Jay Fox’s Post

Uncovering the Vital Link: Why Transit is Crucial Public Infrastructure Connecting Communities and Economies #urbanplanning, #cities, #livablecommunities, #mobility, #transit

I was so glad to run into this post last week and wanted to share this series along side ‘Why transit matters’ to me. 1/3: Car-centric cities amplify the paywall created by private vehicle ownership and maintenance, limiting economic participation for the low-income workforce. High costs associated with purchasing a car, insurance, fuel, and repairs consume a significant portion of their income. Robust public transportation offers a solution by providing an affordable, reliable alternative that enhances access to jobs and essential services, breaking down this financial paywall and enabling greater economic participation. #PublicTransportation #EconomicParticipation

Concrete General is heavily invested in the health and advancement of our state’s infrastructure. We need your help to continue the vital work all of us in the state do for the health of Maryland’s roadways and bridges. According to the Together for Transportation Funding website, “Maryland’s heavily traveled roadways will need additional investment to ease congestion & improve mobility. The effectiveness of this Maryland infrastructure has a profound effect on our overall quality of life. We would like to urge our elected officials to address the state’s transportation needs and support the following legislative goals: 1. To restructure the gas tax to produce a consistent, sustainable flow of revenue sufficient to fund the engineering, construction, and maintenance of the State’s roads, bridges and highways. 2. To establish regionally-based funding authorities in the Baltimore Metropolitan area and the Prince George’s, Montgomery, Frederick, and Charles County areas to produce enough revenue to fund and support mass transportation projects and efforts. 3. To continue supporting the use of alternative financing that includes new public-private-partnership (P3’s) funding to help modernize and improve transportation infrastructure. 4. To educate the Maryland General Assembly and Maryland’s citizenry about the indispensable need for a strong system of roadways and transit. Delivering on these legislative goals can solve both the long-term structural funding problem and the current Covid-19-related funding challenges. More than ever, our economy needs new sustainable jobs that can be worked in a healthy setting, given the backdrop of the pandemic. Most importantly, our infrastructure needs to be strong.” Here's how you can help! Share this post, and visit the website to contact your representatives! #maryland #infrastructure #infrastructurematters #dmv

How safe system approach will help to fill the harm elimination gap that is not dealt with by infrastructure alone? The system gap that is left to fill is likely to be different for different parts of our road network. Higher mobility and strategically important roads that can attract substantial infrastructure investment may be able to push infrastructure improvements to their logical conclusion with regard to safety. However, lower mobility roads where infrastructure funding is not a priority and such substantial investment is not justifiable will sustain a much larger system gap. The question is then how will the responses to these different gaps be addressed, and what will make up the difference that cannot be addressed by infrastructure investment on lower mobility roads? As the level of vehicle technology is largely independent of the road transportation industry, being serviced by the largely privately run vehicle manufacturing industry, any balance in the gap will need to be supported by speed management and enforcement. While enforcement agencies hold close ties to the road transportation industry, their governance is run independently of the road transportation system managers, limiting the amount of influence that can be had on the availability of enforcement. This leaves speed management as the key support for balancing any deficiencies in the system gap.  Along higher mobility roads, the high speeds encompassed within our current speed limit setting strategies may be preserved by the high level of infrastructure investment that can be afforded along these sections of the road network. In other words, a high level of protection from infrastructure will afford safe road use even when speeds remain high. Along lower mobility roads, the level of infrastructure investment is unlikely to allow for such high speeds and the question then needs to be asked: what is the community willing to pay in order achieve the level of mobility it desires? Competition for investment in all other aspects of our communities means that the amount of investment will likely remain low, and so the system gap will then need to be filled to a greater extent by speed management. In other words, speeds will need to decrease to allow foreseeable crash types to remain survivable. Ref:https://lnkd.in/eeSUGa58

