jobs Archives - Transportation For America

Road and public transit maintenance create more jobs than building new highways

With Congress charged with passing a long-term transportation law this year, many hope that increased infrastructure spending will create more jobs. We have to remember that not all infrastructure spending is equal: road and public transit maintenance projects actually create more jobs than highway expansion projects.

The first goal of transportation infrastructure investment is getting people and goods where they need to go. When that investment is part of a package to jumpstart the economy, an important secondary goal is creating new jobs. But in the past, Congress has failed to require states to pick the best investments to do this, partially due to the misconception that spending funds on big highway expansion projects creates a lot of jobs. Dollar-for-dollar, it doesn’t.

Take the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). Between 2009 and 2010, ARRA gave states $26 billion to spend on surface transportation capital projects and $8.4 billion for public transportation capital projects, as we wrote in our joint report with Smart Growth America analyzing this bill last year. States were required to report how they spent that money, and how many jobs they created with it.

Because of that requirement, we know that every ARRA dollar spent on public transportation produced 70 percent more job hours than an ARRA dollar spent on highways. Transit preventive maintenance produced the most jobs out of the main categories for ARRA transit spending, including rail car purchase and rehabilitation, transit infrastructure, and bus purchase and rehabilitation.

Similarly, road repair produces 16 percent more jobs per dollar than new road construction, according to 2009 research from Smart Growth America and the University of Utah. This makes sense: maintenance jobs are open to more kinds of workers, spend less money on equipment and more on wages, and spend less time on plans and permits. Meanwhile, new capacity projects require more funding for buying costly property, which has little or no stimulative or reinvestment value, as we wrote in our joint recommendations for any and all COVID-19 relief packages with Smart Growth America.

Unfortunately, we can’t know if investments in transit maintenance or transit operations (the costs of running a transit agency, as opposed to the costs to construct or maintain transit infrastructure) produce more jobs, because ARRA forbade states from spending funds on operations. But we do know that transit operations funding often goes straight to employees’ wages.

Prioritizing funds on roadway and public transit maintenance is also popular with voters. In a March 2020 poll conducted by Transportation for America and several partners, 79 percent of respondents said that they want to focus federal funding on fixing roads and public transit.

With current long-term transportation policy expiring in September—at the same time our economy is struggling to recover from an unprecedented pandemic—Congress has an opportunity to create the most new jobs and finally rebuild our “crumbling infrastructure.” All by simply increasing funding for transit maintenance and requiring that states fix-it-first: maintain their existing roadways before building new ones.

Crookston, MN: Where investment in public transit and hard-working Americans “help buses come alive”

Last week Transportation for America traveled to one of New Flyer of America’s transit bus manufacturing facilities in northern Minnesota to meet with state and local leaders like State Representative Deb Kiel, and get a close look at the economic impact of public transportation dollars on Minnesota manufacturing jobs.

State and local leaders get an inside look at New Flyer of America’s transit bus production line in Crookston, MN. New Flyer proudly flies both the US and Canadian flag as part of NFI Group Inc., a multinational company and North America’s largest bus manufacturer with 31 facilities across the U.S. and Canada.

When Americans think about transit, the first thing that comes to mind might be a bus or train moving people in a coastal, bustling urban area. But the work of manufacturing that bus or railcar—as well as its thousands of component parts— is made possible by the billions in state, local, and federal funds invested in transit each year. And those dollars have effects that ripple out to communities of nearly all sizes across the country.

Last week, we convened state and local leaders like State Representative Deb Kiel, Crookston Mayor Wayne Melbye, staff from U.S. Representative Colin Peterson’s office, and others at New Flyer of America’s transit bus manufacturing facility in Crookston, MN for a discussion about how federal, state, and local money invested in public transportation supports and creates jobs in Minnesota and across the country.

(Left) Jennifer McNeill, New Flyer Vice President of Sales and Marketing talks with Craig Hoiseth, Executive Director at Crookston Housing & Economic Development Authority. (Right) Second from right, Rep. Deb Kiel, and other local leaders hear from New Flyer about the inner workings of the Crookston facility.

Crookston, located in the far northwest corner of the Minnesota, is home to one of New Flyer of America’s four transit bus manufacturing facilities in the U.S. New Flyer of America serves all 25 of the largest transit agencies in North America, and is responsible for about half of the transit buses we see on our roads today.

Each week at the Crookston facility alone, they produce about 20 buses that end up serving communities across the U.S. On the tour we saw technicians in this small, rural community in Minnesota hard at work to build buses destined for cities like Phoenix and San Francisco, painting a compelling picture of just how the supply chain for transit ripples from coast to coast.

