To put some facts behind Mike's points check this out: http://www.dot.gov/bib2009/htm/RedCon.html
I quote: "Reduced Congestion The Department’s budget request includes $36.7 billion in FY 2009 to reduce the growing transportation congestion and declining system reliability that Americans contend with every day. Mobility is essential to America’s economic prosperity and quality of life. In today’s global economy, it is more important than ever to have seamless transitions among the modes of transportation so that people and cargo can move effectively and efficiently." See that $36.7 billion in there? Certainly there is room in that budget to cut $8 billion of the least urgent projects, made less urgent by the decrease in vehicle miles travelled and decrease in highway fatalities. In fact, there is room in that budget to cut another $8 billion and redirect it where it will make more of a difference: public transit. Critical Relief for Traffic Congestion http://www.apta.com/research/info/online/congestion.cfm >From which: "Public transportation reduces the need for highway expansion. Highway expansion has become increasingly difficult and controversial. There often is not space, money and public support to add roadway capacity needed to create and sustain acceptable conditions. (*1) In addition, there is mounting evidence that additions to highway capacity “induce” added traffic. Increasing lane-miles by one percent may induce a nearly equivalent increase in vehicle-miles of travel within a period as short as five years. By inducing significant traffic, additional road building may do little to reduce congestion." Which, assuming you agree, means that assigning $8 billion to transit may actually be a more effective use of the money meant to reduce congestion. > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Re: [Bikies] H.R. 6532 To Amend the Internal Revenue Code of > 1986 to Restore the Highway Trust Fund Balance > From: "Michael D. Barrett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Thu, July 31, 2008 2:15 pm > To: [email protected] > This bill isn't about maintenance. It is about expansion. And I'm not > talking bridge joints. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