Three months after Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed – killing six people, shutting a major port and disrupting vehicle traffic along the Eastern Seaboard — local, state and federal officials began a massive effort to make the best out of an unimaginable situation. “We’re working with construction companies and designers, and working with the people of our state, to think about what is it that we hope for this almost two-mile long bridge,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore told CNBC. The process passed a major milestone last week when crews managed to reopen the main navigation channel to the Port of Baltimore, the nation’s largest port for vehicles. That process alone was initially forecasted to take up to a year. “It didn’t take 11 months. We got it done in 11 weeks, because we work together,” Moore said. But now, in many ways, comes the hard part. Officials hope to use the disaster as a chance to reconsider all the infrastructure in the region. “This is going to be an important opportunity for our state to look at all of our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our tunnels. You know, our critical infrastructure is imperative for our economic growth and development,” Moore said.  Last month, the Maryland Transportation Authority issued its first request for proposals to rebuild the bridge. The plan is to use what officials call a “Progressive Design-Build Approach,” in which the design and construction firms are hired at the same time and work together throughout the process. This efficiency could allow a new bridge to be built in just four years — breakneck speed for a project expected to cost upward of $2 billion. The Maryland Transportation Authority is expected to choose the firms this summer. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNBC the new bridge will be far better than the old one that opened in 1977. “We know things that we didn’t know in the 1970s, about how to put up a bridge,” Buttigieg said. “Nobody wanted to be here through this tragic catastrophe that happened. But it does bring an opportunity, and I would say, responsibility, to get things right for the future.” The situation in Baltimore is a vastly sped-up version of processes underway in states and cities across the country, said Buttigieg, who is overseeing some 54,000 projects nationwide funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021. “We have funding that goes to projects that come from every state, city, airport authority or transit agency, you can think of,” he said. While Buttigieg acknowledged that some of the demand is a result of the huge amount of money being made available — $550 billion in transportation and infrastructure funding over five years — it is also a reflection of the need. “To me, it indicates just how much work there is to do in this country,” he said.

Very pleased to see that the Federal Government wil be allocating $1.9 billion to roads and transport in Western Sydney in next week's budget. I was asked to join the Western Sydney Infrastructure Review Panel last year to make recommendations for funding of key projects for region. Like many people, I was very dissapointed by the announcement of cuts by the Federal Government earlier in the year to key projects such as the M7/M12 interchange. So it is welcome news to see a turn around and a commitment to these critical projects. Key project funding detail includes: • The new $500 million federal investment in Mamre Road Stage 2 will add to the $253.6 million already allocated by the NSW Government for Stage 1 of the project. • A $400 million federal investment to deliver priority sections of Elizabeth Drive upgrade. This builds on the NSW Government’s $200 million commitment for Elizabeth Drive safety and enabling works. • A further $115 million federal government commitment for Mulgoa Road Stage 2 will allow the NSW Government to move ahead with upgrades to the pinch point. • The new $500 million federal investment for Richmond Road, Garfield Road and Memorial Avenue will support the NSW Government’s existing $385 million commitment. • A $100 million federal investment to deliver new infrastructure to support bus services to the WSI airport. • A $20 million federal investment to support the delivery of the final business case for Stage 1 of the Western Sydney Freight Line. Business Western Sydney Catherine King Prue Car Jo Haylen Daniel Mookhey John Graham Chris Minns Andy Marks Kiersten Fishburn Kerry Robinson OAM Dr. Sarah Hill Awais Piracha

