Ten principles for federal stimulus
President Obama is urging Congress to adopt a stimulus bill within the week. At present, this measure will allocate more than $40 billion to transportation projects across the country. The Houston region stands to receive hundreds of millions for new transportation projects. What and where those funds get spent will affect quality of life in our region.
Over the weekend, CTC’s board outlined ten priorities for the stimulus bill. To ensure that we do not miss this chance to build the 21st century transportation infrastructure our state and country need, stimulus projects must:
- Generate real long-term economic activity and long-term tax revenue. It’s not enough to create only short-term jobs and consumptive efforts - litter pickup, beautification - which are unsustainable operational boosts only.
- Fix it first. Before building new roads, that will themselves have to be maintained, we should restore our crumbling highways, bridges and transit systems and protect the investments we have made in existing communities.
- Select critically among “shovel-ready” projects. Some shovel-ready projects, like Houston METRO’s five new light rail lines will strengthen our region long term. However, many roadway projects in the “pipeline” like the Grand Parkway - which would carve a road through virtually uninhabited and environmentally-sensitive parts of the county - were birthed when gas was less than $1/gallon and will hurt our region. We cannot afford to squander scarce funds on projects of highly-speculative value that will deepen, rather than lessen, dependence on oil.
- Reduce our dependence on oil to ensure our future security, economic success, and personal as well as planetary health.
- Improve the energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas production of our transportation systems. For example, develop and modernize rail capacity - for both passengers and freight - which improves efficiency while simultaneously improving utilization of existing highway capacity.
- Build where the people are now. Focusing on existing activity centers - the economic engines of our country - will reduce “transaction costs” for economic activity.
- Make our cities more competitive in the global market.
- Provide access for all. Our transportation system must provide safe and affordable access to jobs and neighborhoods for the 1 in 5 adult Texans who cannot drive. Invest in transit, bike paths, sidewalks, and other transportation alternatives that provide access for all, use energy more efficiently, and save Americans money.
- Build livable centers. We must recognize the effect of transportation infrastructure on land use, and make it easier for people to live near where we work, shop, and play.
- Increase transparency and project accountability. We must engage neighborhoods in the planning process, and hold transportation agencies accountable for meeting these criteria.
Congressional action is already underway. The U.S. House passed HR 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, two weeks ago. The U.S. Senate will resume consideration of the act today, and may vote as early as Tuesday.
If you have thoughts about what should or shouldn’t be in the stimulus bill, we urge you to contact your senators:
- The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison
In DC: (202) 224-5922 or fax (202) 224-0776
In Houston: (713) 653-3456 or fax (713) 209-3459
Or online
- The Honorable John Cornyn
In DC: (202) 224-2934 or fax (202) 228-2856
In Houston: (713) 572-3337 or fax (713) 572-3777
Or online
In the meantime, you can follow the Senate debate with CSPAN-2 coverage at Comcast-208 or online at http://www.c-span.org. You can also join the discussion in CTC’s forum.