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Archive for the ‘Policy’ Category

Guest on The Infra Blog: Therese McMillan, Acting Administrator, Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

Wednesday, January 7th, 2015
Therese McMillan, Acting Administrator, Federal Transit Authority

Therese McMillan is currently the Acting Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). She joined FTA as Deputy Administrator on July 2, 2009. As Deputy, McMillan assisted the Administrator in leading a staff of more than 500 in the Washington D.C. headquarters office and 10 regional offices throughout the United States, and implementing an annual budget approximating $10 billion.

“The economic impact of transit investments has different faces…First, it should be recognized that any time you are building and repairing transit services, that in and of itself is creating jobs in the near term. Another thing, though, that’s important to think about in terms of economic impact, is the ability of transit to connect people to their jobs, and often to connect them in a more efficient and effective way than being caught in traffic and congestion.”

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For highway innovation, 2014 was a very good year

Friday, January 2nd, 2015
Tappan Zee Work Underway

Innovation and investment in infrastructure doesn’t take a holiday. Throughout 2014, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has been relentless in working with state DOTs to save time, save money and save lives, by encouraging the use of innovative technologies and methods to build roads, bridges and highways better, faster and more cost-effectively.

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Transportation for Older Adults

Wednesday, December 31st, 2014
Table 1: Older Americans Act Title III Part B Transportation Spending and Rides 2010 through 2012 (Spending and Rides in Millions)

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
State and local transportation agencies and aging organizations in the four states GAO visited used a variety of mechanisms to coordinate transportation services for older adults. For example, many state and local activities are currently focused on mobility management approaches—such as travel training programs—to help older adults identify and access the various transportation resources available. Some organizations GAO interviewed have also implemented more extensive approaches to coordination that are intended to help older adults access transportation services, such as offering a wide range of volunteer transportation.

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Private Capital, Public Good

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2014
Figure 1. Different Levels of Private Sector Engagement in PPP Contracts

BROOKINGS METROPOLITAN POLICY PROGRAM
Despite its fundamental and multifaceted role in maintaining national growth and economic health, infrastructure in the United States has not received an adequate level of investment for years. Political dysfunction, a challenging fiscal environment, greater project complexity, and the sheer size of the need across different sectors are forcing leaders across the country to explore new ways to finance the investments and operations that will grow their economies over the next decade…Part of this exploration means new kinds of agreements between governments at all levels and the private sector to deliver, finance, and maintain a range of projects. Beyond simplistic notions of privatization, the interest is in true partnerships between agencies, private firms, financiers, and the general public. Many nations already successfully develop infrastructure in this manner today.

Despite its fundamental and multifaceted role in maintaining national growth and economic health, infrastructure in the United States has not received an adequate level of investment for years. Political dysfunction, a challenging fiscal environment, greater project complexity, and the sheer size of the need across different sectors are forcing leaders across the country to explore new ways to finance the investments and operations that will grow their economies over the next decade.

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Transportation Infrastructure Investment: Impacts of the Federal Highway and Mass Transit Program

Monday, December 15th, 2014
Funding Assumptions for the Cases ($B)

TRANSPORTATION CONSTRUCTION COALITION
Federal transportation spending expands the capital stock of the US economy, drives the production and delivery of goods and services, and positively affects business and household incomes. It also enhances the transportation system’s operational capacity by reducing travel times and costs. This results in greater accessibility for individuals, households and businesses, more efficient delivery of goods and services, improved life styles and standards of living, and safer roadways.

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Guest on The Infra Blog: Mike Elmendorf, President & CEO, Associated General Contractors of New York State (AGC NYS)

Thursday, December 11th, 2014
Mike Elmendorf, AGC NYS

Mike Elmendorf was named President and CEO of the Associated General Contractors of New York State (AGC NYS), New York’s leading construction industry association, in February 2011.

“…there has been a number of bank settlements and other circumstances that have resulted in literally billions of dollars of found money arriving at the state treasury, and the result of that is that you’ve got a unique, really probably once in a lifetime opportunity to use those billions of dollars to make long-term significant investments in improving our infrastructure.”

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Rethinking Transportation Funding

Tuesday, December 9th, 2014

Innovation Newsbriefs
Vol. 25, No. 16
Has the time come to reconsider the way we pay for transportation? Should the Highway Trust Fund and its fuel tax revenue continue as the main source of funding for the federal transportation program? If not, what are the alternatives? And more broadly, is the age of long term reauthorizations and of heavy reliance on federal funding, drawing to a close?

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The Life and Death of the Highway Trust Fund

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014
Eno Center for Transportation

ENO CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION
The current federal program for funding surface transportation infrastructure in the United States is broken. Since 2008, the U.S. Highway Trust Fund (HTF) has repeatedly been on the brink of insolvency, necessitating five infusions from the U.S. Treasury’s General Fund. Many solutions have been proposed to stabilize funding for the federal surface transportation program, but each has confronted substantial political barriers. This study details the circumstances that have led the U.S. transportation program to its current funding situation and explores how other nations have created sustainable mechanisms for ensuring adequate national level investment in surface transportation systems.

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Guest on The Infra Blog: Kevin DeGood, Director, Infrastructure Policy, Center for American Progress

Monday, December 1st, 2014
cap logo

Kevin DeGood is the Director of Infrastructure Policy at American Progress. His work focuses on how highway, transit, aviation, and maritime policy affect America’s global competitiveness, access to opportunity for diverse communities, and environmental sustainability.

“To a certain extent we’re victims of our own success…For all of its problems, we have still a fundamentally sound and fantastic transportation system. Again, none of that means that we don’t need investment. None of that means that there aren’t real challenges, because there certainly are and that’s what we’ve dedicated ourselves to trying to solve.”

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State of the Cities Report

Tuesday, November 25th, 2014
CITIES USED IN THE 2014 SAMPLE

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES
Increasing population growth in cities not only leads to greater citizen demand on local government but also creates an entire new ecosystem in which local governments must respond and adapt. In a world where the only constant is change, a mayoral focus on future opportunities and challenges is imperative. City leaders need to grapple with and understand how decisions today can help create socially cohesive places years into the future where the benefits of growth enhance quality of life for all residents.

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