New Flyer employs over 1,200 people between its two manufacturing facilities in Minnesota. Like many manufacturers, New Flyer needs a trained and consistent workforce to succeed; both time and money are wasted if you have to retrain a workforce every few years. As Jennifer McNeill, New Flyer Vice President of Sales and Marketing, noted, these are skilled manufacturing jobs, not jobs that can be switched on and off as needed.

(Left) New Flyer employees building out the inside of a bus. (Right) Chairman of Transportation for America, John Robert Smith, speaks to the economic impact of public transportation dollars on manufacturing jobs.

70 percent of New Flyer’s buses are purchased with public dollars, and it’s clear that these Minnesota manufacturing jobs—and others in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin—are directly reliant on the federal government continuing to make smart investments in transit.

Unfortunately, ongoing transit funding isn’t entirely certain today. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has been slow to award grants from the major federal program that helps communities make new investments in high-quality transit service. But the issue goes beyond discretionary grant programs. Congress has had difficulty passing multi-year transportation funding bills and finding dedicated funding sources for transportation. Before passing the FAST Act in December 2015 (which funds federal transportation investments through 2020), Congress passed 35 short-term extensions, which creates the kind of uncertainty that threatens manufacturing jobs that depend on a stable pipeline of orders and projects.

Federal money invested in public transportation each year leverages local and state funding and supports thousands of high paying manufacturing jobs in communities like Crookston, and in nearly every state across the country. Our recent report on the public transportation supply chain found that 91 percent [396 of 435] of congressional districts host at least one manufacturer.

Without predictable and stable federal and state funding, we may see transit agencies cut projects and be pressured to cancel bus and railcar orders from manufacturers across the country like New Flyer.

Federal investments in transit go far beyond building buses and trains for big cities. The transit supply chain supports high quality, valuable, and sustainable jobs in communities like Crookston all across the country. As members of Congress are considering federal appropriations and future long-term transportation funding bills, they should remember the hard working Americans in communities of all sizes that depend on transit funding.

Photo courtesy of New Flyer

Investing in transit fuels local economies across the country

Last week, we traveled to Indiana to bring Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski together with one of the 60 companies in her working-class district who build components for public transportation systems across the country, demonstrating how the public dollars devoted to transit support thousands of manufacturing jobs in communities all across the country.

Rep. Walorski, second from right, touring the floor at Kiel with Don Makarius, assistant chief operating officer for Kiel NA, second from left, and other Kiel managers. Photos courtesy of Rep. Walorski’s office.

At Transportation for America, we talk a lot about the nexus between federal investments in transit and economic prosperity. We do it because whenever federal transit dollars are leveraged with state and local funding to buy new buses, railcars or any component used by a public transit system, economies everywhere benefit, including in smaller towns and rural areas. And that means more jobs, more local tax revenue and more opportunity for communities—even those that may be the least served by public transit.

Last week, we brought Kiel North America together with their Congresswoman, U.S. Representative Jackie Walorski, to talk about the seats they produce in Elkhart, IN for interstate coaches, rail systems like BART in the Bay Area, and their growing business line for commuter buses that operate in larger metropolitan areas across the country.

Business is good in the ten counties that make up Indiana’s 2^nd congressional district. Today, according to the Wall Street Journal, Elkhart city and the surrounding communities are experiencing labor shortages, rising home values and increased wages.

The local economy in Elkhart is dominated by RV (recreational vehicles) manufacturing, but Indiana’s 2^nd district is also home to the highest concentration in the country of transit manufacturers and suppliers—at least 60—who produce everything from tracks, to seats, windows, communications equipment, wheels and everything else in between.

When large transit properties, like BART and others, are ready to buy, chances are good that Northwest Indiana is on the shopping list.

Nationwide, there are more than 2,700 transit manufacturers and suppliers, located in 49 states, employing more than 15,000 people. Last fall, Transportation for America examined the recent capital expenditures of four transit properties in San Francisco, Chicago, Denver and Portland and found that the capital outlays from just these four transit properties alone benefited communities in 21 states—communities like Elkhart.

View that full report here.

Continuing to make regular, predictable federal investments in transit will buttress local economies all across the country. The pipeline of transit projects in various stages of development awaiting federal grants for construction includes approximately 50 projects in 19 states. This pipeline means reliable business for the transit supply chain and allows companies to open specialized manufacturing facilities, keep workers employed, and have some measure of confidence that their business has the potential for more work in the future.

Kiel has about two-dozen employees today, but they believe they can triple the size of their workforce, given the opportunities already present in public transit marketplace. The pipeline of transit projects is a big deal to their future—the same pipeline that the Trump administration wants to pause indefinitely and eventually cancel entirely.

Thankfully, Congresswoman Walorski has become a champion for federally funded public transit investments. She led efforts in the House to fully fund the sole source of federal support for communities of any size that are expanding or improving public transportation service—new stations, new lines or improved capacity for rail or even bus rapid transit projects.

