Here’s a quick summary of MARC’s draft position on the next federal transportation authorization. :
· The draft calls for a national transportation plan composed of a national:
o Highway system plan
o Passenger rail plan
o Freight/goods movement plan
o Passenger aviation plan and
o Metropolitan strategy for the nodes where all of these systems interconnect
· The plan should be built on detailed state and local performance measures that coordinate with national objectives, with local jurisdictions given maximum flexibility on how they achieve the performance outcomes.
· Regions and modes should be assured of guaranteed funding amounts to facilitate long-term planning and investment.
· System expansion should not come at the expense of maintaining existing infrastructure.
· Since many transportation challenges transcend local or state boundaries, the federal government should provide leadership in convening clusters of regions or states to tackle multi-state corridors for freight and passenger movement.
· The country should significantly increase its transportation investments through a long-term, dedicated, predictable and sustainable revenue stream.
· Funding should come from transportation-related sources supplemented by new (unspecified) transportation resources to stimulate economic recovery; this should include maximum flexibility for states and regions to implement their own additional funding mechanisms.
