Infrastructure in the News: December 19, 2011
BAF IN THE NEWS
St. Augustine Record: Jan. 5: Forum on Jacksonville's Infrastructure
http://staugustine.com/news/business/2011-12-16/business-briefs-dec-17-2011#.Tu9D9iNWqpo
The JAX Chamber and Building America’s Future Educational Fund are co-hosting a forum about Jacksonville’s transportation infrastructure from 8 to 10 p.m. on Jan. 5 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, co-chair of Building America’s Future Educational Fund, is the keynote speaker.
NATIONAL NEWS
Transportation Nation: Even in Austere Era, Mitt Romney Promises To Fund Roads, Bridges, and Rail
http://transportationnation.org/2011/12/16/romney-id-borrow-for-roads-bridges-and-rail-audio/
Mitt Romney says he doesn’t like borrowing, but he’d do it for infrastructure. Speaking at a town hall meeting in Hudson, New Hampshire this week, Romney said: “You have to prioritize those things which are most important to you and infrastructure and having good roads and bridges and rail lines and air traffic lines and so forth are essential for a strong economy. I’m willing to invest in those things and even borrow in circumstances where there’s going to be a revenue stream that pays it back.”
Transportation for America: Transit flexibility bill introduced by Senator Brown is badly needed in many cities
This week, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the Local Flexibility for Transit Assistance Act, which would give local transit agencies flexibility in how they choose to allocate federal funding, especially during times of economic crisis. It provides transit systems with the option to use a portion of their federal transit funds for operating assistance to keep buses and trains running and avoid potential fare increases. This bill is the Senate companion to H.R. 3200, introduced by Representatives Carnahan and LaTourette.
Switchboard: Congress, Take Note: Deferring Road Repairs = Costly Wear and Tear for Autos
Add the cost of making cars and other vehicles hardier to withstand the beating they get on crumbling roadways to the already enormous toll deferred maintenance of the nation’s infrastructure is taking on everyone. The latest evidence for these added costs is the fact that Nissan is trying to figure out how to make a car that can stand up to the streets of New York, which one Nissan executive ranks among the poorest anywhere. The company needs to get vehicles ready for when its Nissan NV200 van becomes the designated model for the New York taxi cab fleet beginning in 2013.
DC Streetsblog: NJ Senator Lautenberg Introduces Bill to Limit Bridge and Tunnel Tolls
Last summer, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey raised EZPass tolls from $8 to cross a bridge into the city during peak hours to $9.50, with planned increases to $12.50 in a few years (cash tolls are increasing somewhat more). Tolls for five-axle trucks will rise as high as $125. The hikes marked the first time the Port Authority had raised tolls since 2008, and the only the third since 2001. Nevertheless, congressional representatives from the area are making noise. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) teamed up today to announce a bill to increase federal oversight of road tolls.
Fast Lane: TIGER grants help rural and tribal communities solve problems and create jobs
http://fastlane.dot.gov/2011/12/rural-and-tribal-tiger3-grants.html
In the most recent episode of my "On the Go" video series, one questioner asked about what DOT was doing to improve transportation in rural communities. I responded that one step we were about to take was to award nearly $143 million of our third round of TIGER grants to rural projects. And yesterday, we made good on that promise--and then some--by announcing more than $150 million in TIGER discretionary awards to 16 rural and 4 tribal communities.
STATE NEWS
DC Streetsblog: High-Speed Rail in California is Worrying Itself to Death
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/12/16/high-speed-rail-in-california-is-worrying-itself-to-death/
Yesterday, for the second time in as many weeks, the House T&I committee held a hearing on the benefit-versus-boondoggle high-speed rail debate. Last time, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was asked to defend the peppering of high-speed rail grants to projects outside the Northeast Corridor. Yesterday, the topic narrowed to focus just on California’s high-speed rail project, whose recently-drafted business plan [PDF] has revised its total construction cost to $98.5 billion through 2033—up from $43 billion through 2020 just a few short years ago.
DC Streetsblog: New Plans Would Make Detroit the Nation’s Run-Away BRT Leader
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/12/16/new-plans-would-make-detroit-the-nations-run-away-brt-leader/
As disappointing as it’s been to see Detroit’s light rail plans being squashed, it’s been pretty exciting watching what has been taking shape in its place. The Motor City’s plans to shift some $500 million from a 9-mile light rail system to bus rapid transit system could go a long way toward remedying the crushing mobility problems experienced by the city’s transit-dependent population. Detroit BRT, the Free Press reports, will cover three counties — serving as a crucial connection to the region’s largely suburbanized job centers.
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Bill Gates Get The Facts
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Georgia
Heidi Davison
Former Mayor, Athens
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