Salt Lake City Tribune Editorializes on the Benefits of Transit Oriented Development

In our new "energy-restricted" economy, condos and high-rises will become the new "McMansions." Train tracks and sidewalks the new highways. Buses and bicycles the new SUVs.
Many of us will abandon our big gas-guzzling vehicles and forsake new land-guzzling, auto-dependent suburban developments in favor of commuter hubs and "new urbanism" communities clustered near mass-transit stations.
We'll live sensibly for a change. We'll walk to the market and the park and the restaurant, and we won't have to walk far in our mixed-use neighborhoods.
We won't go kicking and screaming, either. Just give it a little more time. Let the air pollution and traffic congestion and gas pumps that ring up $50, $60, $70 in a blur sink in, and we'll embrace smart growth and new urbanism and commuter hubs like grandmas hug babies and babies hug puppies.
It's already starting to happen in Murray and Midvale, Farmington and South Salt Lake, where transit-oriented communities are planned or under construction; developments where you won't have to jump in the car every time you leave home.
But there's still one big obstacle, developers and planning experts told local officials at a transit-oriented development seminar this week in Salt Lake City. If commuter hubs and bus stop/train station developments are going to become the norm, if we're going to change our wasteful ways and ease the burden on our environment and pocketbooks, local governments have to lead, or at least get out of the way.
"High density" can no longer be dirty words. Commercial and residential zones must be melded. Those tired old requirements of two parking spaces for every doorstep have to go. Transit-oriented, new urban and infill developments must be supported with tax credits, expedited permitting and generous infrastructure assistance, while developers who promote sprawl and three-car garages, and people who settle in those communities, must pay a premium.
Obviously, we won't all want to live this way. There will still be Drapers and Bluffdales, places where the old American dream - big house, big yard, RV and SUV - hangs on, or dies hard.
But eventually, that lifestyle will be as outdated as last year's calendar. Pressure - financial, ethical, environmental, governmental - will be brought to bear. Change is inevitable. It's up to government to make it happen sooner, not later.

Obama Discusses High Speed Rail

By Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY

BRISTOL, Va. — As he begins the general election contest for the White House, Democrat Barack Obama is targeting the voters he had the hardest time winning in the primaries: those who are white and working class.

The Illinois senator told USA TODAY Thursday that his appearance here in a small town on the Virginia-Tennessee border represented the first stop in a 2½-week tour about economic issues. The trip will also take him to several states won by his rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, during the Democratic primaries, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida.

Obama laid out his campaign plans during an interview in the library of Bristol's Virginia High School.

"What we're going to do over the next 2½ weeks is focus on the economy, which is what is pressing on the American people so severely," Obama said.

During the tour, he said he plans to "offer some very concrete solutions as to how we deal with both the short-term squeeze that (working-class Americans are) under and how over the long term we right the economic ship."

Obama also touched on his search for a vice presidential nominee, his plans to visit Iraq and a conversation he had yesterday with John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.

To start, he laid out ambitious plans to increase funding for a host of domestic programs, including a 10-year, $150 billion "Apollo-style program" to develop new energy sources.

On the economy, his agenda includes "significant investment" in the nation's transportation system. Obama said he'll also discuss plans to expand retirement accounts — with the addition of matching funds from the U.S. government — and to pump more money into the nation's education system.

Obama did not discuss details or costs of these proposals. But he said he'd pay for his programs by raising taxes on wealthy taxpayers, eliminating corporate tax loopholes and ending the war in Iraq, which is costing the U.S. government $10 billion a month.

Among his ideas to address climate change and the skyrocketing cost of fuel, he said he favors a major expansion of high-speed rail service.

"We could connect the Midwest with a high-speed rail system that would provide immediate jobs," he said, adding that it would also be a "much more energy-efficient" alternative to air transport.

The senator, who has faced criticism for not wearing a flag pin on his lapel, sported one here. He initially resisted wearing a flag pin because "my attitude was my patriotism is what's in my heart," Obama said. He changed his mind after an Internet rumor campaign about his patriotism.

"I just wanted to make sure that nobody was confused because there were e-mails going out that somehow I didn't say the Pledge of Allegiance and so forth," he said. "I just wanted to knock down those lies."

