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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LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY
High-speed rail has been adopted throughout the world, and is now being planned and developed in the United States. Over the past 50 years, U.S. transportation spending has favored the development of interstate highway and aviation systems. In the meantime, countries such as China, Japan, Spain, France, and Germany have been investing in modern high-speed rail systems to satisfy the travel demands of current and future generations. As the United States embarks on the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program launched in 2009, it can learn from the experiences of other countries i planning, constructing, and operating high-speed rail.
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.
View this complete post...REGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION
High-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor is a critical component to providing the capacity needed to support projected growth in the megaregion. The Corridor’s $3 trillion economy, representing 20% of the nation’s total on just 2% of its land mass, is the direct result of our nation’s historic investments in world-class infrastructure.
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.
View this complete post...AMERICA 2050
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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