Her work, and that of her like-minded colleagues is finally paying off. Last month, Congress adopted and the president signed, the federal government’s FY18 spending plan that included $13.5 billion for public transit investments, including $2.6 billion for the transit Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program and $1.5 billion for the TIGER program, both important sources of funding for transit agencies that spend money in places like Elkhart.

All of this is very good news indeed, but the future is far from certain.

Last year, the Trump administration sought to severely reduce and phase out the transit capital program and to eliminate the TIGER program completely. The president’s FY19 budget recommendation seeks the same again. And there’s even a movement afoot by the president and some leadership in the House to potentially rescind portions of that budget deal, which could put transit funding back under the guillotine.

Without continued federal support, transit projects underway could stall, new or planned projects would be postponed or canceled, and transit agencies would scale back or cancel orders of new railcars or buses. The factories and suppliers—like Kiel—that produce or manufacture components for transit systems would have to downsize or shutter without a steady pipeline of projects.

Congress does not have to accept that future for Elkhart or any other community. We urge Congress to follow the lead of their colleague Rep. Walorski and others like her, by continuing to invest in the transit capital and TIGER programs. Maintain and expand funding for public transit investment so the Elkharts of America and thrive and grow.

Photo courtesy of Rep. Walorski’s office.

Tax reform promises prosperity but is more likely to assure austerity

Transportation for America Kevin F. Thompson offered this statement:

“The supporters of this tax package have promised that it will bring great prosperity. But the trillion-dollar deficit it creates all but guarantees that Congress will be forced to cut funding for job-creating surface transportation programs and other infrastructure investments that the President claims to support — imperiling the country’s economy. In other words, their promises of prosperity will actually lead to years of austerity.”

—

Transportation for America is a program of Smart Growth America, the only national organization dedicated to researching, advocating for, and leading coalitions to bring better development strategies to more communities nationwide. From providing more sidewalks to ensuring more homes are built near public transportation or that productive farms remain a part of our communities, smart growth helps make sure people across the nation can live in great neighborhoods. For more information visit www.smartgrowthamerica.org.

A bipartisan move to give states and metro areas access to better data to shape their transportation planning decisions

Congress took a bipartisan step today to provide states and metro areas with powerful data and accessibility tools that will help them better measure the destinations that their residents can easily reach, equipping transportation agencies to plan smarter transportation investments to address those gaps.

Congresswoman Esty (D-CT) — along with cosponsors Congresswoman Comstock (R-VA), Congressman Davis (R-IL), and Congressman Lipinski (D-IL) — introduced a bill this morning (Friday) to provide communities with valuable tools that can help them understand how well their transportation networks provide access to jobs and daily needs.

The Transportation Access & System Connection (TASC) Act would create a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) pilot program to purchase new, precise data tools for 15 states and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to calculate how many jobs and services (such as schools, medical facilities, banks and groceries) are accessible by all modes of travel. The bill ensures that at least six small communities are included in this pilot via their MPO.

Connecting people to work is arguably the most important goal for our transportation system, yet we generally do a pretty poor job of measuring how successfully our local roads and transit systems performs this base function. But as important as measuring jobs access is, only 20 percent of all trips and only 30 percent of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) are to and from work. This means that 80 percent of trips (70 percent of VMT) are for our other daily essentials — going to the store, shopping, or dropping the kids off at school, etc.

Until recently, transportation agencies could only monitor incredibly blunt metrics, like overall traffic congestion and on-time performance for transit, and while important, these paint a grossly two-dimensional picture of the challenges people face while trying to reach their needs within a reasonable period of time. And these limited measures certainly don’t provide enough information to help these agencies make the hard decisions about what to build to best connect people to the places they need to go.

Too often, the use of simple metrics results in the consideration of simple “solutions,” like adding expensive additional lanes to existing highways and road networks —costly solutions that often don’t solve the problem, or make it worse.

But today, there are precise new tools available that allow communities to more accurately calculate accessibility to employment opportunities, daily errands, public services, and much more. (Similar tools were used to run this analysis of Baltimore’s new bus overhaul, for example.) They allow states and MPOs to analyze a metro area and produce detailed data to help them optimize their transportation networks and utilize all modes of transportation as well as understand the interaction between transportation investments and economic development.

States like Utah, Delaware and Virginia and the cities of Sacramento and Los Angeles are already utilizing this data and seeing results. But unfortunately, states and MPOs must pay for this more helpful accessibility data while the more limited congestion data is made readily available to them. This bill will start to change that by creating a pilot program that will 15 states and MPOs free access to the data, helping them make better use of their limited taxpayer dollars to bring the greatest benefits.

We recognize Representative Esty and her cosponsoring Reps. Barbara Comstock, Rodney Davis, and Dan Lipinski. Let your representatives know that you support this bill – urge them to cosponor the Transportation Access & System Connection (TASC) Act (HR 4241)

New report: Transit funding supports manufacturing jobs from coast to coast

Public dollars devoted to making capital improvements to public transportation systems support thousands of manufacturing jobs, in communities small and large, in nearly every state across the country.

