D.C. Streetsblog had a list of seven questions to ask as the Transportation Bill conference was underway on Tuesday. I think the problem with their questions are that they are too focused on the sausage making rather than the content. It’s disappointing, I suppose, that such an insightful organization such as Streetsblog can fall victim to the back and forth ball game of politics when so much in transportation is on the line. Perhaps I am naive, but if I had the opportunity, these are the seven questions I would like to ask of the Transportation Committees:
- How will public transportation fare in the bill after being practically decapitated in the last round of talks?
- How do we handle the overwhelming state of good repair issues impacting all transportation infrastructure?
- How does the bill recognize the long (and short) term societal trends towards transportation that does not include the automobile.
- Does high-speed rail have a future?
- How will the bill address critical operational funding shortfalls (not to mention capital) that transit agencies are facing?
- How will the bill address the structural financial problems facing the Highway Trust Fund?
- Will there be a push towards alternative user fees to fund transportation infrastructure?
That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Alex Francis Burchard
I think question # 1 should probably be, why don’t you guys raise the gas tax and index it to inflation so that we can pay for our infrastructure without these fights every year! (or do something similar).
Ryan Richter
Agreed, wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, I don’t know what it would take for that to happen. I mean, we’ve already had a bridge collapse in Minneapolis.