12/02/24 - 90 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/5xpcbut8
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10,000 Friends: Insist On Reforms In Transportation Funding
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10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania Tuesday applauded the Governor’s Transportation Funding Advisory Commission for recommending new sources of revenue to support Pennsylvania’s crumbling infrastructure system and under-financed transportation system.
But 10,000 Friends also urged the Governor to tie new funding to reforms that ensure disciplined asset management and efficient land use.
The group warned that without implementing these reforms, transportation revenue could be spent inefficiently, and would make matters worse by encouraging migration patterns increasing traffic congestion and opening the door to expensive new projects when the state cannot afford to properly maintain the roads and bridges that it already has.
Failing to enact fundamental reforms simply wouldn’t be fiscally responsible.
Pennsylvania is facing a daunting and well-documented crisis in funding for transportation and infrastructure needs across the state. The Governor asked his Commission to find $2.5 billion in annual revenue streams, and the Commission in turn found $2.7 billion in revenue enhancements.
It is critical that the Governor and the Legislature embrace the new revenue streams, as they are absolutely necessary for Pennsylvania’s economic success. But new revenue must also be tied to smarter management of our land, a consumable resource of the Commonwealth, or the state will be doomed to repeat expensive past mistakes.
For example, PennDOT must commit to a “Fix it First” strategy with funds for infrastructure projects. Twenty eight percent of Pennsylvania’s bridges are structurally deficient, and as of 2008, 22 percent of Pennsylvania’s state-owned road miles are in poor condition. These repair needs are costing us exponentially more—up to ten times more—because the proper preventive maintenance wasn’t done during the entire life of the road or bridge.
By failing to do this maintenance, and failing to generate the revenue needed to do so, we are passing the bill to our children—robbing them of future tax revenue needed to meet the challenges of their generation.
While there may be isolated situations where adding new capacity to the road network is the right thing to do, the state should commit to a fiscally responsible “Fix it First” approach—fix it all first—bringing our massive backlog of bridges and roads back up to a state of good repair, and create strict criteria for evaluating new capacity projects.
According to 10,000 Friends’ President Jack Machek, “Pennsylvania must adopt some basic bedrock principles in supporting comprehensive funding for transportation: we must Fix our Existing Infrastructure First—today and always—to control future costs and protect the billions in investments that we have already made in existing assets serving historically vital corridors—this is just plain old common sense.”
“Second, we must build the right infrastructure,” Machek emphasized, “by investing in high value, community-driven projects that are linked to efficient land use.”
Infrastructure and transportation projects need to be designed to incorporate the visions of our communities and preserve both the natural environment and the quality of life. Pennsylvania must improve upon its past failures in this area, and more explicitly require transportation projects that offer cost-effective solutions that fit with community needs and public input. Because transportation demands evolve as mobility patterns change, we must plan ahead and link transportation investments with community land use.
According to Machek, “Transportation infrastructure is the lifeblood of our communities and is essential to facilitating commerce; if done the right way we can rebuild our key assets instead of draining our communities financially.”
Finally, we need a funding program to plan and construct these projects that create better communities and give consumers more travel choices. This means changing project selection criteria to prioritize projects linking land use and transportation networks, and ensuring that adequate funding follows the new priorities.
Doing this, Machek asserted, will “result in: projects connecting existing communities with job and economic centers; projects that save money while enhancing quality of life; and strategic planning focused on existing assets to reduce local and state spending on expensive expansions of public safety services or new water and sewer lines.” We would enjoy a better built environment while preserving our treasured natural environment.
“By connecting transportation and infrastructure projects with critical reforms, Pennsylvania can make real and lasting progress. If such strategies are not pursued and the state reverts back to business as usual, money will be wasted and our traffic and transportation problems will endure,” said Machek.
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9/5/2011 |
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