Many Texas communities and public officials participated in a nationwide Stand Up 4 Transportation Rally recently. The objective was to get the attention of Congress. A May 31 deadline is looming and Congress must address the current stop-gap surface transportation bill or it will become insolvent. That would be a disaster because the Highway Trust Fund provides funding for state and local transportation projects.
Congress has passed too many short-term fixes and has refused to provide a long-term solution. As a result, state and local officials have been reluctant to launch transportation projects because they have no assurance of continued or future funding. That has left the nation’s roads and highways, bridges and transit systems to languish in limbo.
Almost 250 communities participated in the rally to raise awareness about the nation’s need for infrastructure funding. Some people were in Washington and others coordinated their participation regionally. Texas was well represented.
The new Dallas Streetcar was used as a backdrop and the word went out that this Texas project is a direct result of a $26 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Among the attendees at the Dallas rally were Dallas Area Rapid Transit President Gary Thomas; Mike Cantrell, chair of the Regional Transportation Commission; Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings; and Jim Crites, executive vice president of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Other communities and organizations represented included Corpus Christi’s Regional Transportation Authority, the Houston chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), Denton County Transportation Authority, Fort Worth Transportation Authority, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Austin and Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County.
In Denver, officials organized a parade that began at the city’s Union Station, the main railway station and central transportation hub of the city. Denver wanted to remind its congressional representatives of what had been accomplished with assistance from Congress.
Facing more than $26 billion in unfunded state transportation projects over the next two decades, local transportation leaders in Las Vegas signed a bus wrap – a banner that was attached to a Regional Transportation Commission bus. Community leaders and citizens signed the wrap with great ceremony to let Congress see their support for transportation funding.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) held its rally at San Jose State University. Local officials pointed to numerous projects that could never have been completed without federal funding. While it seems a little strange that communities would have to go to such extremes, perhaps the visibility of the problem will help.
The activities all had one thing in common – community leaders, citizens and taxpayers are letting Congress know they want transportation funding increased and extended. Thousands are watching as the May deadline draws closer. Strategic Partnerships, Inc. will continue to report on the latest updates and transportation funding news.