Transit News

Los Angeles, California— As Governor Schwarzenegger, California leadership, and Caltrans prepare lists of transportation projects to be funded under the stimulus, CALPIRG today released a report showing the many ways the money can be used to address Californian’s transportation priorities and get the biggest bang for the buck.

While early news reports indicated too much was designated for highway building, the reality, as this report makes clear, is that California has wide latitude to apply the funds to meet growing transit demand, restore our roads and bridges, and maximize the number of jobs created.

California will receive $ 2.57 billion in flexible funding for transportation spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama last month.

State leaders are drafting legislation on the allocation guidelines for Caltrans and the California Transportation Commission with the flexible funding. CALPIRG and other organizations are urging for: A) at least $500 million to repair and maintain roadways B) if used to support Proposition 1B road projects, limit future spending to operational improvements on existing roadways C) to include complete streets and D) ensure CEQA-exempted projects do not receive stimulus funds.

According to a poll released in January by the National Association of Realtors, an overwhelming 80 percent of Americans believe it is more important that the stimulus funding include efforts to repair existing highways and public transit rather than to build new highways. The poll clearly shows that the vast majority of Americans believe restoring existing roads and bridges and expanding transportation options should take precedence over building new roads. Repair projects have also been shown to create 16% more jobs, and to do so faster, than those that build new highway capacity.

The report, Spending the Stimulus, lays out 20 ways that officials in California can and should spend the federal funding on ready-to-go projects that will address long-neglected transportation priorities while providing speedy and robust job creation and economic recovery in California.

Some high-priority, job creating project types identified in the report include investments that:

--Repair roads, bridges, transit facilities, buses, rail tracks and stations

-- Build complete streets that help everyone get around; support cars, buses, bikes and pedestrians; and expand safe routes to school

-- Support public transportation to meet increased demand   

-- Ease road congestion by providing more routing choices and diffusing traffic

-- Support efforts to plan and coordinate transportation and development

See the attachment for the full report with a list of ready-to-go pr  ojects, in the report’s Appendix, that can be funded in California.

“We can both create jobs fast and invest in a transportation system that will help us reduce our dependence on oil and save commuters time and money,” said Erin Steva, transportation associate for CALPIRG.  “The old excuses for neglecting our genuine transportation priorities no longer apply. It’s time to stop offering mid-20th century solutions and start solving 21st  century problems.”

Some specific examples of ready to go projects that will create the right jobs for California include:

Metrolink Positive Train Control

New low-emission busses

Claremont’s Citrus Regional Bikeway

Wilshire Bus-Only Lane

Other examples can be found in the Appendix to the full report.

“The project lists released so far have shown the state’s need for infrastructure investment, and reflect the legislature’s concern over our state’s crumbling roads and bridges,” said Steva of CALPIRG. “This report shows there are plenty of smart, ready-to-go investments that qualify for stimulus funding. It’s a matter of knowing where to look and having the political will to do so.”

We continue to urge for legislation that prioritizes roadway maintenance and repair. Repair projects generate more jobs, faster, than new construction because more of the money goes to wages rather than to buying land for new highways. Repair projects also save money:  they save drivers money today on what they would otherwise be spending tomorrow to repair damage to their cars from potholes; and they save the DOT money on major repairs down the road which won’t be necessary because regular maintenance will have been done.

CALPIRG (California Public Interest Research Group) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest advocacy organization.

xxx

20-Projects-ReportFINAL.CA.md.doc