Racine Mayor Urges Congress Toward Regional Transportation Plan

Racine mayor John Dickert is among over 100 mayors from across the country who signed the following letter to Congress, urging Congress to invest in cities.

“Mayors from across the nation are encouraged by your progress providing certainty for the surface transportation program, which is the backbone of the American economy. As you conference the transportation bill, the “Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act” (H.R. 22), we urge you to increase federal highway, transit, and safety program funding for cities and their regions to levels significantly above baseline. Federal funding for transportation must increase for cities and their regions to continue to maintain and improve our nation’s critical infrastructure. 

America’s economic strength depends upon our cities, towns, and suburbs having the transportation networks they need to attract and retain businesses and provide opportunities for residents to prosper. 

Crumbling roads and failing transit systems translate to gridlock and constrained growth.  Businesses face declines in productivity, seniors cannot make doctor’s appointments and commuters are late to work. Worse, some jobs are left unfilled as workers are left without adequate transportation options to access employment.

This is not a partisan issue. Deficient bridges exist in red and blue districts all across this country.  Many city and state leaders, Democrats and Republicans, are already stepping up and committing more local funds.  However, without a strong federal partner, the twin demands of maintaining existing infrastructure and preparing for the future are beyond the means of any city.

Current federal commitments are insufficient to maintain, much less enhance, our transportation network. Throughout our nation, public transit maintenance needs exceed $86 billion and the highway and bridge repair backlog is an estimated $808 billion.  Yet, since 2009, federal surface transportation commitments have remained stagnant.  In addition, short term transportation authorizations and patches create uncertainty and increase risk, further increasing project costs.  We simply cannot afford continued extensions of the status quo.

We commend the leadership of the transportation committees and Congress for taking a very important step toward a long term bill.  Without it, we risk reducing national productivity and competitiveness relative to our global competitors.  Congestion costs the U.S. economy over $120 billion each year.  Since the last long-term surface transportation bill was enacted in 2005, the economic competitiveness of U.S. transportation infrastructure has fallen from first in the world to 12th.  If the status quo continues, deficient transportation infrastructure will cost American businesses $430 billion by 2020. 

Our nation’s urban areas house more than 80 percent of our nation’s residents, and if we are to thrive, Congress must step up and make investments in our cities, towns, and suburbs.  We appreciate your action as we work together to meet the long-term transportation infrastructure needs.”

“It’s not a question of needing more roads, says Dickert.  It’s about pushing Congress to help cities, like Racine, create a regional transportation system that is more efficient, saves money and provides opportunities for our citizens.”