This new short paper from T4America examines the supply chain for public transportation, and illustrates how proposed cuts to federal transit funding threaten thousands of manufacturing jobs at more than 2,700 suppliers from coast to coast.

The supply chain for public transportation is as deep as it is wide, touching every corner of the country and employing thousands of Americans who produce everything from tracks, to seats, windows, communications equipment, wheels and everything else in between. As just a snapshot, recent capital improvements made in just four transit systems — San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, and Portland — supported jobs in 21 states.

Heavy cuts to federal transit spending, as proposed by Congress, would have a devastating effect on these local businesses and the tens of thousands of jobs they support. Without continued federal support, transit projects underway could stall, new or planned projects would be postponed or canceled, and transit agencies would scale back or cancel orders of new railcars or buses. The factories and suppliers that produce or manufacture components for transit systems would have to downsize or shutter without a steady pipeline of projects.

To preserve these jobs and support main streets from coast to coast, Congress and the administration should support and fund the Transit Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program at or above FAST Act levels of $2.3 billion.

View the full report here, which includes a handful of maps and graphics, and rankings of the top ten states and congressional districts by the number of transit manufacturers located within their borders.

Now Hiring: Communications Intern (paid)

Transportation for America is hiring a paid Communications Intern to produce and write compelling stories and content, help manage our website and social media channels; and contribute to our grassroots advocacy and media work focusing on smart investments in transportation.

The intern will join a small, dynamic communications team at T4America (and Smart Growth America) that forms the outward face of Transportation for America’s work. This is an opportunity that features a great deal of responsibility, direct collaboration with our supporters and valuable hands-on experience.

Position description

The ideal intern is an exceptional writer and editor who is plugged-in to news and developments about transportation funding and policy at the federal, state and local level, and can perform and synthesize research on a range of related issues. The successful candidate will be able to use all these skills to create engaging content (i.e. longer reported pieces and blog posts) for Transportation for America’s website and a range of other on- and off-line outlets.

Our interns are dependable team players who can perform regular duties when asked, but also proactive self-starters who can offer and implement new ideas for how to make the team’s work even better. Interns will be writing assigned posts and longer stories, but will also be counted upon to do enterprising work on producing story ideas to pitch to the rest of the team.

The intern’s primary responsibilities include:

Managing and maintaining our social media channels on a daily basis, predominantly Twitter and Facebook.
Reporting and writing original newsy content for our blog and longer-form profiles of local regions and leaders making innovative investments in transportation, including doing interviews with local leaders or advocates for background and quotes.
Writing, posting and managing content on our WordPress-powered website.
Writing, formatting and sending HTML emails to our members and supporters, including a bi-weekly newsletter.
Tracking new developments in federal, state and local transportation policy that are worth emulating and sharing with others on staff and beyond.
Assisting with our outreach to reporters and bloggers; and
Providing general communications support for the organization and our allies.

Requirements

All T4America internships require a self-motivated, detail-oriented person with excellent writing, oral communication and organizational skills, as well as the ability to think creatively and work independently with minimal supervision. Candidates should have a strong interest in economic development, transportation, smart growth or related areas.

In addition, the Communications Intern should have a working understanding of HTML and CSS; familiarity with (web) content and customer relationship management tools (WordPress is our CMS and Salsa is our CRM for grassroots email list and advocacy work); and a solid understanding of organizational social media protocol. Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop and/or InDesign or Illustrator) for light graphics support a plus.

Candidates should have at least a bachelor’s degree and all candidates should be highly computer literate.

Compensation, location and time frame

The position is full time (40 hours per week) and requires a six-month commitment. Some former interns have joined our full-time staff. Transportation for America interns receive a stipend of $1,500 per month. This position is based in our offices in Washington, DC and will be starting around mid-October.

To apply

Please send these materials to info@t4america.org with “Communications Intern” in the subject line:

A short cover letter that includes a 50-word description of the assets you would bring to this position
A current resume with references
Two recent writing samples (500 words or less.)

Applications will be accepted immediately on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Equal opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at Transportation for America. Employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law.

About Transportation for America

T4America is an alliance of elected, business and civic leaders from communities across the country who are united to ensure that states and the federal government step up to invest in smart, homegrown, locally-driven transportation solutions. Learn more at https://t4america.org

Without a good transportation network, employees can’t work, employers can’t employ

A core function of our transportation network is to give everyone access to economic opportunity by making sure they’re easily connected to jobs. T4America director James Corless is participating in a policy roundtable later this week discussing the challenge for employers and employees alike, how some companies are responding, and how we can do better.