Earlier, in a high school gym, Obama told an enthusiastic crowd of about 2,000 it's no accident he chose to make his first appearance as the party's presumptive nominee here — in a community where the population is mostly white and the median income is well below the national average.

The community represents "so many people who have been forgotten," Obama said. "Washington hasn't been listening to you and hasn't been paying attention to you."

The last Democratic presidential candidate to win Virginia was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. The last one to visit the southwestern corner of the state, said local Democratic congressman Rick Boucher, was John F. Kennedy in 1960.

Obama told reporters on his campaign plane he had a jovial conversation with McCain, when his rival gave him a congratulatory phone call Wednesday.

"We joked if you'd asked any of the pundits a years ago whether it would be him and me as nominees, you wouldn't have gotten many takers," he said.

He's "definitely interested" in McCain's proposal for a series of unmoderated town hall meetings, Obama said. In the interview and in his appearance here, Obama criticized McCain's tax and health care policies as being skewed toward the wealthy.

Among his other comments:

• On picking a running mate. When asked whether considering Clinton, Obama demurred, saying she'd be on anybody's short list.

Earlier in the day, the Clinton campaign said she was not angling for a spot on the ticket. "She is not seeking the vice presidency, and no one speaks for her but her," communications director Howard Wolfson said. "The choice here is Senator Obama's and his alone."

Obama is in no hurry to make a choice, naming "before the (late August) convention" as his deadline. He'll seek "somebody I could trust to be president" and "somebody with integrity," he said.

•On Iraq. "I will be going to Iraq, I'm almost certain, before the election," said Obama, who has made withdrawing U.S. troops a priority of his platform. "One of my most important tasks is to deal effectively with the situation in Iraq, in Afghanistan and with the threat of terrorism generally."

•On race. Obama alluded to his historic status as the nation's first black nominee of a major party during his appearance here, telling the audience that "I'm proud of America for giving me this opportunity because obviously we all know it's a sign of enormous growth in this country."

•On campaign finance. Obama said he'll accept public financing for his campaign — which would limit the amount of spending — only if McCain agrees to curb spending by the Republican National Committee. "I won't disarm unilaterally," he said.

Obama has raised about $265 million to date, while McCain has raised about $90 million.

After appearing here, Obama traveled to a rally in northern Virginia's D.C. suburbs, then headed back to his hometown of Chicago to take the weekend off. He's looking forward to "a date" tonight with his wife, Michelle, a round of golf on Saturday ("the best I can do is the low 80s," Obama said) and a bike ride with his children on Sunday.

Not that he is expecting it to be entirely relaxing. On Saturday night, Obama will face a challenge familiar to many American parents: Eight 7-year-olds are due at his house for a birthday sleepover in honor of his daughter, Sasha.

"These kids are planning to make pizza so who knows what our kitchen will look like," Obama said. "They shouldn't call these sleepovers. They should call them wake-overs."

Conservative Paul Weyrich Supports Street Cars

The National Ledger, LLC (TNL) is a new media independent news publication. Recently it a carried an article by Paul Weyrich, noted conservative, who supports the building of streetcars in United States Cities.
By Paul M. Weyrich Jun 3, 2008

I belong to the National Streetcar Coalition, which pushes policies favorable to the return of streetcars throughout the nation. Each month we hold a conference call with member participants who explain what is happening in their communities. This month I was blown away at the level of activity from one end of the country to the other. Portland, Oregon is the poster child for a successful streetcar system. Intersecting with Portland’s prolific light-rail system this eight-mile modern streetcar line has attracted over 100 other communities in the USA and even foreign countries which are looking to bring back streetcars.

Streetcars Are Returning, In Spite of Bush Administration Opposition (Image: Wenn)

Despite an extraordinarily well run streetcar line, which has attracted $3.5 billion in stipulated investment which would not have occurred without the streetcar, the George W. Bush Administration refuses to partially fund a new line to the other side of town. Mind you, these investment properties have voted to voluntarily tax themselves to support the operation of the car line. So what is the Bush Administration pushing? So-called bus rapid transit. In fact, despite the legislative history of the small-starts program which was established to fund starter streetcar lines, the Bush Administration Department of Transportation authorities will have none of it. They only fund bus rapid transit. In fact, they have a whole unit limited to promotion of one mode. They do not do this for any other technology. They hold conferences. They have staff that goes on location to push bus rapid transit. They have a web page devoted solely to bus rapid transit. There is only one problem. People don’t like to ride buses. They will tolerate riding a bus that feeds a rail line but they really don’t buy what the Administration is pushing.

