Map a new course for U.S. transportation funds
Detroit Free Press
Sep. 20, 2009
People outside of our region are surprised when they find out that Detroit is the only major metropolitan area in this country without any true rapid transit facilities. Those of us who live here know the problem all too well.
While many of us would enjoy an improved transit system because it would mean a faster commute, often overlooked are the substantial economic benefits that can be brought about by new, innovative, and energy-efficient transportation solutions -- involving both automobiles and mass transit.
Unfortunately, these benefits are usually not really taken into account in the distribution of transportation resources. The economic value generated by metropolitan areas is not recognized. The federal government does not even measure how well transportation investments are improving traffic, safety, energy use or the environment. The result: Our transportation system is losing effectiveness and our nation is losing its global competitiveness.
Recognizing the urgency of this issue, I have helped to lead a bipartisan effort to develop a more effective, accountable and performance-based federal transportation policy. The National Transportation Policy Project (NTPP) was undertaken by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell. In June 2009, NTPP released its plan for reforming surface-transportation policy with a simple, commonsense approach:
- Set clear objectives for federal spending.
- Develop measures to evaluate whether these objectives are being advanced.
- Adjust funding to reward good performance.
Monday, the NTPP will cohost a transportation forum at the Detroit Regional Chamber to discuss local and national impacts of the next transportation bill. The current federal transportation law expires Sept. 30. That means we have an important opportunity to reshape federal law, giving states and metropolitan regions maximum flexibility to spend their federal transportation dollars, as long as they do so in a way that advances national goals.
We propose that national goals should be shaped around economic growth, national connectivity, metropolitan accessibility, energy and climate, and safety. The new federal program should make sure that every federal transportation dollar advances these goals, but it should not dictate how such goals are being advanced.
This region is the backbone of transportation for the nation. We not only produce the vehicles that provide essential transportation for people, but we are also a vital international freight gateway. We need to seize on these natural advantages to revitalize our economic power as a region. But right now, the federal transportation funding structure acts as an impediment to our future. The only way we will effectively leverage our assets and experience a rebirth is by reshaping the federal program.
I urge you to make your voices heard. In Detroit, it could not be more important to our future.
Dennis Archer, cochair of the National Transportation Policy Project, was mayor of Detroit from 1994-2001 and is a former justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.
