Strengthen Pennsylvania's Transportation Infrastructure

Strengthening Pennsylvania's Transportation Infrastructure
http://joehoeffel2010.com/transportation

CREATE JOBS AND REBUILD INFRASTRUCTURE

As governor, Joe Hoeffel will work to ensure that resources, including federal stimulus money, are well-spent repairing bridges across the state and increasing and improving rail service and connections. Joe Hoeffel supports creation of a high-speed rail corridor from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, improving mass transit systems throughout Pennsylvania, and promoting the development of "livable communities" to encourage use of mass transportation. Joe Hoeffel will be the Infrastructure Governor, creating jobs for thousands of Pennsylvanians repairing and improving our transportation infrastructure.


REVITALIZE ROAD AND RAIL NETWORKS

Repair Our Bridges and Roads: The 2007 collapse of a bridge on I-35 in Minneapolis was a wake-up call to the nation that we cannot continue to defer maintenance on our aging bridges any longer. While Pennsylvania has already started 256 bridge projects funded by federal stimulus money, we have a long way to go: in 2008, PennDOT rated 8,000 Pennsylvania bridges on state and local roads as "structurally deficient." 46% of Pennsylvania's major roads are rated "poor" or "mediocre." Joe understands that it is the government's job to keep Pennsylvania's citizens safe and will make it a priority to fund repairs to our dangerously neglected roads and bridges.

Modernize Our Highways: The state of our roads and bridges is a serious public safety concern, but also an economic bottleneck that acts as an unseen operating expense and puts Pennsylvania's businesses at a competitive disadvantage. Joe's plan would expand capacity by adding lanes on major highways in cities and suburbs, modernize interchanges and highway connectors, and complete long-delayed projects needed to increase mobility, move goods to market and improve the daily commute for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians. PennDOT has not had the budget to make needed repairs and improvements for years, and Joe will double the funds available for these projects with revenue from I-80 tolls, an increase in the gas tax, fees, bonds and public-private partnerships.

Improve Passenger Rail Service Now: Wise investment in passenger rail starts paying off quickly: Since the completion of a $145 million partnership between Pennsylvania and Amtrak to improve speed and frequency along the Keystone Service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg in 2006, revenue per passenger mile has nearly tripled, reducing the route's reliance on subsidy by 25%. The environmental benefits are immediate: per passenger mile, traveling by rail uses 26% less fuel than traveling by car. In October 2009, Amtrak presented a study to Congress recommending a second daily train connecting Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as well as an integrated bus service connecting State College with the train stations at Harrisburg and Altoona. As governor, Hoeffel will push to expand rail service and connections to provide Pennsylvanians with travel alternatives which are safe, efficient, green, and economical.

Bring High-Speed Rail Across the State: The Keystone Corridor from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh is one of ten identified high-speed rail corridors in the country. Since 2006, the Philadelphia to Harrisburg half has carried 14 round-trips per day at speeds up to 110mph, and further improvement projects are already planned. Now it's time to start bringing that service the rest of the way across the state: Pennsylvania has already taken the first step, requesting federal High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail funds to study turning the mountainous route from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh into a high-speed corridor in cooperation with Amtrak and Norfolk Southern. As federal funds are targeted for high-speed rail projects, Hoeffel will make sure Pennsylvania's Keystone Corridor leads the way.


IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Invest in Mass Transit: Between 1990 and 2005, Pennsylvania's population grew by 5%, while vehicle traffic grew by 26%. In 2007, motorists in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown wasted a combined 135 million hours stuck in traffic. Pennsylvanians already know the solution is more and better mass transit: statewide in 2008, miles driven decreased by 4% while mass transit rider-ship increased by 4%, saving 186 million gallons of fuel. Yet despite a 2007 law restructuring financing for mass transit systems, Pennsylvania's 47 transit agencies still lack the secure, stable funding that will allow them to plan for growth. As governor, Hoeffel will work to create and ensure steady funding for mass transit systems.

Develop Livable Communities: Transit oriented design encourages high-quality mixed-use development, attracting jobs, reducing household costs, and simplifying infrastructure needs while providing environmental benefits. Joe will require close collaboration between planning agencies and community members to create the best local solutions and development plans, and will offer regional and state guidance to help communities work with each other to strengthen broad regional economic and infrastructure development. As governor, Hoeffel will support Pennsylvanians' efforts to develop livable communities, revitalizing neighborhoods, reducing automobile dependence, and working to improve access from homes to workplaces, shopping, and recreation.