December 16, 2020
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives H-232, The Capitol Washington DC 20515
The Honorable Kevin McCarthy Minority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives H-204, The Capitol Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Mitch McConnell Majority Leader, United State Senate S-230, The Capitol Washington DC 20510
The Honorable Chuck Schumer Minority Leader, United States Senate S-221, The Capitol Washington DC 20510
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader McCarthy, and Minority Leader Schumer:
Transportation is the bedrock of our nation’s economy and recovery from COVID-19, yet America’s transportation system is in crisis—and more money alone cannot fix it. Despite billions spent every year, our roads, bridges, transit and rail systems are in disrepair; congestion has increased; pedestrian fatalities and emissions are the highest in decades and rising; and too many people lack safe, affordable, and convenient access to jobs and important services. We must reform the federal transportation program to solve these problems by prioritizing maintenance, designing for safety over speed and connecting people to jobs and services.
The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated and placed a spotlight on the crisis plaguing our transportation system. With over 2.8 million essential workers relying on public transit everyday, it is clear that transit is essential for local economies, our pandemic response, and economic recovery. Yet too many of these workers count on underfunded systems that cannot provide reliable service. At the same time, our road network is often designed without consideration for pedestrians and cyclists, making travel outside of a car increasingly unsafe and inconvenient—explaining why the number of people killed while biking and walking has dramatically increased during the COVID-19 crisis despite fewer cars on the road. Communities across the country have responded to these infrastructure failures by raising local revenue for transit, rail, and safety improvements; providing necessary roadway space for pedestrians and cyclists during this crisis; and fighting to preserve transit and rail service threatened by temporarily reduced ridership.
Yet history tells us that local communities cannot build a safe and connected transportation system alone. Under President Eisenhower, our country came together to build interstate connections between cities. Today we have that incredible legacy that brings with it a significant maintenance backlog. The lack of focus on other parts of our transportation system and its connection to development has increased emissions and congestion while undermining the economic mobility and health of our communities, particularly for low-income people and people of color—two of the hardest-hit demographics in the COVID-19 crisis. A federal transportation program that prioritizes highway construction above all else cannot provide communities with the safe and connected walking, cycling, transit, and rail infrastructure they desire.
Updating our transportation system for the needs of the 21st Century is necessary to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change and harm public health.
Transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gases (GHG), with the majority of these emissions from driving. While electric vehicles (EVs) and vehicle efficiency standards are essential, they are not sufficient to meet emissions reduction goals. Neither will these technologies improve access to jobs and services for those who cannot afford to own or operate a car, nor will they improve safety or reduce congestion.
To modernize our transportation system, Congress should make the following reforms:
Prioritize maintenance: Cut the road, bridge, transit and rail maintenance backlog in half
The next authorization should cut the maintenance backlog in half by dedicating formula highway funds to maintenance. In addition, when building new road capacity, agencies should be required to create a plan for maintaining both the new road and the rest of their system. This is common sense and is already required when building new transit projects. Roads should not be treated differently. On the highway side, it will be important to organize the program to better support repair. On the transit and rail side, the programs are organized well in terms of addressing maintenance but need more resources. With this approach, the federal government can halve the current backlog in six years under current funding levels. If funding is increased, we can do more.
Design for safety over speed: Save lives with slower, safer road design
Access to safe, convenient transportation is a fundamental right. Today, most Americans are denied this right because their roads—not just highways—are designed to move vehicles at the highest speeds possible, and not for people walking, biking, or taking transit. High speeds make sense on interstates and other highways, but people die when we bring that design to streets that are supposed to connect people and create value.
COVID-19 has shone a spotlight on our dangerous street design, with pedestrian deaths sharply increasing as shutdowns reduced the number of cars on our roads. The federal program should require designs and approaches, including complete streets, that put safety first and slow speeds on local and arterial roads.
Roads surrounded by development and open to pedestrians should be designed to speeds that dramatically decrease the likelihood of fatalities in a crash (35mph or below).
Creating safer communities will not only save lives, it makes walking, biking and riding transit a more viable and convenient option, providing people with affordable choices while reducing congestion and emissions.
