John Hennessy III,
P.E.
REGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION
In the 40 years since the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act and the development of the current federal regulatory process, the practice of completing environmental reviews for major infrastructure projects has significantly lengthened average project delivery times. For example, in 2011, the average time it took to complete an environmental impact statement on a highway project was over eight years, compared with two years just after the law was passed.
From America 2050: Last week, more than two years after the nation’s last five-year surface transportation law expired, the House of Representatives introduced its proposed legislation for rewriting the nation’s transportation laws. And boy, it is a doozy. Facing severely reduced gasoline tax receipts, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has proposed to cut many […]
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AMERICA 2050 & REGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION
The State of Connecticut is currently pursuing the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield (NHHS) Rail Project, a major investment that will result in faster, more frequent, and more reliable rail service. The rail project entails adding a second track, upgrading existing stations and rail infrastructure including drainage, signals and communications, and at-grade crossings. Four new stations, as well as new train equipment will also be part of later phases…When complete, the rail project will increase service frequency from 6 to 25 daily round-trips, increase speeds, and reduce travel times. The double tracking, track and signal system improvements will provide moderate reductions in travel times. However, the introduction of express trains will result in substantial travel time reductions for some origins and destinations. For example, express service from Hartford to New York City will reduce the current travel time from 2 hours and 30 minutes to 2 hours.
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Please contact your Representative, Senators, and President Obama, and tell them to fight this devastating budget proposal that would reverse decades of progress on vital passenger rail corridors all over the country. Visit www.StandUpForTrains.org today to send a message to your representatives that you want a stronger national passenger rail system.
View this complete post...Until high-speed rail has a dedicated source of funding, like the highway and transit programs, it will always be subject to annual budget battles and the changing political winds of Congress…Yesterday’s budget news underscores the importance of securing dedicated funding for high-speed rail, such as a penny on the gas tax, a percent tax on oil imports, and a passenger rail ticket surcharge that would grow as the program grows over time.
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While Florida’s route was most feasible and ready-to-go, investment in many other corridors, including those in the Midwest, California and Northeast, will underpin long-term economic growth and success
View this complete post...“As President Obama said in his State of the Union, there are key places where we cannot afford to sacrifice as a nation – one of which is infrastructure…As a long time Amtrak rider and advocate, I understand the need to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality, skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced. This plan will help us to do that, while also increasing access to convenient high speed rail for more Americans.”
-Vice President Joe Biden
Petra Todorovich is Director of America 2050, a national urban planning initiative to develop an infrastructure and growth strategy for the United States. Since its launch in 2005, America 2050 has convened some of the brightest thinkers in the fields of transportation, land use planning, social equity, and urban development to create a compelling vision for America’s future growth.
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This week, America 2050 released a report evaluating all potential high-speed rail corridors around the country on their ability to attract riders based on quantifiable regional characteristics, such as concentrations of jobs, population density, and rail transit networks…ome critics may seize on this evaluation to bolster their claims that Florida should not invest in a high-speed rail system. They are misinterpreting the point of our report, which identifies the most promising corridor in each region and points to ways to improve each project’s chances for success.
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