Kay for Cobb Chair’s Post

💸 Nexus News Alert💸 In my first post posting on my Nexus News blog, I delve into a proposed transportation fee in Bend Oregon. Rolling out gradually over the course of 3 years, this is an additional fee that could add additional strain to businesses. Here's what I cover: 1. I give an overview of the proposed fee as it applies to businesses. 2. I cover what the next steps are in the city's process towards adopting the fee 3. I recommend steps that businesses can take to let city council know the impact that this addition fee can have on their businesses. Read my full analysis: City of Bend Oregon - Transportation Fee at (https://lnkd.in/guUUi9CB) Let's discuss how you can impact pending fees in your local jurisdictions! Share your insights below. 💡💬 #Businesscosts #reduceyourcosts #municipal #nexusnews

As Tampa Bay continues to expand in both people and their transportation needs, state and local leaders are working toward several transportation funding decisions during this session. These decisions will affect businesses and property owners in Hillsborough County. We are watching these issues closely for you. Read the full article here: bit.ly/TBTransportation GaylordMerlin.com #GaylordMerlin #EminentDomainLawyers #EminentDomain #FloridaProperty

I am pleased to share the latest reports from the Pennsylvania Transportation Advisory Committee. The first is titled “Addressing Municipal Challenges to Participating in Competitive Transportation Grant Programs,” which examines the challenges associated with discretionary grants from both a local government and state government perspective, and to identify best practices and recommendations. The second is titled “Expanding Truck Parking in Pennsylvania,” which analyzes the need for truck parking in the Commonwealth and recommends a practical framework for public–private collaboration to address the need.   Read the reports below. https://lnkd.in/dkn9nBeC https://lnkd.in/dF8GQmJM

Check out my first blog post below! ✒️🗞 In my Nexus News blog, I will be regularly posting about topics in the area of tax, compliance, and nexus from around the country. I'll also give information and advice on how you can work to reduce costs in those areas as much as possible and how you can get your voice heard to those making decisions on pending legislative actions that effect your businesses 📢

Rough Roads take their Toll on Drivers in the Hudson Valley In the Hudson Valley, where there are more state and local lane miles than any other NYSDOT regional jurisdiction, pothole season can be brutal on both the wallets of motorists and state coffers. According to NYSDOT, the seven-counties that comprise Region 8 have pavements that are rated the worst in the state. Here’s a snapshot: the statewide average for fair and poor pavements is 43.2%—the Hudson Valley rating is 56.8%—far exceeding the next worst region, which scored 51%. Make sure your voice is heard: https://lnkd.in/eaX44SV5 The rough roads take their toll on drivers who must dig deep into their wallets to pay for both damage and inefficiency. It’s the price tag levied through higher vehicle operating costs, traffic crashes and congestion-related delays. The cost for motorists in the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh/Middletown region is $2,037 per year, according to TRIP, the national transportation research nonprofit. Given this troublesome and expensive backdrop, there is actually a pathway of relief available for motorists and New York State alike. The first action would be to add $400 million to the core road and bridge program in the FY2025 DOT budget, said John Cooney, Jr., executive director of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley, Inc. Also, another $250 million in aid to local highway departments is needed to supplement and offset the effects of inflation on construction procurement pricing, he explained. The additional $650 million was recently described as a “rounding error” in the overall cost of a $231 billion state budget,” according to State Senator Pete Harckham (SD-40).  He noted any increased investment in transportation improvements in Region 8 could relieve traffic congestion, improve road, bridge and transit conditions, boost safety, and support long-term economic growth in the Hudson Valley. Hudson Valley region was found to have the worst road and bridge conditions in all of New York State, according to NYSDOT’s findings. In 2021, Region 8 had the most bridges in fair or poor condition (43.8%) of any region in the state and the most deficient bridges (1,036) in the state. Statewide, the average fair/poor bridge average was just 35.7%. He also reminded lawmakers that Region 8 has more bridges than any other Region in the state–in fact it maintains more bridges than New York City and Long Island combined. By George Drapeau III NYS Department of Transportation New York State Senate New York State Assembly