For those of you who live near Boston, register to join James and other experts for the related policy breakfast we’re cosponsoring this Thursday, November 19^th in Foxborough, Massachusetts, entitled “How Top Employers are Getting People to Work.” The roundtable will feature speakers discussing what top employers including Lyft and Google are doing and how we can all build a system that provides more opportunity to a greater range of people. T4America is cosponsoring the event with Transportation for Massachusetts, MassCommute, 495/MetroWest Partnership and the Neponset Valley TMA.

Role of transportation

Even though we may take ten or more other trips per day, our trip to and from work is the defining one — the trip that largely determines our economic prospects.

Many communities are struggling to attract and retain talented workers. Many American workers often face grueling or expensive commutes to get to jobs. And too many others lack reasonable, affordable access to jobs, cutting them off from economic opportunity.

An efficient and complete transportation network means businesses can recruit from every corner of their region, and lure new talent to town. It ensures workers of all wage levels can reach their jobs with the lowest possible cost and stress, improving retention for employers. A smarter, 21st century approach to transportation can help expand the earning potential of individuals, boosting the bottom line for business, and strengthening the economic power of regions.

By making smart decisions to better connect employees and employers, we can make our businesses more productive and competitive in today’s global economy while reducing the stark income inequality and racial wealth disparity that exists today.

Locating near transit options is a smart, competitive bet

Businesses are increasingly moving away from the old model of locating in a suburban office park that is only accessible by driving alone. One reason they’re doing this is because their employees — or the employees they desperately want to attract — want to work in places that are accessible via multiple modes of transportation. Because millennials are now the largest generation in the workforce, employers have to pay attention to their preferences to remain competitive in the global economy. And they do indeed have different preferences than preceding generations.

Millennials overall express far more interest in living and working in communities with more transit choices in a recent survey we conducted in conjunction with the Rockefeller Foundation:

4 in 5 millennials want to live where they have a variety of options to get to jobs, school or daily needs
3 in 4 millennials say it is likely they will live in a place where they don’t need a car
66% of millennials say that access to high quality public transportation is one of the top three criteria for deciding where to live next.

Not surprisingly then, when corporations re-locate these days, many are choosing locations that are easily accessible through multiple forms of transit to attract a new generation of workers. State Farm is consolidating multiple offices into new, expanded hubs in three cities, and all three have one common denominator: they’re all incredibly close to quality rail transit service.

Smart Growth America chronicled this phenomenon in their Core Values report that looked at 500 companies that have relocated to downtown locations over the last few years, and how access to transit and other transportation options were a deciding factor.

The change in walk, transit and bike scores before and after the 500 companies relocated in the Smart Growth America Core Values report

Increase in inequality

One of the challenges facing public policymakers is the stark increase in inequality that has occurred over the past 40 years in American society. People and families at the top end of the income scale have seen an increase in their earnings while the middle class and people living in poverty have seen their incomes stagnate or even decline since 1979.

Unfortunately, this growing wealth gap also has stark racial dimensions as well. White families have ten times the household wealth as Hispanics and 13x the wealth of African Americans and this wealth gap has not diminished over the last 30 years and, since the Great Recession, the gap has actually increased.

Pew Research Center (2014, 12/12), From http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/12/12/racial-wealth-gaps-great-recession/

Declining numbers of reachable jobs for many residents

One of the main contributors to the widening income inequality gap has been a decline over the past decade in the ability for workers, especially poor workers, to reach jobs near where they live. Fewer jobs within a realistic commuting distance equals less chance at economic opportunity and less upward mobility for lower-income residents. That comes with unseen costs that we all have to pay indirectly, whether we realize it or not.

Brookings Institute, (2015, March 24th). From: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2015/03/24-job-proximity/srvy_jobsproximity.pdf

How can we change the status quo?

Transportation for America has been pushing for two policy solutions in the surface transportation reauthorization bill Congress is currently considering.

Allow local communities to apply for grants for targeted transportation services and connections to job centers, particularly those with a concentration of low-wage workers; and
Provide the technical assistance and tools to encourage local communities, companies and employees to work together to craft a compelling and helpful suite of commuter benefits, incentives, and options that not only gets employees to jobs, but also helps relieve over-burdened transportation networks and supports the economy.

In addition, communities and businesses should adopt and encourage new (and emerging) methods for employees to get to work, such as new public transit links, employer shuttles, safer bicycle and pedestrian pathways, or car-sharing options.

The good news is that many communities are already making progress on this front. We profiled eight places that are doing innovative things to give more people greater access to economic opportunity:

Improving health and access to opportunity

Whether voting to expand transit service to underserved communities or selecting transportation projects partially based on the health benefits they could bring, innovative leaders in the public and private sectors are finding new ways to utilize transportation dollars to improve the health of their residents and give them access to greater opportunities — bringing tangible economic benefits to their communities along the way.

