Administration proposes major public transportation policy shift

Written by jrood

In a dramatic change from existing policy, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proposed that new funding guidelines for major transit projects be based on livability issues such as economic development opportunities and environmental benefits, in addition to cost and time saved, which are currently the primary criteria.

In remarks at the Transportation
Research Board annual meeting, the Secretary said the Obama Administration’s
plans to change how projects are selected to receive federal financial
assistance in the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts and Small Starts
programs. As part of this initiative, the FTA will immediately rescind budget
restrictions issued by the Bush Administration in March of 2005 that focused
primarily on how much a project shortened commute times in comparison to its
cost.

"Our new policy for selecting
major transit projects will work to promote livability rather than hinder it,"
said Secretary LaHood. "We want to base our decisions on how much transit helps
the environment, how much it improves development opportunities and how it
makes our communities better places to live."

The change will apply to
how the Federal Transit Administration evaluates major transit projects going
forward. In making funding decisions, the FTA will now evaluate the
environmental, community and economic development benefits provided by transit
projects, as well as the congestion relief benefits from such projects.

"This new approach will
help us do a much better job of aligning our priorities and values with our
transit investments," said FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff. "No longer will we
ignore the many benefits that accrue to our environment and our communities
when we build or expand rail and bus rapid transit systems."

FTA will soon initiate a
separate rulemaking process, inviting public comment on ways to appropriately
measure all the benefits that result from such investments.

"APTA applauds the U.S.
Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for his announcement at the
Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting that DOT is making important and
much needed changes to the New Starts project selection process," said American
Public Transportation Association President William Millar. "This new policy
will rescind budget restrictions issued by the previous administration that
focused primarily on ‘cost effectiveness’ (i.e., how much a project shortened
commute times in comparison to cost) and now recognizes the wide-range of
benefits that public transportation provides. We are very pleased that the DOT
will now give consideration to the multiple benefits of new transit projects
such as economic development, environmental impact and land use improvements.
This is a change that APTA has long championed for, and it will allow for a
more efficient approval process, so projects can move forward more quickly.

"As a part of our
recommendations to Congress and the Administration, APTA advocated that the
Federal Transit Administration must consider transit supportive land use and
economic development in a way that simplifies the New Starts rating process,"
he sai

"This policy change is a
tremendous step forward as we look to create more livable communities in the
United States," Millar noted. "We are very pleased the Administration
recognizes local public transit systems, which provide over 10 billion trips
per year, as an integral part of the solution in reducing our carbon emissions
while encouraging local economic development. We look forward to working with
the Administration on this new policy direction."

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