Transit

"Everyone benefits if we can leave our cars"

by David Alpert   •   November 20, 2008 1:47 pm

During the campaign, Transportation For America created this pledge, which they asked candidates to sign to show their support for a new direction in transportation funding:

I support Amtrak funding and the development of high-speed freight and passenger rail networks across the country. ... I will also re-commit federal resources to public mass transportation projects across the country. ... And I will further promote transit by creating incentives for transit usage that are equal to the current incentives for driving.

All of these measures will have significant environmental and metropolitan planning advantages and help diversify our nation's transportation infrastructure. Everyone benefits if we can leave our cars, walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives. I agree that we can stop wasteful spending and save Americans money, and as president, I will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account.

I don't agree with everything Barack Obama says all the time. And sometimes I find myself frustrated by some of his campaign tactics, staffing decisions, or policy positions. But on transportation, so far he's never wavered. We really couldn't ask for anything better in a President—so far.

Now it's up to Obama's transportation transition team to get the right people in senior positions in the government, like the new Office of Urban Policy and of course USDOT. And it's up to the President to deliver on his promises. But seriously, this is pretty kick ass.

David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington and Greater Greater Education. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.