Many communities are funding starter streetcar lines on their own. That is well and good but the elitist “public be damned” attitude of the Bush Administration is reprehensible. The Federal Transit Administrator seems to be reasonably in favor of streetcars. But someone is giving him orders not to fund rail. There is an irony in the current campaign to do away with earmarks. The current law requires Congress to earmark funds for transit projects. If earmarks are abolished, and I certainly am no defender of the earmark practice, should Congress violate the law and not set aside money for transit projects? That presently is the only way rail projects are funded.

There is suspicion of a sort of symbiotic relationship between the Bush Administration and the manufacturers of buses and their component parts. It is hard to comprehend what goes on here. Yes, rail is more expensive to build but it is less costly to operate, so in the long run it pays to have rail. Riders identify with fixed guide-way rail lines. They know rail lines are unlikely to disappear. A bus route can be changed overnight. I have no idea what the next Administration will do about this issue. One never can tell. President Jimmy Carter turned out to be a much more determined opponent of Amtrak than did President Ronald Reagan, who talked of defunding Amtrak but always gave in to the strong pro-Amtrak sentiment in the Congress. None of the candidates for President thus far has been asked about streetcars so we simply don’t know how the current controversy will be resolved.

Meanwhile, interest in streetcars is reaching critical mass. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the chief Congressional proponent of streetcars, is optimistic. He believes this is an idea whose time has come. He thinks with so many cities and towns considering restoring streetcars no Presidential Administration would be able to resist this idea in the long run. He is considering introducing a stand-alone bill to fund streetcars. We know President Bush would veto such a bill but we don’t know what the others would do. We know that Senator John S. McCain, III has been a fierce opponent of Amtrak but we don’t have much clue which way he would go on this issue.

I spent much of my young life going to photograph last runs of streetcar systems. I even ran two charters just before the Milwaukee system was abandoned. Today if I spent my remaining years doing little else I still couldn’t get to the openings of all of the streetcar lines under construction. This was a technology which came close to dying out completely in the 1970s. It is difficult to suppress a good idea. Yet I never thought I would live to see this day.

Nancy Pelosi Outlines Transit Needs

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke to the American Public Transit Association Rail Conference yesterday in San Francisco. In the speech she gives her thoughts about the nation's infrastructure needs including more funding for transit.

“Thank you, Nat [Ford]. Nat does an excellent job leading the SFMTA in managing San Francisco’s ground transportation system, which includes our transit system, Muni, one of the oldest and greenest transit systems in the United States. Under his tenure, San Francisco has opened a new light rail line and established the largest municipal bio-diesel fleet in the nation, with bio-diesel fuel now utilized in all Muni’s diesel fleet vehicles.

“I would also like to acknowledge the leadership of our great Mayor, Gavin Newsom, who has been instrumental in ensuring a 21st century transportation system for San Francisco.

“I would also like to recognize APTA President Bill Millar. For more than 10 years, Bill has been a tireless advocate for public transit in the halls of Congress. We rely on his leadership to move a public transportation agenda forward.

“Two hundred years ago, around the time of the Lewis and Clark expeditions and the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson realized that for commerce to flow in America, for people to move, and for our country to flourish, we needed to build the infrastructure of our country

“Our nation was growing, but it was also still a young experiment in democracy. Our population was sparse, and after decades of war, so was our national treasury.
These realities did not deter President Jefferson, or his Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, who submitted a plan to Congress to develop the infrastructure of America. These challenges inspired these great men. For America to be great, they believed it needed to invest in its future strength.

“The Erie Canal, the Cumberland Road, and of particular interest to you, the transcontinental railway stand today as legacies of this vision.

“To finance this infrastructure, these early Americans had the great foresight to see that the long-term benefit of these investments far outweighed the costs. Because of that, public capital, and not just private resources were necessary.

“As Albert Gallatin said, roads and canals to unite our young nation could not ‘be left to individual exertion.’

“It was in that tradition that 100 years later, in 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt launched a similar commitment by convening a White House Conference on Conservation to preserve America’s natural beauty. That led to the creation of the National Park Service and helped a growing America remain a great America and continue to be an even greater America.

