July 8, 2011

The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) released the following statement yesterday from Janette Sadik-Khan, New York City Transportation Commissioner and President of NACTO in reaction to Chairman Mica’s release of an outline for the next transportation bill.

“Chairman Mica has some excellent ideas in his transportation proposal today. Focusing the federal program and reforming the way transportation funds are administered will be welcomed, and I look forward to seeing the details of how those proposals will speed up critical projects in cities around the country. However, the funding level of the program is highly problematic and must be addressed.

“The proposed level for a six-year transportation bill would reduce road and bridge funding dramatically. In New York City alone, this would mean a cut of approximately $3 billion. Multiple commissions have called for the United States to increase our investments in roads, bridges, and transit. We also desperately need safety improvements to reduce the nation’s high traffic fatality rate. In light of this context, the dramatic cuts in investment levels announced by the Chairman today are shocking and troubling.

“Deferred repairs to roads, bridges and transit do not go away. They pile up year after year, creating a mountain of work that will end up on our children’s plates if we don’t address it now. Further, with the economy in its current state, pushing contractors to lay off workers as they survey a dramatically smaller construction season is the wrong move.

“The Chairman’s proposal has some excellent goals for reducing the delays in the project review process for large projects. However, surveys have shown that the most common reason that large projects are delayed is lack of funding. The proposal also makes no mention of eliminating the duplicative review that states conduct on city road and bridge projects.

“At this point, many substantive details of the proposal remain unclear. However, the programmatic changes in the Federal Highway Program that are hinted at would disproportionately cut funding from projects in our metropolitan areas, where the majority of Americans live and work. Large cities and their suburbs around the country are struggling to fund critical projects to increase safety and mobility for a growing population, and this proposal would delay or eliminate many of those projects.

“I hope that the final bill proposed by the Chairman will address some of these policy concerns, while looking to increase the overall spending level to keep pace with the needs our country faces.”