Those who follow the goings-on around Charlotte are probably aware of the desire to eventually build a second light rail line (called the Silver Line) to help combat increasing vehicular traffic congestion.  Despite not even being anywhere close to starting construction, the history behind the Silver Line is fascinating, and is definitely worthy of exploring more closely in a later post.  But for now, the planned 29-mile route would travel from Matthews to Belmont, with 31 stations in total. As with many things, the biggest hurdle will be funding.  With cost estimates cresting $2 billion, this would be one the most expensive transportation projects in North Carolina history.  However, there is widespread unwillingness from the state level to help foot the bill, and state leaders recently voiced their preference of a “roads first” approach instead. Unsurprisingly, “roads first” directs funding and other resources towards building and upgrading the road network.  This is generally a relatively easy approach due to minimal public resistance as well as its perception of addressing a widespread inconvenience.  The main problem with roads first, however, is that it directly translates to “cars first”, and assumes that road construction is a one-size-fits-all fix, when in reality it is much more complicated than that. As ridiculously simple as it sounds, “build it and they will come” has been extremely evident in Charlotte.  By 2035, our current light rail line (the Blue Line) is expected to have fueled about $44 billion in development, much of which has rapidly revitalized previously dormant areas such as South End in a manner that allows residents to get around without needing a car for everything.  On the other end of the spectrum, I-485 was gradually built section-by-section around the outer reaches of Charlotte, and rapidly fueled a boom of subdivisions and shopping centers in its wake, quickly necessitating several widening projects in an attempt to keep up with rapidly increasing traffic volume.  At the time of this post, the 17 mile section of I-485 between I-77 and US 74 (Independence Blvd) is undergoing a $346 million project to add more lanes, and is already the second widening project within this section of I-485 since 2010. And therein lies the dilemma.  As the cost of infrastructure continues to rise, so too does the cost of getting it wrong.  State leaders are on record saying they don’t want Charlotte’s traffic to rival Atlanta’s legendarily bad traffic, while simultaneously being seemingly unwilling to do anything differently than Atlanta.  Obviously, there are areas where we need new roads, but there are also areas where it is evident that more lanes will not fix the root of the problem. Something has to give.

Oregon's highways today are in better shape than, say, those in neighboring Nevada and Idaho. But that's an incomplete measurement for judging a state #transportation system. Congestion is worsening in some areas, maintenance needs are piling up, cyclist and pedestrian safety is a huge concern, transit is especially inadequate in rural areas ... and ODOT says it's $1.8 billion short of what it needs to operate each year. From whence will that money come? I write about the challenges, and what key legislators have to say, in my new Capital Chatter.

Recent increases in state and federal transportation funding have allowed Ohio to make needed improvements to the condition, safety and efficiency of the state’s roads and bridges. While this additional funding has been helpful, many needed projects will not proceed due to a lack of available funding and the impact of #highwayconstruction inflation. Learn more: https://ow.ly/9gTb50QpeQi

Charlotte’s $13.5 billion transportation plan has a new “roads first” label associated with it, as city officials try to win over Republican lawmakers in Raleigh for support of a transit tax. WFAE’s Steve Harrison details why there’s a new marketing strategy and how difficult a “roads first” approach would be to pull off, given the issues Charlotte faces with some of its biggest and busiest roads. And after pouring over 85 pages of public documents, he shares what city planners have in mind for some key intersections around the city, as well as what changes are planned for new sidewalks, greenways, rail lines and more.   Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ePx4dXti #thecharlotteledger #transittime #cltledger 

Today was the first real meeting of the California Transit Transformation Task Force (https://lnkd.in/g6Cy7Cp7). We learned more about our mission - that we are truly talking transformation for the state. We started by discussing that CARB has targeted a VMT reduction of 30% of 2019 levels by 2045. To achieve this by mode shift alone, we’d need to increase ridership 10 – 15% annually. We were asked three key questions: (1) What will it take to achieve transformative change in transit? (2) What are the challenges and constraints that we will need to investigate and address in order to achieve this level of ridership by 2045? (3) Given the diversity of California, what one or two elements of the transit experience would need to change to achieve 2-3X more ridership in 5-10 years? A few other key facts were that 25% of trips & 50% of VMT in California are 10 – 50 mile trips. We also discussed a comparison of Vancouver vs SF, similar size large cities with similar density and yet Vancouver has twice the ridership. I will add a link to the presentation when I get it. I can mention my thoughts, but before I do so, I am curious about your answers to these questions.