A New National Transportation Policy for the 21st Century

Transportation For America American Planning Association

September 21st, 2010Kathleen Woodruff, T4A Illinois Statewide Organizer

Source: © 2009 GasBuddy.com

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 10, 2006

In 1969: 50% of children walked or biked to school.

In 2001: only 13% of children walked or biked to school.

Source: Robert Wood Johnson foundation, Active Transportation to School: Trends in Walking and Biking to School

Children Are Walking Less to School

Americans are Becoming Increasingly Obese

Americans are Becoming Increasingly Obese

Source: Mokdad A H, et al. J Am Med Assoc 1999;282:16, 2001

• Direct costs of obesity total $75 billion nationally; indirect costs total $139 billion

• Obese people pay 36% more for health care and 77% more for medications

• Obese employees had $51,091 in workers’ compensation medical claims costs per 100 full-time employees; non-obese employees had $7,503 in medical claims costs per 100 employees

Economic Costs of Obesity

• Indirect costs fall on employers (increased absenteeism, disability, presenteeism, workers’ compensation)

• Obese workers had 183.63 lost workdays per 100 full-time employees; non-obese workers had 14.19 lost workdays per 100 full-time employees

• Excessive weight and physical inactivity negatively affect quality & quantity of work, and overall job performance

Economic Costs of Obesity

Americans want transportation options

Federal Gas Tax

Americans Want Options

➔73% of Americans say they have no choice but to drive

➔Further 66% would like MORE options.• 59% would like more public transit options

➔57% would like to spend less time in their car

Federal Transportation Policy

➔We need increased transportation investment➔BUT can’t keep asking for money without a

vision➔Need to be smarter about where we build new➔Need more accountability and performance➔Better up front planning, less red tape on back

end➔Contractors, labor, enviros, health cooperate

History of Reauthorization• 1991, ISTEA (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act)

$155 Billion– new vision for surface transportation– expanded funding to air quality, reducing congestion and pedestrian and

bicycle access

• 1998, TEA-21 (Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century) $227 Billion– Declared interstate highway system complete– Increased funding levels and added local flexibility to existing programs

• 2005, SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users)$286 Billion– Safe Routes to School Program and more funding

• 2010/11, The New Bill? $450 Billion

ISTEA

• ISTEA: Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991

• $155 Billion• New vision for surface transportation in America.• Presented an overall intermodal approach to highway and

transit funding with collaborative planning requirements • Gave significant additional powers to (MPOs) Metropolitan

Planning Organizations.

TEA-21• Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 1998-2003• Authorized $217 billion over 6 years

– 40% more than ISTEABalanced investment in highway, transit, intermodal projects and

technologies,Strong state and local flexibility in the use for funds.Increased tax-free transit benefits to encourage transit ridership.Streamlined Planning in metropolitan and statewide

transportation planning processes-freight shippers and transit riders as stakeholders. Strengthens the role of local officials and improves public involvement in the planning processes.

SAFETEA-LU• August 2005, President Bush signed into law• Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for

Users• $286 Billion• Focused on improving safety, reducing traffic congestion, improving efficiency

in freight movement, increasing intermodal connectivity, and protecting the environment

KEY PRINCIPALS• Safety• Equity• Innovative Finance• Congestion Relief• Mobility and Productivity• Efficiency• Environmental stewardship• Environmental Streamlining

REAUTHORIZATION-2011?

Will they use outline from Oberstar house bill

Huge opportunity with current administration

Most likely now not happening until 2011

What will the midterms bring?

Change in party? Change in leadership of crucial committees such as EPW, Banking etc.?

Transportation for America believes the 21st century requires a more complete transportation system—

one that is smarter, safer, cleaner, and provides more mobility options for all Americans.

A broad, growing coalition T4America: A Broad, Growing Coalition

➔ Began May 2008

➔ 500 members include AARP, ATU, TWU, Teamsters, Good Jobs First, National Housing Conference, TEN, Policylink, NRDC, American Public Health Association

➔ 8 staffed states, partners in 40 states

➔ New Blueprint unveiled in May 2009 provides a roadmap for reform.

The T4America Agenda

➔ Smarter➔ Goals and performance measures➔ Smarter communities with a diverse mix of uses➔ ITS and operational hwy improvements

➔ Safer➔ Safer streets for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists

➔ More choices➔ Such as public transportation, high speed rail, walkable

neighborhoods, bike paths

➔ More local control➔ New roles and $$ for regional transportation agencies

➔ Accountability – measurable goals incl CO2 & safety➔ Repair - Road, bridge and transit rehab & operations➔ Jobs - Quality jobs & workforce development➔ Options – public transit, walkable communities, rail➔ Access – for seniors, low-income and the disabled➔ Innovation – technology, mixed income TOD➔ Influence - more local voices and local control

T4America Goals

Performance Measurementand Accountability

How to measure progress?