Focus on improving access for people to jobs and services: Determine current connectivity and prioritize projects that will improve those connections.
The point of transportation is to get people where they need to go. Since the dawn of the
modern highway era, we have used vehicle speed as a poor proxy for access to jobs and important services like healthcare, education, public services, and grocery stores, assuming if people can drive faster then they arrive faster. However, this completely ignores access for those who do not or cannot drive and often places highways through communities in a way that speeds some people’s trips while lengthening or cutting off others’ all together.
New technologies can now help us measure success by the primary thing that matters to real people: the ease of arriving at your destination. Using this technology we can now consider access by driving as well as walking, biking and transit. Studies have shown that communities with better access to jobs and services have greater economic mobility and lower emissions from transportation because people have travel options, and do not need to drive as far, or at all, to get to jobs and other needs. Further, this data can help to address decades of disinvestment which have disconnected communities and worsened economic outcomes.
USDOT could collect the data necessary for a national assessment of access to jobs and services and set national goals for improvement. With these data, state departments of transportation (DOTs) and planning organizations can ensure their investments are effectively connecting people to economic opportunity. State DOTs and planning organizations should be held accountable by evaluating how well their investments help connect people to destinations.
Last year, the House of Representatives included all three of these reforms as part of the INVEST in America Act. This legislation starts the work of connecting transportation funding to the outcomes communities need from their transportation systems.
Thank you for considering fundamental reform in the next authorization. We stand ready to assist in setting a new vision for the federal transportation program.
Sincerely,
Beth Osborne, Director, Transportation for America
And
Alabama
Gary Gover, President and Chairman Earth Day Mobile Bay, Inc.
Arizona
Ronald Spark, MD, Director, Southern Arizona Transit Advocates (SATA)
Arkansas
Reese Brewer, Director Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization
Steven Ewart, Chairman, Windover Neighborhood Association
California
Andreas Kadavanich, Co-organizer Bike Fremont
Melissa Cunningham, Executive Director Coalition for Sustainable Transportation
Adina Levin, Executive Director Friends of Caltrain
Tom Radulovich, Executive Director Livable City
Jennifer A. Gill, Vice Chair, Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Board
David Mogavero, Senior Principal Mogavero Architects
Leah Riley, Managing Director Nelson\Nygaard
James Corless, Executive Director Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG)
Ian Griffiths, Policy Director Seamless Bay Area
Danielle Hughes, Board of Directors North Tahoe Public Utility District
Mark Cordes, Executive Director San Francisco Transit Riders
Robert Raburn, Director, District 4 SF Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
Bart Reed, Executive Director The Transit Coalition
Ron Kilcoyne, Senior Manager TMD Inc.
Colorado
Eulois Cleckley, Executive Director Denver Department of Transportation
John Vukich, Executive Director iZum, LLC
Kelly Brough, President & CEO Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
Paul Bonta, Director, Government Relations, Safe States Alliance
Connecticut
Karen Fortunati, City Clerk City of Milford
Ellen Russell Beatty, Alder, 5th District Milford Board of Aldermen
Mary Tomolonius, Executive Director CT Association for Community Transportation
Anthony Sutton, Majority Leader Milford Board of Aldermen
Karen Burnaska, Coordinator Transit for Connecticut
District of Columbia
Roxanne Blackwell, Federal Government Affairs Director, American Society of Landscape Architects
Noa Banayan, Federal Affairs Manager PeopleForBikes
Kevin Mills, Vice President of Policy Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Sharon Musa, Policy & Recreation Partnerships Fellow, The Wilderness Society
