Our transportation system is broken, and the Department of Transportation isn't going to take it anymore. At least, that's what it would have us believe as Uncle Sam rolls out a proposed transportation overhaul that would impact much of the nation's transport infrastructure.
While doing the media circuit to talk up her new plan, DOT head and avid motorcyclist Mary Peters has been surprisingly (one might even say refreshingly) candid about the problems facing transportation in the United States. Her proposal, a 72-page tome called "Refocus. Reform. Renew. A New Transportation Approach In America," (.PDF) does a pretty deep dive into policy specifics, but the DOT has put together fightgridlocknow.gov, a website that breaks down some of its key recommendations.
Modernize air traffic control: Peters thinks aviation gridlock is due in large part to the country's 1940s era air traffic control system. Fair enough. She wants to replace it with a GPS system called NextGen, which is a good idea except that it's going to take at least ten years. In the meantime she's advocating ineffective market-based approaches like flight caps and bumping airline fees for flying into crowded airports. Don't do it, Mary! They're nothing more than quick fixes that don't address the bigger problems.
Find more cash: Peters says the gas tax is an unpredictable and unsustainable source of revenue for highway projects, and that other sources are needed. The proposal suggests "more direct pricing options" which for now should be read as increasing tolls.
Speed up highway construction: It takes an average of 13 years to build a new highway, which is way too long, especially if you're creeping along on a gridlocked road. DOT wants to speed things up by "streamlining the review process." That's great, except for the part about "asking the same environmental and planning questions, but getting answers more quickly." This should be a giant red flag: if anything, environmental impact needs to be studied more closely, not less so.
Give the states some juice: Right now the DOT sticks its nose into any and every state or local project that receives federal funding, which is a recipe for inertia and gridlock. But with the new proposal, Peters basically is saying "You know what guys? We're going to give you some cash, and you spend it the way you want. After all, you know better than us." That means states and municipalities can fund highway, bus, or transit programs as they see fit, rather than Washington calling the shots. Looks good on paper, but will the DOT really give up that power?
The proposal also calls for combining more than 100 transportation programs into eight and using technology and collaborative approach to speed things along in general. In our book, anything that cuts government bloat is a good thing.
There are some duds in the proposal, but it includes some good ideas as well. The question we have is why it took so long. Sure, it must take a while to pull something like this together, but Peters has been in office for nearly two years. And under her watch a bridge collapsed in Minnesota and our air travel system has essentially ground to a halt. Better late than never, but we shouldn't have been waiting for this long.
*Photo by Flickr user aplo. *
