Transportation policies & Mayors

Two articles that provided for a jarring contrast.

The first, an article about how Governor Walker and the state is pushing for an upgrade in Hwy 41 from Milwaukee to Appleton, having it designated as a new interstate, similar to I-43 and I-94.

Getting the road up to minimal interstate standards in the coming years would cost $15 million to $20 million. That would involve widening shoulders and installing cable guardrails along some medians.

The second is a report about the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and a survey showing that many mayors feel that federal transportation dollars are not allocated in an equitable manner.

As the federal government sets priorities for long-term spending and deficit reduction, future transportation infrastructure investments should prioritize spending on pressing metropolitan transportation infrastructure needs as opposed to low-priority expansion projects such as the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. The long-term productivity of transportation infrastructure spending is greater when it is invested where economic growth will occur, and over the next 20 years, 94 percent of United States economic growth will occur in metropolitan areas

A mayor was particularly blunt about the issues affecting transportation dollars.  Mayor Reed of Atlanta had some strong words:
 

Mayor Reed said the disconnect between state and local governments is essentially a tension between the needs of rural and urban areas. “There is a dominance of the rural parts of the state that I think creates a bit of imbalance from the economic reality,” he said. He called it “old-school politics."
 
“I spent 11 years in the Georgia general assembly,” he said.”Anytime I needed to get an important bill I knew I would be in the car for a couple of hours going to see some chairman of a committee who was in Tallapoosa or Houston County or some other part of the state because there was a dominance there.”
 
“Now I like rural folks as much as anybody,” he went on, “but the fact of the matter is when you look at how our dollars are deployed at the state level they’re deployed in a fashion that is inconsistent with where jobs are and where the economy is created.” That was fine when the U.S. was the world’s incomparable economic superpower, but we need to be more thoughtful with our spending these days, he said.

In related news, the Regional Transit Authorities created in 2009 are in the process of being eliminated by the budget committee. 

The committee also voted to eliminate the state funding for bicycle and pedestrian paths.  And how does most mayors feel about those kind of decisions?

Three-fifths of mayors also said the lack of funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects was a problem.“These aren’t gimmicks anymore,” said Reed. “They’re part of a having a high quality of life in the cities where we live.”