economic competitiveness. Congress should incorporate the following principles to craft a bold new transportation bill that gets America moving in the right direction.

The letter goes to outline a series of policy priorities that would bring about the change Americans are seeking, including:

  • A 21st Century Transportation Network
  • Improved Accountability and Measurable Results
  • Prioritizing a State of Good Repair
  • Access and Jobs for Those Most in Need
  • A Balanced Playing Field
  • Support for Sustainable Development
  • Greener and Cleaner Freight
  • Saving Lives and Promote Health
  • Smart Financing

To read the entire letter, including policy details and a full list of signatories, click here.

Task force on childhood obesity should look at increased opportunity to walk and bike

Photo courtesy of the California Department of Transportation

In the last couple of weeks, we suggested First Lady Michelle Obama’s Task Force on Child Obesity consider transportation and the built environment.

Another important component is enhancing infrastructure for walking and bicycling.

Infrastructure to support walking and biking includes bike lanes, shared-use paths, and routes on existing and new roads as well as sidewalks, footpaths, walking trails and pedestrian crossings.  Improving bicycling infrastructure results in more bicycling, which makes intuitive sense.

Street-scale neighborhood design, such as improved street lighting, street crossings and traffic calming approaches, can also facilitate physical activity in small geographic areas.

On average, people in highly walkable neighborhoods take one or two more walking trips per week than those living in places with poor walkability. This additional 15 to 30 minutes of walking per week means a 150 pound person expends the energy equivalent of about one extra pound per year.

After only two years, participating schools in the Safe Routes to School Program in Marin County, CA, serving 4,665 students in 15 schools, reported an increase in school trips made by walking (64%), biking (114%), and carpooling (91%) and a decrease in trips by private vehicles carrying only one student (39%).

One way to facilitate increased bicycling and walking in through Complete Streets policies, which can happen at the state, local or national level. A Complete Streets approach requires jurisdictions to consider the needs of all users—whether walking, bicycling, taking public transportation or driving—in transportation projects.

As Michelle Obama’s task force continues its work, we hope they will take a look at active living through increased changes to get outside, walk and bike.

St. Louis County approves half-cent sales tax for public transit

Light-rail system in St. Louis (Photo courtesy of Matthew Black

Americans are continuing to open their wallets and vote with their feet in support of increased transportation options, despite a tough economic climate. On Tuesday, a half-cent sales tax to fund the Metro transit system in St. Louis County in Missouri was approved by a decisive 63 percent of the vote. The increased revenue from Proposition A  will allow officials to restore previously eliminated bus lines and expand the system into more far-reaching suburbs. The measure will also restore lost Call-A-Ride service, a door-to-door van for older and disabled riders.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

If the measure failed, service would have been scaled back to about half the level it was before Metro’s first round of service cutbacks in March 2009. Metro suspended bus service to 2,300 of the 9,000 bus stops and bus shelters in the Missouri half of the transit system.

MetroLink trains ran less often on both sides of the Mississippi River during times when commuters needed them the most: rush hour. Federal stimulus money helped restore some of that lost service in August, but that money soon will run out.

Although public transportation will not be on truly secure funding until Congress approves and President Obama signs a new and forward-looking transportation bill, it is terrific to see communities like St. Louis step up and refuse to wait. For now, St. Louis County has a reliable local funding stream for its transit system and the ability to plan for overdue expansion. The margin of victory conveys strong and bipartisan support for Metro in St. Louis County, which has a much more moderate electorate than the city proper.

The election excited the student body at Washington University, which is located in St. Louis. The campus chancellor, Mark Wrighton, served as co-chair of the Proposition A campaign. Many students volunteered for the campaign and 20,000 alumni living in St. Louis County received letters of support.

The campaign also relied on Congressman William Lacy Clay, who represents much of the city of St. Louis, and an ad hoc committee of black clergy were also involved.

John Nations, the Republican mayor of suburban Chesterfield, made an astute point about how a vote for Proposition A was also a vote for jobs. He told the Post-Dispatch: “there was a cost to voting no. If it was voted down, people lose their jobs at Metro. People are going to lose their jobs because they can’t access them.”

St. Louis County voted yes to jobs and yes to transit.