“Today, again, we stand at a crossroads with another opportunity to unite our nation.

“200 years after we first committed to national infrastructure, Congress is prepared to observe the accomplishments of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt by seizing opportunities for innovation and progress. We must invest in our nation’s infrastructure, and we must reverse climate change. By investing in public transit, we can do both at the same time.

“In Congress, it is our responsibility to protect the American people, grow our economy and create good paying jobs, strengthen America’s families, and preserve our planet and promote energy independence.

“All of these can be accomplished through rebuilding our infrastructure.

“Our nation faces great infrastructure challenges: crumbling roads and deficient bridges, insufficient maintenance of the electricity grid, aging pipelines, overloaded ports, and most devastating of all – the levee failures during Hurricane Katrina.

“All of you know best how the rising demand for public transit is placing enormous strain on rail transit systems, which around the country are in desperate need of upgrades, expansions, and operating funds.

“But in this litany of challenges is an opportunity to think in new and different ways. These challenges are opportunities to strengthen our nation.

“That includes serious investments in rail transit systems, which are in desperate need of upgrades, expansions, and operating funds.

“The challenge of our crumbling infrastructure is also an opportunity to think in new and different ways to strengthen our nation.

“Rebuilding America is a national security issue. Ninety percent of our oil imports are used for transportation. Public transportation, more efficient roadways, and a broadband backbone that removes commuters from roads, we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce its implications on our foreign policy.

“Rebuilding America is an economic issue. By improving our efficiency, we improve our competitiveness and create the next generation of good-paying jobs.

“Rebuilding America is an environmental issue. Making greener choices will bring us cleaner air and water, reduce sprawl and congestion, and cut greenhouse gases, to the benefit of the American people and our planet.

“Rebuilding America is an equality issue. When I held an Infrastructure Forum in the Capitol, Darren Walker of the Rockefeller Foundation spoke eloquently to us about transportation as a matter of basic fairness. As he said, the civil rights movement in America was sparked by one brave woman, Rosa Parks, and one public bus. Transportation – especially public transit – is the road to opportunity.

“As Speaker of the House, my flagship issue is energy independence and reducing global warming. That is because I believe preserving our planet for future generations is our most urgent challenge. As we renew and rebuild America, at every step of the way we must also combat climate change.

“Last year, Congress took major steps to reduce global warming pollution, passing sweeping legislation to increase vehicle fuel efficiency to 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2020 alone will be the equivalent of taking 28 million of today’s cars and trucks off the road.

“But it is not enough to improve vehicle efficiency and promote biofuels. We must also address total ‘vehicle miles traveled,’ which are growing at two and a half times the rate of population growth.

“In that regard, you are in the lead – getting people out of their cars and onto light rail, light rail, trolleys, and commuter rail, for example. Already, public transit saves our nation 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline every year.

“The fuel savings from using transit are magnified when we add in the ‘smart growth’ that springs up around transit, especially rail transit stations. People use transit for more of their daily needs, such as running errands, and the nation saves 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline annually. In San Francisco alone, use of the Muni’s system results in an estimated 25 million gallons in oil savings.

“Last year, public transportation ridership reached its highest level in 50 years. While this upward trend it tremendously encouraging, it is overloading many of your systems, and making the need for infrastructure investment all the more pressing.

“The question is not whether we must invest in our nation’s infrastructure, but rather, how do we pay for it? How do we proceed in a fiscally sound way?

“One idea being considered is an infrastructure development bank to promote public and private investment in projects of regional and national significance, including public transportation projects. The bank would be an independent federal entity that would evaluate major infrastructure proposals and finance the best of them using a variety of financial tools.

“For example, the bank could have the authority to issue bonds with maturities of up to 50 years. The benefits of infrastructure projects are long-term, and we need financial tools that will align financing with the benefits of the investments. Long-term investment opportunities could draw additional funding sources into infrastructure, such as pension funds.

“We must also consider whether we need a capital budget, not just an operating budget. Corporations and states have them, but the federal government does not. This would give us a means of differentiating between short-term expenditures and longer-term national investments.

“The task we face is so large that it demands the involvement of every level of government and the private sector.

