Tomorrow, on the heels of the Wall Street bailout and hours before the final presidential debate, community and business leaders in 10 different cities will join members from Transportation for America (T4America) to call on the presidential candidates to implement a five-point plan for economic prosperity through transportation (interested readers can join the call by signing on to a petition here). Come and support the Build for America plan at a press conference tomorrow at 1:00pm, just outside Grand Central Terminal at 43rd St. and Vanderbilt Ave.
The plan, titled “Build for America: A Five-Point Plan to get our Economy Moving,” offers a new paradigm of federal transportation policy and investment that would help the U.S.:
- Build to Compete by modernizing and expanding our rail and transit networks to reduce oil dependence and connect the metro regions that are the engines of the modern economy;
- Invest for a Clean, Green Recovery by supporting modern public transit, walking and bicycling, as well as energy-efficient, sustainable development;
- Fix What’s Broken by restoring the nation’s crumbling highways, bridges and transit systems before building new roads;
- Stop Wasteful Spending by re-evaluating projects currently in the pipeline to eliminate those with little economic return that could deepen, rather than relieve, our oil dependence; and,
- Save Americans Money by providing more travel and housing options that are affordable and efficient, while helping people to avoid high gas costs and traffic congestion.
As the presidential candidates and Congress talk about the merits of jump-starting the nation’s economy through an FDR-style public works program, T4America’s report makes it clear that investing in transit and “fix-it-first” policy will do far more to speed recovery than building new roads. Not only does mass transit offer Americans a way to escape high gas prices, but the construction and operation of transit systems provides nearly 19 percent more jobs than road expansion projects. Road and bridge repair and maintenance create 9 percent more jobs than new road building.
Image: Via T4America.
As a planner in Florida outside the major metro areas, we struggle mightily against the standard rationale that the only solution to our transportation problems is more lane-miles of roads. This combined with the State’s broken transportation “concurrency” requirements furthers the reliance on the single-occupant, auto-dominated transportation infrastructure. This model is now too expensive, wasteful, and truly “unsustainable.” Please help us help ourselves with meaningful alternatives! We are ready!