Working on the Railroad: New England Transportation Summit

Thursday, June 21, 2007

New England Transportation Summit

The Pioneer Valley Advocates for Commuter Rail are glad that state leaders across New England are working together to help address our "transportation crisis."

Here's the information on the summit to be held Friday June 22:

New England Transportation Summit

Friday, June 22, 2007
Historic Springfield City Hall
36 Court Street, Springfield, MA
9:30 a.m. - Speakers Coffee and Donuts: Mayor’s Office, Room 214, Springfield City Hall
10:30 a.m. - Press Briefing: Room 220, City Hall, Media and Public
10:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m. - Conference, Room 220, City Hall: All

Speakers· Springfield Mayor Charles V. Ryan (confirmed)·
Massachusetts Lt Gov Tim Murray (confirmed)·
Rhode Island Lt Gov Elizabeth Roberts (confirmed)·
NCI President & CEO Jim RePass (confirmed)·
Lyle Wray, Exec. Director Capitol Region Council of Governments, Hartford (confirmed)·
CT House Speaker Jim Amann (confirmed)·
CT Sen. Chris Dodd (invited)·
Office of VT LG Brian Dubie (confirmed)·
Bombardier Vice President Robert Furniss (confirmed)·
CT Deputy Commissioner for Rail Al Martin (confirmed)·
PVPC Executive Director Tim Brennan (confirmed)·
Patricia Quinn, Executive Director, NNE Passenger Rail Authority (confirmed)·
Kip Bergstrom, Executive Director, RI Economic Policy Council (confirmed)·
Office of NY Lt. Gov David Patterson (confirmed)·
Peter Picknelly, President, Peter Pan Bus Lines (invited)

Directions to Springfield City Hall

From Enfield, Hartford, and other points south:Take I-91 North to Exit 6, onto East Columbus Avenue. After the second light, you will see City/Symphony Hall on your right. I-91 South garage on left, Columbus Ctr. garage 2 blocks on right.

From Holyoke, Northampton, and points north:

Take I-91 South to Exit 7 (Springfield Center). Go through light at end of ramp. Take immediate left into I-91 South garage.
Traveling East or West on Rt.20 or Mass Pike:Take Exit 4 to I-91 South and follow the Holyoke Northampton directions above.

For more information, contact Jim RePass, the National Corridors Initiative
617-269-5478; E-mail address jprepass@nationalcorridors.org www.nationalcorridors.org

SPRINGFIELD, MA --- Senior elected leaders from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York State, and Connecticut, as well as representatives of the transportation and environmental advocacy community, will gather in Springfield June 22 at Springfield City Hall to hear Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Tim Murray address the region on the growing transportation crisis, and how the New England states must work more closely together to solve it.The second in a series of regional summit conferences assembled by the National Corridors Initiative (http://www.nationalcorridors.org/) at the request of the Connecticut state legislature’s leadership, and at the suggestion of CT State Rep. David McCluskey (D-West Hartford), the unprecedented five-state transportation summit (CT, R, MA, VT, and NY) is being hosted by Springfield Mayor Charles V. Ryan.

The conference grew out of a White Paper by NCI calling for a regional New England/New York State entity to tackle infrastructure on a permanent basis.

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Why Support Commuter Rail?

The New Haven-Hartford-Springfield Commuter Rail line will:
1. stimulate an additional $152 million in economic activity
2. result in more than 600 new jobs
3. increase Springfield real estate values by $35-70 million
4. increase Springfield income tax revenues by 1.75 million
5. cut down on carbon emissions
6. serve as a user-friendly and sustainable transportation system

Revitalization of Springfield Union Station, apart from commuter rail developments will generate:
1. Creation of 335-1500 jobs
2. An average increase of $195 in household incomes across the metropolitan area
3. $35-205 million increase in property values
4. $1.75-10 million increase in property tax revenues

What Happens if Massachusetts Says NO?
1. Trains will still come to Springfield: TO TURN AROUND, with their doors shut.
2. Commuters to Hartford and Springfield will continue to pollute the Pioneer Valley.
3. New cases of asthma will continue to increase.