“States, local communities, and the federal government are finding new ways to work together – new public-public partnerships that will strengthen our efforts at every level of government.

“In my state of California, the voters—fed up with congestion—approved $20 billion dollars in transportation infrastructure bonds to build on existing public funding sources. This included billions for public transit modernization and improvement. Public agencies are also finding ways to harness the knowledge and ingenuity of their own workers to increase their efficiency and save public dollars.

“Private investment is playing an increasingly larger role in public infrastructure. Innovative public-private partnerships are appearing around the country, bringing much-needed capital to the table. It is important to ensure that the public interest is well-served in public-private partnerships, since they are here to stay and likely to grow in importance.

“User fees have always been part of the structure of public transit; now they are playing an increasingly larger role in financing other types of infrastructure.

“With the economy slowing down and job losses accelerating, we must also look for opportunities to take advantage of the stimulative effect of investing in infrastructure.

“In conversations with the White House, leaders in Congress have placed a number of proposals on the table, including funding for infrastructure projects – transit, clean water, passenger rail, highways - where dirt will fly and people will be put to work that simply lack the funds to begin now.

“Right now, both the House and Senate are at work on legislation that has the greatest potential to address climate change yet: a cap-and-trade system. The ‘cap’ refers to an overall limit on annual greenhouse gas emissions from the United States. ‘Trade’ refers to the trading of greenhouse gas allowances, to ensure greater economic efficiency and generate revenues for public purposes, such as developing new low-carbon technologies. Some of these revenues could be used for investments such as public transit that further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“The Senate will begin floor debate on the Lieberman-Warner bill this week. It currently includes $171 billion in funding for public transportation through 2050. The House is also drafting cap and trade legislation, and we welcome your ideas as we move forward on this critical endeavor.

“In order to invest in rebuilding our nation, we need to engage the public in our 21st century vision.

“In the Congress, Congressman Earl Blumenauer of Oregon is leading the way, with legislation for a new national commission that would involve the public, members of Congress, and stakeholders all around the country to determine our priorities and look at all the dimensions of this challenge together.

“New technologies have the opportunity to offer new solutions.

“In that regard, this November, voters in California will have a chance to vote to build high-speed rail, and bring to America a system enjoyed around the world.

“This investment will create good-paying jobs, boost the economy, relieve gridlock and congestion, and offer an environmentally friendly and economically viable transportation alternative.

“California will set a new golden spike for rail travel as we break ground on an 800-mile system with trains traveling speeds of 220 miles per hour, transporting passengers from the Transbay Terminal right here in San Francisco to Union Station in Los Angeles in just two and a half hours.

“I know you have a keen interest in the reauthorization next year of the surface transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU.

“Congressman Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was born to lead on these issues of transportation and infrastructure. He is deeply committed to rebuilding America, and doing it a sustainable, climate-friendly way.

“Working with Highways and Transit Subcommittee Chairman Peter DeFazio of Oregon, Jim Oberstar and the committee members are already immersed in the issues involved in reauthorization.

“House Democrats are committed to robust public investment in public transportation. We are committed to advancing a bill that – at a minimum – honors the historic 80/20 funding split between highways and transit. The reduction of transit’s share below 20 percent that occurred in the 2005 reauthorization will not be repeated.

“We are committed to reforming the New Starts process for funding rail transit projects. Many of you have worked long and hard to develop New Starts projects, only to have the Bush Administration move the goal posts, forcing you to comply with new criteria. This must stop.

“It is essential that the environmental and economic development benefits of rail transit become fundamental criteria in the decision-making process for New Starts. We see with each new light rail system – whether the location is Dallas, Minneapolis, or Portland – a tremendous upsurge in transit-oriented development around rail lines and stations. Transit and the high-density development that accompanies it both have tremendous value in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and putting us on the path to a low-carbon economy.

“In the 21st century, we will face scarcity of any number of resources.

“But in this room, there is no scarcity of ingenuity, no scarcity of urgency, and no scarcity of commitment.

“When the history is written of our work to rebuild America and protect the planet from global warming, because of your example of thinking entrepreneurially, acting regionally, and for succeeding in preserving the entire planet, the contribution of APTA members will be writ large.

“As Speaker of the House, but more importantly, as a grandmother of seven, I come here today to thank you for your leadership.”

Source: Speaker Nancy Pelosi