Read the eight profiles

It’s critical that we continue making progress toward providing everyone who wants to work with ample transportation options to choose from that can get them to a good range of well-paying jobs. It’s foundational to prospering regional economies.

For those of you near Boston, please join James this Thursday on 11/19 by registering here.

New Smart Growth America report details why so many companies are moving downtown

Launched at a terrific event at Washington, DC’s Newseum just this morning, Core Values, a first-of-its-kind report, is stuffed with useful data on nearly 500 companies that have decided to either move from the suburbs to a downtown location, or that have decided to expand or open a new branch in a downtown core.

The companies featured in the report — highlighted by quotes from more than 40 interviews with executives — shared some unifying threads in their decision-making process: the desire to take advantage of the collaborative and cultural opportunities that downtown locations offer, the desire to stay competitive for younger, talented workers, and the ability to give their employees multiple transportation options for getting to work each day.

It’s a trend that we’ve been keeping our eyes on in this space over the last year, like our story about State Farm’s decision to consolidate their employees in three new regional hubs near transit, the ambitious plans of three mid-sized cities that focus on transit as a core economic development strategy, or Marriott’s clear intention to move their headquarters to a location near to transit when their current lease is up.

Smart Growth America takes these stories to a new level, pairing that sort of anecdotal data above with some hard research and in-depth interviews of company executives into one comprehensive report on the trend; showing why companies are making the move and providing recommendations for other companies hoping to do the same — or cities hoping to lure them in.

As Chris Zimmerman wrote today on the SGA blog:

In 2010, global biotechnology company Biogen moved its offices from downtown Cambridge, MA, to a large suburban campus in Weston, 25 minutes away. In 2014, less than four years later, the company moved back.

“There is so much going on in Cambridge,” said Chris Barr, Biogen’s Associate Director of Community Relations. “It is such a vibrant place to live and work—it’s been a great move back for us.”

Biogen is one of hundreds of companies across the United States that have moved to and invested in walkable downtowns over the past five years. Our newest research takes a closer look at this emerging trend.

Core Values: Why American Companies are Moving Downtown is a new report released today by Smart Growth America in partnership with Cushman & Wakefield and the George Washington University School of Business’ Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis. The new report examines nearly 500 companies that moved to or expanded in walkable downtowns between 2010 and 2015, and includes interviews with more than 40 senior-level staff at those companies.

The results provide an overview of why these companies chose a walkable downtown and what they looked for when considering a new location. The report also includes ideas for cities about how they can create the kinds of places these companies seek.

View the report

The Red & Purple transit lines in Maryland would position Maryland for long-term economic success

Drawing from experience across the nation, a new Transportation for America report attempts to assess the full range of potential economic benefits from the planned Red and Purple transit lines in Maryland. The key finding: With benefits that far outweigh the costs, these two lines would help position Maryland for economic success in ways that few other investments are likely to do.

Send a message to Governor Hogan urging him to approve the two projects.

Send A Message

At a time when competitor regions are moving forward with their own ambitious transit plans and companies and workers alike are being drawn in increasing numbers to walkable locations with high-quality transit, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan will soon be deciding the fate of two long-awaited transit projects in Baltimore and the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Much ink has been spilled on the costs of the projects, but what about the potential benefits?

There are the short-term benefits as construction starts, workers are hired, materials are produced and sourced, and these large multi-year investments get underway; and there are the long-term benefits like the tens of thousands of additional jobs newly accessible by transit, the tens of thousands of people that have access to high-quality rail transit that did not before, and the development made possible by the dozens of stations on these new lines.The benefits to both the Washington and Baltimore regions are significant:

Building the projects would give 174,000 additional Maryland residents access to frequent, high-quality transit.
These two lines will help dramatically expand the labor and customer base for Maryland businesses. 540,000 jobs will be accessible via high-quality rail transit following construction.
The two new transit lines would generate 35,440 direct & indirect jobs and make a total $9 billion economic impact.

Gov. Hogan has stated his commitment to making Maryland “open for business” and prioritizing economic development around the state. How better to do that than by taking strong steps to keep the two largest regions in the state competitive for decades to come?

In March, the CEO of Marriott International, currently headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland in Montgomery County, shared the news with the Washington Post that they would be looking to relocate when their current lease is up.What’s their primary prerequisite for their new location? “I think it’s essential we be accessible to Metro, and that limits the options,” said CEO Arne Sorenson. If the Purple line gets built as planned, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties would see their total number of Metro stations nearly double, from 26 to 47. Wouldn’t it be smart for Maryland to double the options to retain employers like Marriott?

This is a recurring theme we’ve heard in meetings with mayors, chamber officials, and other civic leaders across the country. Making smart investments in transportation, and especially in transit, is a crucial part of their strategy to stay competitive and attract the talented workforce that is increasingly seeking out jobs and homes in walkable, connected cities and neighborhoods.

