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Withoutsufficientinvestmentininfrastructure,concretewill
crumble,bridgeswillrust,highwayswilldecayandtransitwill
shrink,cripplingPennsylvaniaseconomy.
Adequateinvestmentin
Pennsylvaniastransportation
networkroads,bridges,transit,
highways,ports,railroadsandairportsiscriticalformoving
goodstomarketandpeopleto
work.Yet,decadesofunderinvestmentandan
outdatedrevenuestructurehaveleftourstatestransportation
systemindirestraits.
Bridgesarefallingintodisrepair.
Roadsandhighwaysarenotbeing
resurfaced.Transitsystemsarebeingsqueezed.Andothermodesof
transportationair,rail,locksand
damsaresufferingfromlackof
strategicinvestment.
Theproblemcannotbeignoredany
longer.TokeepourCommonwealth
competitive,wemustachievea
comprehensiveandsufficient
transportationfundingsolution.
Ourmostcostlyoptionwouldbe
todonothing.Itwillcostusin
repairs,itwillcostusinrebuilding,anditcouldcostusintragedieswe
mighthaveavoided.
-Gov.TomCorbett 02.05.13
THEFACTS
PAis#1inthenation
instructurally
deficientbridgesmorethan5,200statewide
Morethan8,400
highwaymilesrated
poor
Congestioncosts
commutersmorethan
$800/yearinPittsburghandPhiladelphia
Ifwedontact,the
annualtransportation
fundinggapwillmore
thandoubleto$7.2
billionby2020
Transportation:DrivingOurEconomy
Whatisitworth?
Theaveragepersonwhodrives
12,000milesperyearcurrently
spendsabout$30permonthto
accessthestatestransportationnetwork.*
Howmuchdoyouspendper
monthoncellphoneserviceor
cableTV?
Alotmorethanthat.
*whenfactoringinthePAgastax,vehicle
registrationanddriverlicensefees.
CONTACTYOURPALEGISLATORSTODAY
Tellthemyousupportsufficient,comprehensiveandsustainable
fundingforallmodesoftransportation,includingtransit
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TheCostofInaction:
APriceMuchTooHigh
PhotocourtesyPittsburghPost-Gazette
InFebruary2008,theBirminghamBridgeamajorconnectionbetweendowntownPittsburgh,theSouth
SideandOaklandclosedduetoastructuralissuethat
causedaportionofthebridgetodropeightinches.The
bridge,whichserves23,000vehiclesdaily,didnotfully
re-openforanothersevenmonths.
APennDOTinvestigationindicatedthatprolonged
maintenancedefermentsandlimitedfundsfor
bridgerepairsweretoblame .
PhotocourtesyAP
Atwo-milestretchofI-95inPhiladelphiawasclosedin
March2008fortwodaysduetolargecracksinaconcrete
supportpillar.Theclosurecausedmajortraffic
congestion,withtheneedtodetourthe190,000vehicles
perdaythatusedthatportionofthehighway.
Theclosurereceivednationalattentioninmediaoutlets
suchasUSAToday,FoxNews.com,theAPand
NBCNews.com.Thistypeofnationalcoveragecan
negativelyaffectbusinessinvestmentdecisions.
Debateisunderwayonthebestpathforwardtosecurea
comprehensivetransportationandtransitfundingsolution.
RecommendationsputforwardbyGov.Corbetts
TransportationFundingAdvisoryCommissionprovide
theframeworkforlong-term,sustainablefundingfor
transportationinfrastructureandtransitsystems.
Cost-savingandefficiencyreformsbeingdiscussed
include:
Trafficsignalimprovements:Localgovernmentsmay
partnerwithPennDOTtoupgradeandmaintainthe
states14,000trafficsignals.LEDconversionandtimingoptimizationwillimprovesafety,drivedowncostsand
reducecongestion.
Multi-modaltransportationfund :Afundthat
combinesrail,ports,airandothermodes,whichwill
makeplanningprojectsmoreefficient.
Dedicatedbikeandpedestrianfunding: Adedicated
fundingsourceforbikeandpedestrianinfrastructure-
relatedimprovements.
DeliveringValue
BusinessCommunity:
TransportationNeedsFixingGroupsincludingtheGreaterPittsburghChamberof
Commerce,theGreaterPhiladelphiaChamberof
Commerce,theAlleghenyConferenceonCommunity
Development,thePennsylvaniaMotorTruck
Association,thePennsylvaniaChamberofBusiness
andIndustry,thePennsylvaniaBusinessCouncil and
manymoreareworkingtirelesslytopromotea
comprehensivetransportationfundingpackagethat
raisesenoughrevenuetoensureadequateinvestmentin
thestatestransportationnetwork.
Awellmaintainedtransportationnetworkiscriticalto
bringinggoodstomarketandpeopletowork.Congestion,closedbridges,vehiclerepairand
maintenancecosts,andtransitcutsmakePennsylvania
lesscompetitive.
Jobswillbelostandbusinesseswillmoveelsewhere
unlesswecanproperlymaintainourstatessystemof
roads,bridges,transit,highways,ports,railroadsand
airports.
Businessesunderstandthatthisisan
economiccompetitivenessissue
Pittsburghs
BirminghamBridge
I-95inPhiladelphia
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Together,thePhiladelphiaandPittsburghregionsproduce60percentofthestateseconomicactivity.Withoutrobusttransitsystems,theireconomiescouldnotfunction.
Transit:CriticalForPennsylvaniasCompetitiveness
Philadelphia&Pittsburghintop10of
UScitiesforworkersrelyingontransit
Source:AmericanCommunitySurvey,2011
TransitAffectsEveryone
Weallrelyonourtransportationnetworkand
inPhiladelphiaandPittsburghthe
transportationnetworkreliesheavilyon
publictransit.Theeconomicactivity
generatedbythesetworegionscannotbe
maintainedwithoutrobusttransitsystems.
PortAuthorityReforms Overthepastdecade,thePortAuthorityof
AlleghenyCountyhasmademajorcostsavingandproductivityimprovements.
Moreefficient:Thenumberof
passengersservedbyeachhourofbus
servicehasgoneup40percent.
Cuttingoverhead: Since2005,30percent
ofadministrativeandmanagement
positionshavebeeneliminated.
Reducinglegacycosts:Newunion
contractshaveincreasedtheretirement
age,reducedretireehealthcarecostsandincreasedworkerscontributioncosts
helpingtocontrollegacycosts.
Fixingfares:Fareshavegoneupthree
timesandarenowthehighestbasefares
inthecountry.
FundingNeeded SEPTAandthePortAuthorityfacedifferent
challenges,butadditional,reliablefunding
thatwillgrowwithinflationispartofwhat
theyneed.
THEFACTSPittsburghandPhiladelphia
areinthetop10of
majorU.S.citiesintransitusage
Roughly70%ofCenter
CityPhiladelphia
workersrelyontransit
Nearly50%of
downtownPittsburgh
workersrelyontransit
EverycountyintheCommonwealthhastransit
Nobigcitytransit
systemhasdonemoretotransformitselfsince2006thanthePort
Authority
SEPTAwasnamedthe
2012Outstanding
PublicTransitSystembytheAmericanPublic
TransportationAssociation
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EveryoneAgrees:
AcrossPennsylvania,TransportationisaPriority
Op-Ed: Addressing regions
transportation needs a necessity
Op-Ed: Pa. transportationfunding: Meeting our needs now
and into the future
MOREINFORMATION
KenZapinski,SVPEnergy&Infrastructure
412-281-4783x3136
[email protected]
AlleghenyConference.org
