Transportation

Since the completion of the interstate highway system two decades ago, there has been no national vision driving federal transportation policy. Today, our nation's economy is constrained by crippling traffic and air congestion in metropolitan regions, by its vulnerability to volatile gas prices, and by the lack of transportation options in most communities. These problems, combined with the need to plan for projected population growth and respond to global climate change, calls for an overhaul to the planning and management of our transportation systems. America needs a transportation policy for the 21st century that can help rebuild the economy, promote energy independence, protect the environment, and provide affordable and dependable mobility options for all Americans.

America 2050 is calling for a strategic national transportation plan that provides the underpinnings for robust, competitive and sustainable growth in the 21st century in the way the interstate system shaped America's development in the 20th century. This strategic plan would include a "Trans-American Network" of intercity passenger travel and goods movement investments reaching all areas of the country. It should include clear federal objectives for transportation investments, new tools and resources to metropolitan regions to coordinate land use and transportation investments, and a range of new funding sources.

The Trans-American Network and the regional and local investments will likely take a generation or more to implement--which is why we must get started today. The nation's current transportation law expires in September 2009 and the debate over the next surface transportation bill has already begun.

Our recommendations for the upcoming transportation bill focus on five areas:

  • Clear national objectives for federal transportation investments to which states and regions are held accountable, such as: promoting economic productivity, transportation connectivity, energy efficiency, climate stability, safety and health, and equitable access to jobs. 
  • Establishing a Trans-American Network of intercity passenger travel and goods movement to complete our nation's transportation system and to provide reliable and energy efficient means of moving people and goods.
  • A commitment to system preservation to maintain our existing roads, bridges, and transit systems in good repair.
  • Direct funding and greater flexibility to metropolitan regions to implement comprehensive transportation and land use plans that boost economic productivity, energy efficiency, and transportation options.
  • Expanded sources of revenue at the federal, state and local levels, including raising the gas tax, establishing an infrastructure bank, and new financing tools, such as investments by state pension funds in revenue-generating infrastructure and PPPs.
America 2050 is a member of Transportation for America (T4 America), which has released a detailed Campaign Platform for the next bill, which we support.

America 2050 has commissioned and released a number of transportation policy papers and recommendation in recent years, relevant to the upcoming bill. They include:

Recommendations for a Trans-American Passenger Network
Performance Measures and Accountability
Finance and Revenue Sources
Reform of Federal Policy
For more information about America 2050's transportation program, contact Petra Todorovich:  Petra(at)rpa.org

Recent Entries

Could the U.S. Have a Federal Policy on Freight?

By Yoav on July 28, 2010
CSX_Train.JPG The United States could soon have, for the first time, an official federal policy on freight if a bill introduced this week in the Senate becomes law. Three Senators, lead by Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, introduced a bill that would make it the policy of the United States "to improve the efficiency, operation, and security of the national transportation system to move freight." The bill, titled Focusing Resources, Economic Investment and Guidance to Help Transportation (FREIGHT) Act of 2010, enumerates five primary objectives to achieve this policy goal:

•    Reduce delays at international points of entry
•    Increase travel time reliability on major freight corridors
•    Reduce by 10 percent the number of freight related fatalities by 2015
•    Reduce national freight related CO2 levels by 40 percent by 2030
•    Reduce freight related air, water, and noise pollution

The bill establishes within the Department of Transportation an Office of Freight Planning and Development, and gives the DOT two years to develop a National Freight Transportation Strategic Plan that would guide federal investment to achieve these goals.

The bill also establishes a competitive grant program to provide funding for capital investments for freight projects. These grants could go towards projects such as port or intermodal facility improvement, freight rail improvement or capacity expansion, and Intelligent Transportation Systems to reduce congestion.  It also mandates that the DOT develop new tools "to support an outcome-oriented, performance-based approach to evaluate proposed freight-related" projects.

Click here read the complete text of the bill. 