Program Structure

How to achieve objectives?

Institutional Structure

How to monitor and deliver reforms?

Revenue and Finance

How to pay for it?

Critical Reform Areas

Transportation and a 21st century economy

Investments in road maintenance projects create nine percent more jobs than spending on new highway capacity; investment in transit capacity creates 19 percent more jobs than road expansion.

The Federal Highway

Administration estimates that

every billion of federal dollars

invested in transportation

creates 34,000 jobs

Transportation in a 21st Century Economy

National Transportation Objectives

➔ Promote Energy Conservation and Energy

Security

➔ Ensure Environmental Protection, including

Climate Stability

➔ Improve Economic Competitiveness and System

Efficiency

➔ Ensure Safety and Improved Public Health

➔ Better Transportation System Conditions and

Connectivity

➔ Provide Equal and Equitable Access to

Transportation Options

Flickr user: starquake

Performance Targets

• Reduce per capita VMT by 16%

• Triple walking, biking, and public

transportation usage

• Reduce transportation-generated

carbon dioxide levels by 40%

• Increase proportion of freight

transportation provided by railroad

and intermodal service by 20%

• Achieve zero percent population

exposure to at-risk levels of air

pollutionFlickr user: portlandbike.org

Flickr user: karolik

Elements of Reform• Empowering local and regional governing

bodies with direct funding and decision-

making ability.

• Breaking down modal silos with reformed

program structure

• Integrating transportation with land use,

housing, economic development, and

environmental protection through new

programs and incentives.

• Clear goals and performance targets – with

accountability.

• Elevating needs of underserved communities.

• Multiple funding scenarios, but no extra

dollars without reform.

• More balance in funding – more for transit,

bicycling, walking, planning

Flickr user: dctourism

TIGER GRANTS•TIGER:

•Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery

•Entire amount spent in the first round of TIGER grants•Legislation provides $1.5 billion for a National Surface Transportation System through September 30, 2011

•Awardees in Illinois•Normal Illinois Multi-modal Transportation Center•CREATE program aims to alleviate major bottlenecks along the area’s freight- and passenger-rail corridors. The public/private partnership program includes more than 46 rail and 25 grade separation projects that call for restructuring, modernizing and expanding Chicago’s rail network..

•Amount potentially spent in TIGER II•DOT is authorized to award $600 million in TIGER II Discretionary Grants

Key Differences between Tiger I and Tiger II:-At least $140 million of the new grants are required to go to rural areas--Localities selected to receive federal funding would need to provide a 20 percent match

Name: Normal Multimodal Transportation CenterLocation: Normal, ILSponsor: Town of Normal, ILTotal Cost: $47,400,000TIGER Funding: $22,000,000

4 - Number of stories (first floor serves Amtrak, bus and taxi users; top three floors for town of Normal administrative offices and City Council chambers)400 - Spaces in attached parking deck7,500 - Square feet of first-floor retail space9.8 - Amount in millions of dollars for the town’s share of the project’s cost24.9 - Amount in millions of dollars for the winning bid by River City Construction of East Peoria33.4 - Amount in millions of dollars received from federal and state grants, including $22 million in a federal Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery grant43.3 - Amount in millions of dollars for the total cost, including design, furniture, equipment and roadsSource: The Pantagraph

Sustainable Communities

➔ DOT, HUD & EPA

➔ Affordability, Choice & Access – both Transp & Housing

➔ Livable Communities = Sustainable Communities

➔ Coordination of Programs, ID Barriers to Implementation

➔ $150M in HUD FY10 Budget

➔ Sen Dodd bill - $400M regional planning, $3.75B projects

Flickr user: starquake

Six livability principals

• The Partnership for Sustainable Communities established six livability principles that will act as a foundation for interagency coordination:– Provide more transportation choices.– Provide more transportation choices.– Enhance economic competitiveness.– Support existing communities.– Coordinate policies and leverage investment.– Value communities and neighborhoods.

