Uncle Sam is finally getting serious about overhauling a transportation system that hasn't seen a significant upgrade since the Eisenhower era.
According to a two-page hand-written outline by Rep. James Oberstar. chairman of the House Transportation Committee, that's making the rounds in D.C., the Department of Transportation is in for a major reworking when the big surface transportation reauthorization bill is unveiled in a few weeks. The Minnesota Democrat wants to consolidate the agency, sharpen its focus and bring a measure of "transit equity" to how projects are funded.
He isn't the only one looking to shake things up at the DOT. Today, an advocacy group unveiled its plan to remake our transportation system "in order to build a smart, safe and clean" system "that provides real choices to all Americans."
What we're talking about here is the reauthorization of the "Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users," the transportation spending bill approved in July 2005. It set aside $244.1 billion over five years. It's set to expire, and Congress is banging out a new bill. Whereas the 2005 bill maintained the status quo - build more freeways - the reauthorization is a chance to promote mass transit, smart growth and more sustainable transportation.
Oberstar's outline, which was obtained by BNA's Daily Report for Executives, calls for consolidating 108 DOT programs into four "major formula programs" - critical asset preservation, highway safety improvement, surface transportation program and congestion mitigation / air quality improvement. He also wants the agency and the states to create six-year targets for each category and provide annual updates on their progress. That data would be provided to Congress and posted online.
The outline includes a section titled "the future of transportation" that calls for the creation of an undersecretary or assistant secretary for intermodalism. Oberstar calls for transit equity and a desire to "level decision-making factors between highway and transit choices/projects." Uncle Sam currently pays 80 percent of the cost of highway and bridge projects but only 50 percent for transit projects. Presumably Oberstar would bring greater parity to that equation.
He isn't the only one talking about an overhaul. Transportation for America, "a broad coalition" of housing, environmental, public health, urban planning and other advocates dedicated to modernizing our transportation system. Today it unveiled "The Route to Reform," a 100-page document outlining its goals. (Download the executive summary here or the full report here.) Like Oberman, Transportation For America has four main points:
- Articulate a national vision for our transportation system, create objectives for implementing it and set performance targets for adopting it.
- Restructure and consolidate federal programs to create greater modal integration and create "seamless transportation systems" that "connect metropolitan regions, small towns and rural areas."
- Provide transportation funding directly to states, regions and cities and give them greater flexibility in deciding which projects to fund, rewarding them for projects that meet national objectives.
- Reform transportation funding and create a Unified Transportation Trust Fund that would create a balanced portfolio of rail, freight, highway, public transportation and non-motorized transportation investments.
The proposal calls on Congress not to raise taxes to provide additional transportation funding unless there is critical reform.
"Increased revenues for transportation are needed to pay for necessary upgrades to the federal program, but we can only support more money if it's accompanied by a bold new vision for a 21st century transportation system," James Corless, the group's director, said. "We should look at a variety of potential revenue strategies, but that must go hand-in-hand with reforms to help spend these funds more wisely."
This is, as the Infrastructurist notes, "a defining year for transportation." We've got a chance to remake a system that hasn't really changed since President Eisenhower created the federal highway system more than 50 years ago. Corless is hardly the first to say that system is increasingly unable to meet our needs.
Congress is starting to listen, which makes this a good news, bad news kind of deal. The good news is Congress is starting to pay attention to national transportation policy, and give it more than a passing nod to concepts like logic and accountability. The bad news is any attempt to reform the system could become a morass of petty politics and egregious earmarks.
But the cool thing about this process is it's participatory. You think we should invest more heavily in light rail? You want 14-lane freeways in every major metropolitan area? You think we oughtta dump every dollar into bike lanes? Speak up and tell your elected officials. We may not get another chance.
Photo: Flickr / Atwater Village Newbie.
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