Eli Briggs, Government Affairs Director National Association of County and City Health Officials
Sean Jeans-Gail, Vice President Rail Passengers Association
Will Anderson, Associate Director of Advocacy, Sierra Club
Florida
Frederick Jones, Vice Mayor City of Neptune Beach
Kimberly Overman, County Commissioner, District 7 & Vice Chair, Hillsborough County
Nicholas Glover, Vice President, Advocacy Tampa Bay Chamber
Donald Voigt, Licensed Professional Engineer, Engineered Equipment Integration LLC
Beth Alden, AICP, Executive Director Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization
Karen Kress, Director of Transportation and Planning, Tampa Downtown Partnership
Georgia
Micheal Haney, City Manager City of Chickamauga
Dave Williams, Senior Vice President, Public Policy, Metro Atlanta Chamber
Hawaii
Elliott Caldwell, Executive Director Georgia Bikes
Amy Hennessey, Senior Vice President, Communications & External Affairs Ulupono Initiative
Idaho
Elaine Clegg, City Council President City of Boise
Lauren McLean, Mayor City of Boise
Kaz Thea, Council Member City of Hailey
Eric Willadsen, Conservation Program Manager, Sierra Club – Idaho Chapter
Michael David, Council Member City of Ketchum
Elaine Clegg, Interim Executive Director Idaho Smart Growth
Illinois
Kyle Whitehead, Managing Director of Public Affairs, Active Transportation Alliance
Karl Gnadt, Managing Director Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District
Robert Dean, CEO, Center for Neighborhood Technology
Kim Stone, Councilwoman City of Highland Park
Stuart Senescu, President Highlands Bike Club
Matt Steffen, Chief of Staff Illinois Environmental Council
Audrey Wennink, Director Metropolitan Planning Council
Dave Simmons, Executive Director Ride Illinois
Sharon Feigon, Executive Director Shared-Use Mobility Center
Mike Pietrowski, Executive Director Shawnee Mass Transit District
Terry Witt, Director of Advocacy Spin Doctor Cyclewerks
Chris Koos, Mayor Town of Normal
Indiana
Kim Irwin, Executive Director Health by Design
Gary Davis, Community/Gov. Relations Liaison, Indiana Trails Community
Tim Maloney, Senior Policy Director Hoosier Environmental Council
Mark Fisher, Chief Policy Officer Indy Chamber
Iowa
Sam Jarvis, Community Health Manager Johnson County Public Health
Kentucky
Brent Cooper, President & CEO, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Louisiana
Alex Posorske, Executive Director Ride New Orleans
Maryland
Donald Fry, President & CEO Greater Baltimore Committee
Patrick Wojahn, Mayor College Park, Maryland
Dannielle Glaros, County Council Member Prince George’s County
Massachusetts
Jim Kolesar, First Vice President Berkshire Interfaith Organizing
Stacy Thompson, Executive Director LivableStreets Alliance
Chris Dempsey, Director Transportation for Massachusetts
Stacey Beuttell, Executive Director WalkBoston
Michigan
Victoria Danberg, City Councilor City of Newton
Marc Draisen, Executive Director Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)
Matt Casale, Environment Campaigns Director, U.S. PIRG
Dessa Cosma, Executive Director Detroit Disability Power
Megan Owens, Executive Director Transportation Riders United (TRU)
Minnesota
Dorian Grilley, Executive Director Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota
Jacob Frey, Mayor City of Minneapolis
William Schroeer, Executive Director East Metro Strong
Sam Rockwell, Executive Director Move Minnesota
Ashwat Narayanan, Executive Director Our Streets Minneapolis
Montana
Saara Snow, Advocacy Manager Adventure Cycling Association
Katie Wallace, Board Member Climate Smart Glacier Country
Corey Aldridge, CEO & General Manager Mountain Line Transit
Nebraska
Clyde Anderson, Transportation Issues Chair, Sierra Club – Nebraska Chapter
Nevada
Jenny Brekhus, Council Member, Ward 1 City of Reno
Ann Silver, Chief Executive Officer Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce
New Hampshire
Steven Workman, Director Transport New Hampshire
New Jersey
Peter Kasabach, Executive Director New Jersey Future
Michael Egenton, Executive Vice President New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce
Barbara E. Kauffman, Executive VP & COO Newark Regional Business Partnership
New Mexico
Chris Green, Principal Landscape Architect Consensus Planning, Inc.