Secretary LaHood on T4 America’s poll: “People want better options”

Secretary LaHood at our petition delivery last November

We got some superb media coverage last week on the release of our national poll and there’s an engaging discussion underway today on the National Journal experts blog, but we wanted to especially highlight a terrific post today from Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, on his official DOT blog.

While LaHood was showered with gratitude from many for his statement at the National Bike Summit that bicyclists and pedestrians should be accommodated in our transportation network and no longer treated as second-class citizens, he also took a verbal lashing from some defenders of the transportation status quo — but not the pulse of the American people, as our poll clearly shows.

While having the concrete numbers from a bipartisan national survey is encouraging and helpful, Secretary LaHood says that most notably, our poll echoes the same drumbeat he’s heard all around the country from people in big cities, small towns and all the places in between during his first 14 months in office.

This is precisely what I’ve been talking about here in this blog with regard to livability, transit, and walking and biking. I have traveled all over this country in the past 14 months, and everywhere I go people want better options. Options that offer reduced greenhouse-gas emissions. Options that offer reduced fuel-consumption. Options that offer better health. Options that bring communities together.

Now, let me make this absolutely clear: I never said we would stop repairing, maintaining, and–yes–even expanding roadways. I said only that it’s time to stop assuming that putting more cars on more roads is the best way to move people around more effectively.

This survey demonstrates that, by and large, the American people get that. I never doubted them, but it sure is nice to see the numbers.

So, thank you, Transportation For America, for that 82%-strong vote of confidence.

The pleasure is all ours, Secretary.

Active living means housing choices that get people moving everyday

As First Lady Michelle Obama’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity gets to work identifying policy changes and recommendations for federal agencies, the impact of city design on childrens’ health is one of the first places they ought to look.

Current laws and incentives drive where schools, grocery stores, health centers, and parks are located – and whether they are safely accessible by walking or biking. An Atlanta, Georgia study found that each quartile increase of land-use mix — an attribute of neighborhoods that encourages walking — was associated with a 12 percent reduction in the likelihood of obesity.

Building new communities that are less car dependent and making existing communities more efficient are two strategies to make active living more achievable for adults and children alike. Higher land-use mix encourages more everyday active living, increases travel options and reduces congestion. Other measures like higher residential density, smaller street blocks, and access to sidewalks, also translate to increased walking. Conversely, sprawl that limits connectivity and lengthens the distance between destinations has been associated with less physical activity and higher obesity rates in adults, as well as higher automobile passenger and pedestrian fatality rates.

Compact, mixed-use developments near near destinations and accessible by biking and walking make active living for children easier and more routine. Here’s how:

  • The proximity of neighborhood shops to residences has been shown to increase the number of trips on foot or by bicycle.  And people who live in neighborhoods with a mix of shops and businesses within easy walking distance have a 35 percent lower risk of obesity.
  • A national study of 448 metropolitan counties found that people living in compact, higher-density counties walk more, weigh less and are less likely to be obese or have hypertension than people living in more sprawling counties.
  • People in more compact metropolitan areas suffer from significantly fewer chronic medical conditions than their counterparts in more sprawling regions.

In sum, neighborhood and community designs that create opportunities to get out and be physically active during the course of the day is a great step for kids – and an important goal if we are serious about reducing obesity.

Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign a positive step, but must emphasize transportation voices

In February, First Lady Michelle Obama announced her exciting “Let’s Move” campaign and the goal of seriously confronting childhood obesity in the United States within a generation. Now, the campaign – more formally known as the Presidential Task Force on Childhood Obesity – is getting to work on an action plan to influence federal policy.

This is a great start, but there’s an omission: the task force has not emphasized the potential role for the U.S. Department of Transportation. The link between physical activity and the built environment is well established – transportation practices strongly influence physical activity and health outcomes for Americans of all ages.

An active living approach to physical activity incorporates walking and bicycling into everyday activities. Forty years ago, more than half of children walked and bicycled to school, contributing to exercise and good health. Today, less than 15 percent of children walk or bike school, with the rest ferried by school buses or car.  Children who have access to safe, convenient and ample walking and bicycling opportunities in their community develop active transportation habits that can last a lifetime.

Michelle Obama has been a positive role model for children and a leader in promoting healthy habits. Let’s make sure the influence of transportation and the built environment are a part of the Let’s Move effort. More walking and biking = healthier kids.

You can see Transportation for America’s comments on the First Lady’s task force here.