Meeting the Challenges of Urban Transportation

Ask voters if they would support a 5-cent increase in gas tax to fund transportation infrastructure, and they will say no. But over time, they will quietly absorb a 25-cent or a 50-cent increase in gas prices even though the money is benefiting a foreign country and not their own.

These issues and more were covered in a SuperSession on urban transportation Monday morning. Moderated by retired Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, the panel included transportation leaders Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group; Steve Heminger, executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission; and Rod Diridon, Sr., executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute.

Mr. Heminger said that the San Francisco Bay area is typical of most other urban areas in the U.S. Its infrastructure is aging painfully, needing major rehab. Local entities will spend 80% of revenue just to maintain what’s there. But that still leaves huge shortfalls at all levels. At the same time, many U.S. urban regions are still growing, with new jobs, new homes, more freight, longer commutes and more congestion. It means that our challenge is to squeeze more productivity out of existing systems.

In the SF Bay area, planning organizations have created a Freeway Performance Initiative. Roving tow trucks now take care of minor accidents, flat tires, and stalled vehicles quickly so traffic can move again.  A high-occupancy toll network is in the works. Cities are encouraging more housing closer to jobs so pollution and long commutes are reduced. Cycling is becoming part of the transportation planning, as is transit for low income families. Expansions are planned for rail, bus, and ferry, with new transit hubs in San Francisco and San Jose.

The goal is to reduce congestion to 20 percent below today’s levels, to reduce carbon emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels, to increase fuel economy to 54 miles per gallon, to increase the area’s share of zero-emission vehicles to 55 percent, and to increase telecommuting from three to ten percent.

One positive indicator is the growing interest in U.S. high-speed rail (HSR), although we still lag far behind the rest of the world. China is well into its HSR system, almost every country in Europe is ahead of us, and even Mexico and Morocco are planning their systems. 

Regarding its concern for climate change, the U.S. is far behind most of the world, including many Third-World countries. This is one reason so many contries are building HSR – not only for faster travel, but also because it is far less polluting per passenger mile than many other transportation modes. In the U.S, we are addicted to our cars, while the rest of world relies on bikes, transit, and HSR. Even our desire for free parking is problematic because it only encourages people to drive.

But the U.S. can change its attitudes about urban transportation. For those who are skeptical, it should be noted that cigarette consumption is down more than 50 percent since 1960, and recycling in California has increased six-fold since 1989, proving that it’s possible to reform ingrained habits.

Donna Maurillo, Communications Director, Mineta Transportation Institute

Social Justice….at the 2010 Annual Conference

Today’s session on social justice was quite interesting, with some surprising facts and a measure of optimism. Some of those facts were rather sobering. For example, the US is the richest nation in the world, but it has one of the highest rates of poverty. Wealth is unequally distributed worldwide – with a significant percentage of the population living in poverty. One percent of world’s people own as much as the bottom 90 percent. This explains why the level and percentage of poverty creates social instability.

Poverty has not dropped in the US in the last several years. In fact, it may have increased because of the recession, although only a small percent are chronically poor. Others may be poor only occasionally. We may think that greater goods production means less poverty, but most of the income growth has gone to those who are already wealthy. Despite some fears that we are headed for a “nanny state,” the US has more homelessness than most other countries, especially in those where the government ensures that everyone has at least basic health care and shelter. Families also influence poverty levels – those that remain intact have a better chance of avoiding poverty.  In fact, if the US had the same level of intact families that it had in 1970, poverty could be reduced by 20-30% because households headed by single mothers have a much greater chance of being poor.

Some government programs have helped significantly. Social Security has reduced the rate of poverty among seniors by about 65%. The Earned Income Tax Credit has reduced poverty by about 4 million people. About 2.7 million of those are children. But some programs have not worked, including No Child Left Behind, tax cuts under President Bush II, HUD’s Moving to Opportunity program, and most single-purpose programs.

However, opportunities still exist to improve things. Prison reform could help poor black males receive a high school education and a better chance to find work. Attention to civil rights would ensure equality in lending, employment, housing, etc. Improving schools that serve poor children would give them a better chance at employment and higher education. Changing personal behavior would help teens avoid pregnancy, more students finish school, fewer students drop out of college, etc.

The session attendees engaged with the panelists, creating a colorful discussion about social morles, possible solutions, the effects of ethnic influences, and other facets of the topic.

As someone who is relatively new to public policy, I’m looking forward to more sessions like this that address practical applications.

Donna Maurillo, Communications Director, Mineta Transportation Institute

Lessons from Katrina

I attended the morning session about lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina. This had less to do with the storm itself and more to do with planning and processes for recovery. With New Orleans still recovering five years later, there were many recommendations about how to do it better.

First, the best way is to mitigate beforehand. Communities that are prepared will suffer less and recover faster. The “social cost” is rarely accounted for – breakup of neighborhoods, losing family and friends, losing cultural identity, etc. And what are roles of NGOs such as the Red Cross?   They are rarely included in government disaster plans, yet they play a significant role.

It was surprising to hear that New Orleans has not reached even the halfway point in its recovery. In part, this is because the city was not adequately prepared. The residents were accustomed to being displaced for 3-4 days, but not for weeks, months or years. FEMA disbursements have been slow, or they are given with restrictions that make little sense because government processes are too broad to fit specific situations. More flexibility would help significantly. Contractors also should be pre-screened for post-disaster work so decisions are not made at the last minute. Performance standards should promote accuracy; many contractor estimates were far below the actual cost. Disaster aid must be given rapidly and it should be outcome-based.

These recommendations, and many others, were given by those who had lived through Katrina or who had worked with the processes. This allowed the session to offer detailed and specific recommendations for improved recovery plans.