Rep. Blumenauer on Government & Transit

http://www.streetfilms.org/earl-blumenauer-talks-transit-stimulus-bikes-and-obama/

➔ Metropolitan Regions➔ that link to one another with roads, air, bus and high speed rail

➔ but also compete with one another for funding, business, people

➔ Goodbye gasoline tax, hello distance & congestion pricing

➔ Competitive grants from federal and state levels

➔ Smarter, more coordinated public transportation

➔ Focus on the big and the small – freight, high speed rail and

walkable communities

The Future of Transportation

House T Bill➔ $450B for six years

➔ Double $$ for transit, TOD is

major criteria

➔ Metro Mobility Pgm for large

metro areas

➔ Blueprint planning to link housing

& transportation plans

➔ CO2/Climate targets as part of

long range transp plans

Flickr user: starquake

Senate T Bill

➔ Safety

➔ Asset Management

➔ Freight

➔ Metro Mobility

➔ High Speed Rail?

➔ Draft in December?

Current Legislative Update

• Previous authorization (SAFETEA-LU) expired September 30, 2009, extended 4 times, most recently in “Jobs Bill 1” until December 31, 2010

• House bill (Surface Transportation Authorization Act, or STAA) from Chairman Oberstar heard in subcommittee in June 2009

• No transportation bill yet on Senate side – probably writing in next few months, possibly lame duck? If not then, most likely before May/June 2011

• 2011 Appropriations bill for Transportation, Housing & Urban Development (THUD) pending

Flickr user: garyisajoke

Obama Initiative

➔ On Labor Day, President Obama unveiled • 6 years• ROADS: Rebuild 150,000 miles of roads –

renewing our commitment to the backbone of our transportation system;

• RAILWAYS: Construct and maintain 4,000 miles of rail – enough to go coast-to-coastRUNWAYS: Rehabilitate or reconstruct 150 miles of runway – while putting in place a NextGen system that will reduce delays.

➔ Could spur job growth as early as next year• IF Congress approves……….

Great quote from Streetsblog: On Labor Day, President Obama put transportation near the top of his agenda by calling on Congress to tackle stagnant job growth by repairing and upgrading infrastructure. He asked Congress to ramp up investment in roads and rail, create a federal infrastructure bank that would help fund large and complex projects, reform the Balkanized structure of federal transportation spending programs, and make the nation’s transportation system safer and more livable. Advocates for shifting away from the highway-centric effects of current federal policy were encouraged by Obama’s use of the word “reform,” and the lack of any mention of expanding highways.

Obama Initiative ➔ An up-front investment.

➔ The President will work with Congress to enact a new up-front investment in our nation’s infrastructure – an investment that would help jump-start additional job creation, while also laying the foundation for future growth. This initial investment would fund improvements in the nation’s surface transportation, as well as our airports and air traffic control system.

➔ A vision for the future. The President proposes to pair this with a long-term framework to reform and expand our nation’s investment in transportation infrastructure. Since the end of last year, when the last long-term surface transportation legislation expired, these investments have been continued on a temporary basis, even as the trust fund to finance them has fallen into insolvency.

➔ If we are to enjoy the benefits that come from a world-class transportation system, Congress must enact a long-term reauthorization that expands and reforms our infrastructure investments and returns the transportation trust fund to solvency. To jumpstart job creation, this long-run policy front-loads – through a $50 billion up-front investment – a significant share of the new infrastructure resources. As with other long-run policies, the Administration is committed to working with Congress to fully pay for the plan.

Campaign Strategies

• Make clear asks for “Highway and Bridge Repair” and transit funding for any jobs bill

• Support strong transportation planning and funding provisions in climate bill

• Support House bill and work for some modest improvements

• Develop Senate champions and supporters for transformative Senate transportation bill

•Work with champions and allies to support key marker bills

•Find common ground to bring over or diminish previous opposition

Campaign Strategies

Marker bills

Midwest Strategies

• Key Senate Targets – include Durbin (IL), Klobuchar (MN), Voinivich and Brown (OH)

• All Senators are Key

• Key House Targets – include Oberstar (MN), Levin (MI)

• Caucus Opportunities

• Election Education Opportunities

Midwest Strategies

• High Speed Rail

• Rural Issues (incl. Livability)

• Jobs

• Freight Issues

• New Starts

• Transit funding

• Active Transportation/Health

• Climate

• State of Good Repair

• Others?

…and over 500 more, and growing.http://t4america.org/who-we-are/

WHO WE ARE

Flickr user: tallkev

Work with Us!

Join us at t4america.org

Contact Kathleen Woodruff

at

kathleen.woodruff@t4ameri

ca.org