Connecticut will pay for the bulk ($270 million) of this project. Massachusetts only will have to contribute $30 million to make this project happen (e.g. the approximate cost of the Coolidge Bridge repair in Northampton).

Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Director Tim Brennan:

“Brining commuter rail service to Springfield is undeniably a major and positive change agent for the City and ultimately the interstate region of which it is a part. The New England examples cited at the summit such as Portland, Maine; Providence, Rhode Island; Stamford, Connecticut and more recently Worcester and Brockton, Massachusetts all provide compelling arguments why we need to invest in commuter rail as means to help achieve a sustainable and prosperous future both short and longer range. The bottom line for me is that if we choose to connect we're choosing to compete and be a player in the 21st century global economy. We've got an impressive set of transportation and other assets to leverage to advantage--we now need the vision, courage and will to translate our words into action."

Public Transportation FACTS (click here for the original page)

1. Public transportation consists of a variety of services including: buses, trolleys and light rail, commuter trains, streetcars, cable cars, van pool services, paratransit services for senior citizens and people with disabilities, ferries and water taxies, and monorails and tramways.

2. There are more than 6,400 providers of public and community transportation offering Americans the opportunity and the choice to travel by means other than a car.

3. Approximately 1,500 agencies provide bus service, 5,760 provide paratransit services and 200 provide rail services as well as other modes of public transportation.

4. Public transportation is a $43 billion industry that employs more than 359,000 people.

Public Transportation Increasing Ridership:

1. In 2006, Americans took 10.1 billion trips on public transportation - the highest ridership level in 49 years.
34 million times each weekday, people board public transportation.

2. From 1995 through 2006, public transportation ridership increased by 30 percent, a growth rate higher than the 12 percent increase in US population and higher than the 24 percent growth in use of the nation's highways over the same period.

3. Transit usage increased by 6.4 percent in the decade from 1990-2000.

Public Transportation Enhances Personal Opportunities:

1. Public transportation provides personal mobility and freedom for people form every walk of life.

2. Public transportation provides access to job opportunities for million of Americans as well as a transportation option to get to work, go to school, visit friends, or go to a doctor's office.

Public Transportation Saves Money

1. The average household spends 18 cents on transportation, and 94 percent of this goes to buying, maintaining and operating cars.

2. Public transportation provides an affordable, and for many, necessary alternative to driving.

3. Americans living in areas served by public transportation save $18 billion annually in congestion costs.

4. Each year public transportation households save over $1,399 worth of gas.

5. Transit availability can reduce the need for an additional car, a yearly expense of $6,251 in a household budget.

Public Transportation Reduces Gasoline Consumption:

1. Each year, public transportation use in the U.S. saves 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline. This represents almost 4 million gallons of gasoline per day.

2. Each year, public transportation use saves the equivalent of 34 supertankers of oil, or a supertanker leaving the Middle East every 11 days.

3. Each year, public transportation use save the equivalent of 140,769 service station tanker truck trips clogging our streets each year.

4. Public transportation use saves the equivalent of 300,000 fewer automobile fill-ups every day.

5. The typical public transit rider consumes on average one half of the oil consumed by an automobile rider.

Public Transportation Provides Economic Opportunity:

1. Every $1 invested in public transportation projects generates from $4 to $9 in local economic activity.

2. Every $1 billion in Federal funds invested in the nation's transportation infrastructure supports and creates 47,500 jobs.

3. It is estimated that every $10 million in capital investment in public transportation yields $30 million in increased business sales, and that every $10 million in operating investment in public transportation yields $32 million in increased business sales.

4. Every $10 million invested in public transportation saves more than $15 million in transportation costs, for both highway and transit users.

5. Real estate -- residential, commercial or business -- that is served by public transportation is valued more highly by the public than similar properties not as well served by transit.

6. Public transportation enhances local rural economic growth in many ways, increasing the local customer base for a range of services -- shopping malls, restaurants, medical facilities and other transportation services.

Public Transportation Eases Traffic Congestion:

1. According to the most recent Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) report on congestion in the top 85 cities in the US, congestion caused 3.7 billion hours of travel delay and 2.3 billion gallons of wasted fuel in 2003. The study found that the average annual delay per traveler climbed from 16 hours in 1982 to 47 hours in 2003.