It’s no secret: New Zealand’s got a big challenge ahead of us, and it’s all about infrastructure. Wait! Stay with us! We know infrastructure doesn’t sound very jazzy and exciting. But it encompasses so many things that affect your daily life. The roads you drive on, the pipes delivering your drinking water, the tunnels and bridges getting you where you need to be. It’s also essential for things like tourism, helping move goods and services around the country, and enabling more homes to be built. Without infrastructure, we’d probably be riding horses through paddocks to commute to work. Or putting a long drop in the backyard. So, what’s the issue? In a nutshell, New Zealand needs to do a lot of building and maintenance of many of these crucial things to keep the country running as best as it can. Local government is key in this. Together, our councils hold just over a quarter of New Zealand’s infrastructure (26%, or $76 billion). Central government owns 45%, while commercial and private owners own 29%. And while councils have a proven track record at delivering and maintaining infrastructure, there are pressures – primarily funding ones. We need infrastructure that properly supports our growing communities – yet it's only become more expensive to deliver it. It’s 38% more expensive to build bridges than it was three years ago, and 27% more expensive to build roads and water supply systems. This is a challenge all councils and communities are facing, and something local government is working hard to find solutions for. So, over the next few weeks, we’ll be diving under the hood of this infrastructure issue – discussing the extent of the problem, what councils are doing about it, and some of the solutions being explored. Can we fix it? Yes, we can. But we need to act now.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 25, 2024 / DNC Talking Points - REMINDER: President Biden Is Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure — With No Help From MAGA Republicans As President Biden visits Wisconsin to tout federal infrastructure funding, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: “President Biden kept his promise to repair America’s roads, bridges and transportation while delivering billions to jumpstart clean energy jobs and invest in communities across the country – so it’s no wonder MAGA Republicans want credit for it after fighting to stop it every step of the way. The same extreme Republicans who followed Donald Trump’s lead and voted against President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are now bragging about projects they tried to stop from happening. Trump’s ‘infrastructure week’ was nothing more than a punchline at the expense of everyday Americans who just want their roads fixed, but President Biden is delivering real results to improve the quality of our nation’s transportation networks and invest in next-generation industries for American workers.” Today, President Biden is in Wisconsin to tout billions in federal infrastructure funding that’s already updating roads, bridges, public transit and more in the Badger State — all while investing in industries of the future to do so. Superior Telegram: “Under the Biden-Harris administration, private companies have announced $2 billion so far in commitments to invest in 21st-century industries like clean energy manufacturing, bio-manufacturing, and clean power, according to the White House. “Another $6.3 billion in public infrastructure and clean energy investments in Wisconsin under the Biden administration includes: $3.8 billion for transportation investments in roads, bridges, public transit, ports and airports, as well as electric school and transit buses, electric vehicle charging, and more. $298.9 million for grants, rebates and other initiatives to accelerate the deployment of clean energy, clean buildings and clean manufacturing. This excludes the clean energy tax incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act. $123.8 million to make our communities more resilient to climate change and other threats. $819.1 million to provide clean water across Wisconsin and improve water infrastructure. This includes $129.5M dedicated to lead pipe and service line replacement.” Thanks to President Biden’s leadership, the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing billions to update our nation's roads and bridges, renew our transportation networks, and ensure every American has clean drinking water and access to high-speed internet. ###

US Government invests record €12 billion in New York rail infrastructure The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) has secured €16 billion dollars in funding to complete the Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP) in New York and New Jersey. This includes €12 billion in funding from the Federal Government, marking the largest-ever federal funding commitment to a rail transformation project in #USA history. The GDC was established in July 2019 by the states of #NewYork and #NewJersey to deliver Phase 1 of the Gateway Program, a #rail #infrastructure project along the country’s Northeast Corridor (NEC). The NEC is the United States’ most heavily used passenger #rail line, with more than 2200 daily services carrying 800,000 daily passenger journeys across eight states and Washington D.C. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said: “Today marks a significant milestone on the path to ensuring the success of our nation’s most vital infrastructure project. As the main artery of our nation’s economy continues to be pushed to its limits, we are now one step closer to transforming the 100-year-old infrastructure under the Hudson River.” The HTP will eliminate one of the biggest risks of failure on the NEC, building two additional tracks and upgrading the existing North River Tunnel, resulting in four tracks between New York and New Jersey. Construction of the Hudson Tunnel began on both sides of the Hudson River in November 2023. The next stage is to move forward with heavy construction and tunnel boring activity, which will begin in the coming weeks with the Hudson River Ground Stabilization Project. The new tunnel will be in service by 2035, and the rehabilitation of the North River Tunnel will be complete by 2038. The HTP is expected to create 95,000 jobs and generate €19.6bn in economic activity. Senator Cory Booker said: “The Hudson Tunnel Project is transformative, improving reliability for the hundreds of thousands of commuters who depend on this vital transit link every day. “This critical investment in our infrastructure will benefit not only New Jersey and New York, but the entire country by enhancing connectivity, creating jobs, and driving economic growth.” https://lnkd.in/d9XcnShd

We need to create a consensus and a long-term plan for infrastructure. City Rail Link (CRL) chief executive Sean Sweeney has criticised the expensive impact of politicians frequently changing infrastructure priorities. He's right. Governments abandoning projects just because they were a priority for the "other lot" and then starting their own ones from scratch is not only exhausting, it's expensive, frustrating and getting us nowhere. We need to build a consensus around the pipeline of projects 20 years ahead. And then - and here's the hard part - our politicians need to stick to the plan. Unfortunately National and Labour have proven incapable of such a feat. Even when they do reach consensus - as they did on medium-density housing - it will be thrown out the window as soon as it is politically expedient to do so. That's where a party like TOP - The Opportunities Party can play an important role. With enough support TOP can tell any party that wants to form the Government: We'll support you if you make a plan, make it together, and then stick to it. Not just for three years - for the time it takes to see the plan through to fruition. We don't need total consensus on everything. But a few things are bigger than politics and infrastructure is one of them. We can keep going left and right or we can start going forwards. I know what I'd prefer.