Hazel Borys, President PlaceMakers, LLC
New York
Carol O’Beirne, Board President, Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
Gregory Young, Supervisor, Fulton County Board of Supervisors
Boyce Sherwin, Chairman, Malone Complete Streets Advisory Board
Douglas Funke, President Citizens for Regional Transit
Michael Kodransky, U.S. Director Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
Kate Slevin, Senior Vice President Regional Plan Association
Eric McClure, Executive Director StreetsPAC
North Carolina
John Tallmadge, Executive Director Bike Durham
Shannon Binns, Executive Director Sustain Charlotte
Ohio
Crystal Dandridge, Owner Crystals Unions
Alison Goebel, Executive Director Greater Ohio Policy Center
Akshai Singh, Co-Chair MOVE Ohio
Oklahoma
Mark Nestlen, Chief Executive Officer Oklahoma Transit Association
Oregon
Rob Zako, Executive Director, Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST)
Dick Dolgonas, Chair Bike Walk Roseburg
RJ Sheperd, Co-Chair Bike Loud PDX
Ashley Henry, Executive Director Business for a Better Portland
Denny Doyle, Mayor City of Beaverton
Lucy Vinis, Mayor City of Eugene
Peter Truax, Mayor City of Forest Grove
Steve Adams, City Engineer City of Milwaukie
Joe Pishioneri, City Council President City of Springfield
Stuart Liebowitz, Facilitator, Douglas County Global Warming Coalition
Craig Dirksen, Councilor OregonMetro
Tim Knapp, Mayor City of Wilsonville
Sara Wright, Transportation Program Director, Oregon Environmental Council
Kris Nelson, Principal Phoenix Finance
Chris Warner, Director, Portland Bureau of Transportation
Greg Sutliff, Co-Executive Director The Street Trust
Pennsylvania
Stacie Reidenbaugh, CEO 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania
William Peduto, Mayor City of Pittsburgh
Lewis Cossaboon, Executive Director PenTrans
John Weidenhammer, Chairman Berks Alliance
Andrea Boykowycz, Community Services Director
Oakland Planning and Development Corporation
Chris Sandvig, Director of Policy Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group
Yasha Zarrinkelk, Coalition Organizer Transit Forward Philadelphia
John Weidenhammer, President Weidenhammer
Rhode Island
John Flaherty, Deputy Director Grow Smart RI
Patricia Raub, Coordinator RI Transit Riders
South Carolina
Amy Johnson Ely, Executive Director Palmetto Cycling Coalition
Tennessee
Matt Bailey, Vice President of Regional Policy, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Nora Kern, Executive Director Walk Bike Nashville
Texas
Jessica Dauphin, President and CEO Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee
David Cantu, Alderperson Pl 2 City of San Elizario
Jay Crossley, Executive Director Farm&City
Octavio Martinez, Executive Director Hogg Foundation for Mental Health
Adam Greenfield, Board President Walk Austin
Virginia
Eric Peterson, Principal Eric C. Peterson
Trip Pollard, Land & Community Program Leader, Southern Environmental Law Center
Mariia Zimmerman, Principal MZ Strategies, LLC
Lisa Guthrie, Executive Director Virginia Transit Association
Washington
LeeAnn Hall, Executive Director Alliance for a Just Society
Victor Colman, Director, Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Breean Beggs, City Council President City of Spokane City Council
Kirk Hovenkotter, Executive Director Greater Redmond Transportation Management Association
Hester Serebrin, Policy Director Transportation Choices Coalition
Wisconsin
Gregg May, Transportation Policy Analyst 1000 Friends of Wisconsin
Mark Quam, President, Chippewa Valley Transit Alliance, Inc.
Philip Swanhorst, President, Greater West Central Area Labor Council
Rosie Brooks, Vice-President, La Crosse Area Transit Advocates
Laura Svancarek, Advocacy Coordinator Downtown On the Go
Claudia Balducci, Chair King County Council
Florian Skwierczynski, Secretary & Treasurer, Amalgamated Transit Union
Jeremy Gragert, City Council Member City of Eau Claire
Michael Maltezos, Transportation Sales Manager, Kenall Manufacturing Co.
Susan De Vos, President Madison Area Bus Advocates
James Brown, Manager Wheels of Independence, Inc.
Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, Executive Director Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice
Marlene Pohl, President Wisconsin Transit Riders Alliance