2. Without public transportation, nationwide travel delays would have increased by 27 percent, costing residents in 85 urban areas an additional $18 billion in lost time.

3. In 2003, public transportation in America's most congested cities saved travelers 1.1 billion hours in travel time.

Public Transportation Offers Increased Mobility Options:

1. Largely because of limited transportation options, more than 50 percent of all non-drivers age 65 and older - or 3.6 million Americans - stay at home on any given day partially because they lack transportation options.

2. Compared with older drivers, older non-drivers in the US make 15 percent fewer trips to the doctor, 59 percent fewer shopping trips and visits to restaurants, and 65 percent fewer trips for social, family and religious activities.

3. By 2025, an estimated 20 percent of the population -- one in five persons -- will be over age 65. Providing mobility options is critical for older Americans and for those who care for them.

4. According to a national survey of individuals age 65 or older, conducted by Harris Interactive in November 2005, more than four in five seniors believe public transportation is a better alternative to driving alone, especially at night.
83 percent of older Americans agree that public transit provides easy access to the things that they need in everyday life.

5. At the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, ensuring that older Americans have transportation options to retain their mobility and independence received the third most votes of 73 issues considered, with 1,002 ballots out of a maximum of 1,200.

6. Public transportation systems provide a vital link to the more than 51 million Americans with disabilities.

Public Transportation Creates Community Benefits:

1. Public transportation foster transit orientated development that provides convenient access to public transportation and integration of transit in the community.

2. Public transportation encourages land-use programs that generate synergies and create a range of housing types, from single-family homes to apartments, to accommodate diverse incomes and family structures.

3. Public transportation revitalizes neighborhoods, increases social interaction and pedestrian activity, enhances safety, and helps create a sense of "place" that will help make a community unique and special.

4. Public transportation generates a financial return for communities and businesses as well as individual and collective savings that can be captured and invested in housing or amenities rather than transportation, parking and auto-orientated infrastructure.

5. When commuters ride public transportation or walk, contact with neighbors tends to increase, ultimately helping to bring a community together.

Public Transportation Impacts Urban and Rural Communities:

1. Public transportation encourages economic and social activities and helps create strong neighborhood centers that are economically stable, safe and productive.

2. Approximately 12 percent of public transportation users are en route to schools. Educators and concerned parents rely on expanded public transportation services.

3. Public transportation offers mobility for residents of rural America, particularly for those without cars. From 2002 through 2005, ridership for small urban and rural public transportation systems jumped nearly 20 percent.

4. Two-thirds of rural Americans -- 60 million people -- are almost wholly unserved by public transportation. They live in counties that have either no service or so little service that they can only be characterized as isolated.

Public Transportation Improves Air Quality:

1. Public transportation reduces pollution and helps promote cleaner air.

2. Public transportation produces 95 percent less carbon monoxide (CO), 90 percent less in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and about half as much carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx), per passenger mile, as private vehicles.

3. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions represent 82 percent of total US human-made greenhouse emissions.

4. By reducing smog-producing pollutants, greenhouse gases and by conserving ecologically sensitive lands and open spaces -- public transportation is helping to meet national air quality standards.

Public Transportation Fosters Healthy Lifestyles:

1. Public transportation fosters a more active lifestyle, encouraging more people to walk, bike and jog to transit stops.

2. An analysis of 2001 National Household Travel Survey data for transit users finds that walking to and from transit helps inactive persons attain a significant portion of the recommended minimum daily exercise they need.

3. Transportation is an integral part of health or social services programs. Operators of these programs rely on public transit to reach the intended target groups, and to assure access and opportunity for all Americans.

Public Transportation Provides Safety and Security:

1. In major evacuations of urban areas, only public transportation has the capacity to move millions of people quickly and to give critical support to first responders by delivering emergency equipment and transporting emergency response personnel. The 9/11 response illustrates public transit's vital role.

2. When Americans face natural or man-made disasters, America's public transportation systems provide comfort, safety, security and rescue.

Working on the Railroad

Thursday, June 21, 2007

New England Transportation Summit

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