In Baltimore, the east-west Red Line would help turn a disconnected pair of existing transit lines into a proper system, connecting the hub of jobs at Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, the downtown office core, and the residential neighborhoods all along the line — including some of the West Baltimore neighborhoods that could use the investment and connection to opportunity that a new transit line provides.

There’s nothing else in the plans in Maryland’s future that could bring the kind of long-term economic benefits to the state as these two transit projects could. Yes, both are expensive, but the benefits of each will far outweigh the costs — to say nothing of the heavy costs of inaction.

Several years ago, with the Purple line delayed once again, the Washington Post ran these ads in D.C.

: Thanks to Richard Layman for the use of this photo. http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com

It would be a shame to see ads like these again in ten or 20 years as we regret these missed opportunities. Tell Governor Hogan that you support both of these projects by sending him a letter.

As transit becomes ‘must-have economic development tool,’ will Congress help?

An excellent piece in the Washington Post this morning caught up to the topic we have been raising here for some time: Good transit service and walkable locations with nearby places to live, eat and shop are essential for economic development in today’s world. Which makes us wonder: Is Congress listening?

Recalling that Marriott’s chief executive recently expressed a desire to locate near Metro rail, reporters Katherine Shaver and Bill Turque wrote:

Marriott’s announcement is the latest sign that mass transit, once viewed as a prescription for traffic congestion, is now considered a must-have economic development tool to attract millennials — the country’s largest living generation — along with their employers, and the taxes that both contribute to local governments. Adding to the demand is the country’s second-largest demographic group: empty-nest baby boomers seeking to downsize in the suburbs and drive less as they grow older.

As regular readers are well aware, Congress must find money to renew the federal transportation program this year, ostensibly by May 31 (though an extension of the law itself is all but inevitable). In doing so, lawmakers can either help or hurt communities, like those discussed in the story, that are lining up for very limited dollars for transit, TIGER and the like — money that can help them prepare their communities for economic success.

They are doing so in large part because they are continually hearing messages like this one from Stephen P. Joyce, Choice Hotels’ chief executive, quoted in the Post:

If you’re a suburban employer and you want to be relevant to people who want to live in urban locations, you’ve got to think mass transit,” Joyce said. “I can’t compete unless they can get to us without driving.

Henry Bernstein, a longtime economic development official who is now an executive in a commercial real estate firm in Rockville, MD, explains why: “This generation wants more things at their fingertips, rather than having to jump in a car to get to the mall or go eat. I truly believe any community that doesn’t have these things will fail.”

The Post story comes the same month that State Farm officials announced they would consolidate employees in three cities at regional hubs on sites with rail transit. “We’re designing these workplaces to be the future of State Farm,” chief operating officer Michael Tipsord said. “We’re creating a live-work-play environment that will give employees easy access to their work from the neighboring communities.”

Among the possible solutions within the federal program is the Innovation in Surface Transportation Act, introduced in both the House and Senate this month by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. It would give a major boost by allowing local communities more access to federal dollars flowing to their state, but there is so much more that could be done with more robust transit funding and more flexible use of existing dollars.

Here’s hoping that Congress is paying attention, and that the next federal program will provide local communities more access to the funds they need to meet the needs of today’s economy.

A key policy change will help local communities give their residents better access to transportation jobs

For more than 40 years, federal policies have prevented local residents from benefiting from the well-paying jobs that come with federally funded transportation projects. The USDOT just made a move to change that with a new pilot program.

Los Angeles transit construction

Longstanding federal statutes have prevented the localities receiving federal transportation grants from giving any preference to bidders who hire local residents, leaving a city or region without a legal way to ensure that a project boosts local employment by hiring qualified residents to do the work.

In early March, the USDOT took an important first step to change that, however. The agency is launching a one-year pilot program called Local Hire ”to evaluate the use of these requirements and determine their impact.”

Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx announced that after a recent Department of Justice clarification of federal bidding statutes, the U.S. Department of Transportation would now allow local recipients to use contracting requirements, including local hiring, so long as those requirements do not unduly restrict competition.

“Under this program, recipients of highway and transit grants will be allowed to use hiring programs in which preference is given to local residents, low-income workers, and veterans,” wrote Foxx. The DOT is requesting comments on this proposed rule for the pilot program by April 6^th.

Evaluating bids with hiring requirements is a typical practice in many places for projects funded with local or state dollars. But regulations governing federal dollars had prohibited the practice, citing concerns that it could undermine competition and drive up costs.

The advocates who have long argued that federal transportation spending needs to better benefit everyone called it a groundbreaking move.

“Research has shown that low-income workers and communities of color are vastly under-represented in jobs in the transportation sector,” wrote PolicyLink’s Anita Hairston. “This is a missed opportunity for connecting these communities to quality jobs, especially given the good wages and benefits that often accompany transportation work.”