Connecting Cascadia: A High-Speed Rail Vision for the Pacific Northwest

By Ben on July 16, 2010  | 0 Comments
Cascadia Megaregion

Earlier this month America 2050 sponsored a two-day planning charrette in Portland, Oregon with stakeholders along the Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor - stretching from Vancouver, British Columbia to Eugene, Oregon to develop a vision for an integrated Cascadia megaregion enabled by high-speed rail.

Building on America 2050's research on Where High-Speed Rail Works Best the workshop sought to explore the economic, land use, urban design, and transportation strategies and investments necessary to fully leverage federal, state, provincial, and local investments in high-speed rail in this binational corridor. The workshop was an opportunity to broaden the focus of regional leaders on how high-speed rail can help advance larger goals for Cascadia as a more interconnected, sustainable, and prosperous megaregion.

To learn more, you can download the detailed briefing book of background information prepared for workshop participants. You can also access America 2050's original map of the Cascadia megaregion prepared for the workshop, which synthesizes transportation, land use, and the regional planning strategies of the entire megaregion on the America 2050 Maps Page (scroll to the bottom of the page.) A summary of workshop proceedings and next steps will be posted here soon.


May 11: Forging A National Rail Plan for America

By Petra on April 28, 2010  | 3 Comments

National Rail Diagram4.JPG Tues, May 11, 2010 at the Capitol Club at Union Station, Washington, D.C. The Federal Railroad Administration is now developing a long-range
national plan for passenger and freight rail. This panel discussion brought together key U.S. stakeholders and a leading
British high-speed
rail advocate to discuss the components of the plan.

Download presentations and audio from the event after the jump.

Continue reading May 11: Forging A National Rail Plan for America.

Learning from HS2: Parallels to the Northeast Corridor

March 25, 2010  | 0 Comments

Virgin PendolinoBy Yoav Hagler. Reprinted from RPA's Spotlight on the Region.

My train pulled out of a shabby, non- descript rail terminal operating at capacity in a major world city. This particular train was designed for speeds of up to 140 miles per hour but regularly operates at only 125 mph. An hour and twenty minutes later, I arrived at my destination, a city of a couple of million people about 100 miles away. The railroad right-of-way recently underwent a major upgrade, including electrification and a new signaling system.

Sound familiar? Have you traveled between London and Birmingham on a Virgin Pendolino train recently too? Surprised I wasn't describing my recent trip to Philadelphia out of Penn station? There are great similarities. England is far away from the Northeast and its rail challenges, but the experience and choices made across the water have lessons for us.

Continue reading Learning from HS2: Parallels to the Northeast Corridor.

A Policy Shift Toward Sustainable Transportation

By Petra on March 22, 2010
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made waves last week with a speech he gave at the National Bike Summit in which he declared a new policy that will "treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes."

America 2050 Director Petra Todorovich hailed the announcement as a "win-win-win-win." You can read her commentary on the National Journal Transportation Blog here.

Blueprint America: The Trans-Continental Railroad

By Petra on February 17, 2010

From Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City, this 2-minute clip tells the story of the creation of the Trans-Continental Railroad in the late 1800s.

Clip courtesy of Blueprint America, produced by PBS and Thirteen. 

Blueprint America: Spain's Commitment to High-Speed Rail

By Petra on February 16, 2010  | 0 Comments

Spain has made a multi-billion dollar commitment to a high-speed rail system that aims to unite the country. Learn about it in this short clip from Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City.

Clip courtesy of Blueprint America, produced by PBS and Thirteen. 

Blueprint America: The Gallatin Plan

By Petra on February 16, 2010  | 0 Comments

This clip from the PBS documentary, Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City recounts the history of the Albert Gallatin plan, the Erie Canal, and their impacts on the growth of Detroit and development of 19th century America.

For more about the Gallatin Plan and other national planning efforts, read America 2050's paper 1808-1908-2008: National Planning in America. Clip courtesy of Blueprint America, produced by PBS and Thirteen. 
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