WASHINGTON, DC – Federal policy has become hostile to sustainability and equity, but a new framework shows how state and local Departments of Transportation can fill the void, according to an Op-Ed in Next City.
Chris McCahill, Ph.D., managing director of the State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI), a joint program of Smart Growth America and the High Road Strategy Center at the University of Wisconsin, notes in his Op-Ed it costs the U.S. upwards of $400 billion per year to “build, operate and maintain transportation infrastructure and services.”
McCahill adds this type of money can fundamentally change the national landscape because it’s reportedly more than the cost of the whole Interstate Highway system.
The NC opinion piece reveals that this type of investment into local economics can fuel them and guarantee equal access to opportunities, subsequently ending the slew of traffic violence and harmful emissions.
On the other hand, these investments can go into gridlocked highways and drive communities further apart, states McCahill.
“The current federal administration has signaled a hard shift from policies that can make our transportation systems more sustainable and equitable, leaving others to shoulder the responsibility,” adds McCahill, noting the government controls around two-thirds of transportation spending and the bulk of federal funds.
In order to lead the transportation landscape, states must learn from peers and build on proven strategies where agencies ensure necessary progress, writes McCahill, adding Innovative DOT is a framework that exudes the best practices that planners and advocates look into for inspiration, such as prioritizing infrastructure investments to prevent worsening damage or discouraging sprawling development patterns from outdated planning models as driving grows in the 20th century.
Transportation investments must transcend the routine highway project trope as modern day agencies require the consideration of how walkers, bikers, and transit riders interact with streets, reports McCahill.
States like California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Washington are required to ensure that roads are designed to meet minimum standards for these residents to match their surrounding environment, writes McCahill in NC.
Transportation agencies and their leaders drive the deliverance of innovative projects that entail the promotion of “a safe, sustainable, integrated and efficient transportation system,” adds McCahill, noting that even with diminished federal support, transportation agencies can make progress toward sustainability and equity to improve safety and access.