Allowing a preference for hiring local workers is about giving states and local communities the power to ensure that qualified locals are first in line for jobs instead of seeing those jobs go to residents from elsewhere. This would help provide a one-two punch for economic development: good jobs for the local residents who most need them, and the long-term benefits of a new transportation investment.

This is a great step in the right direction, and we look forward to the results from the Local Hire pilot program.

You can send your comments to the USDOT by April 6 here.

State Farm is moving to concentrate thousands of employees in locations near transit

State Farm, one of the country’s largest insurance companies, is betting big on transit in three cities by building or expanding regional hubs on sites with good access to public transportation, reflecting a clear strategy to attract and retain talent who increasingly want to live and work in locations connected by transit.

A State Farm Insurance executive told a crowd in Tempe, AZ, that the company’s decision to build a huge new hub there was directly tied to the nearby availability of light rail and other transportation options that are attractive to recruiting talent.

“We’re designing these workplaces to be the future of State Farm,” chief operating officer Michael Tipsord said at an Arizona State University event. “We’re creating a live-work-play environment that will give employees easy access to their work from the neighboring communities.”

The new hub in Tempe will give State Farm enough space to expand their Phoenix-area workforce from 4,500 to more than 8,000, and will be a ten-minute walk from a Valley Light Rail stop right by Sun Devil stadium at the edge of the Arizona State University campus.

tempe state farm google map location

In Atlanta, State Farm is at the center of an enormous 2.2-million-square-foot development at Perimeter Center, already one of the biggest job hubs in the entire metro region, located immediately adjacent to a MARTA heavy rail station. State Farm’s plan to lease more than 500,000 square feet in a larger development has been making waves in economic development circles in Atlanta. They’re planning to hire another 3,000 employees to augment the 5,000 already in metro Atlanta, bringing new jobs to this region as well.

It’s likely to be part of consolidating workers presently at other sites in far-flung Atlanta suburbs that State Farm has already sold. In a region with notoriously bad traffic and jobs scattered all over the metro area, it’s hard to overstate the significance for Atlanta.

Atlanta State Farm Master plan state farm atlanta hq rendering

North of Dallas in Richardson, TX, State Farm is building a new hub from scratch on the main north-south light rail line that will anchor an enormous new mixed-use development. This site, with room to expand further, is so close to the light rail stop that the executives could probably hit golf balls off the roof of the new buildings and hit the tracks. And at over 2 million square feet of office space, the Dallas Business Journal called it “the largest lease in North Texas history.”

dallas state farm google map location

State Farm is just one of many companies coming to the realization that a key part of recruiting and retaining talented workers is having convenient access to public transportation and being better integrated into nearby communities rather than isolated in a 1970’s style office park.

Though plenty of companies are still located in those office parks and will continue to be, other notable employers are looking to move to the kinds of locations more in demand by their workforce.

Just last week, Marriott hotels, a major employer in the Washington, DC, region, announced they’ll be looking for a new headquarters in the area when the lease expires on their existing suburban campus. And one of the most important things they’ll be looking for in a new HQ as they try to keep up in the race for attracting talent?

“I think it’s essential we be accessible to Metro and that limits the options. I think as with many other things our younger folks are more inclined to be Metro-accessible and more urban,” chief executive Arne M. Sorenson told the Washington Post.

Expect more news like this in the coming months and years as more companies realize that locating in vibrant, walkable areas with good transit options are not only good for business, it’s critical for the companies trying to stay competitive.

DOT chronicles the inspiring success story of United Streetcar

There’s been a resurgence of streetcars in the United States, with dozens of cities from Washington, D.C. to Tucson, Arizona and Cincinnati, Ohio competing each year for federal dollars to build new streetcar systems to help fill gaps in the existing transit network, bring new development to neglected corridors, and provide another travel option for folks to get from A to B.

Washington, D.C.’s new streetcars were built in Europe, because frankly, most of the expertise on building transit vehicles has been concentrated in countries other than the United States for the last few decades. But now, at least one American company has entered the market and written their own success story.

Streetcars are coming back to the United States in a big way, and United Streetcar, a company based in Portland, is taking advantage by producing Streetcars here in the United States, hiring American workers and boosting the local economy. (Ed note: we profiled United Streetcar in this 2009 post)

It’s a good reminder that our federal transportation priorities and spending have real implications for jobs and the economy here in the U.S. More money for streetcars in the transportation bill not only means better transit options for more people in our cities and communities — it also means more money flowing to companies like United Streetcar; companies that are creating jobs for Oregon residents with trickle-down effects to hundreds of other vendors and suppliers.

More money for transit means more success stories like United Streetcar.

Watch the DOT video below, and read the original post on Secretary LaHood’s blog.

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.

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.”