Campaign for Our Transportation Future

Contact
Colin Durrant, CLF Director of Communications
617-850-1722

Boston, MA (June 23, 2008) – Organizations representing more than a million residents and businesses joined together today to release a new report that details the cost of neglecting the road, bridge and transit needs in the Commonwealth and launch a campaign – Our Transportation Future – to make the public more aware of the problem.

The new Massachusetts Transportation Investment Coalition is a diverse group representing business, industry, planning, labor, municipal, and environmental interests to highlight the need for additional investment in our state’s transportation system. According to a report released today by the Washington D.C. organization, TRIP, more than half of the state’s bridges are structurally deficient or obsolete, more than one-third of the state’s major roads and highways are in poor or fair condition, and roughly 38 percent of MBTA buses and 82 percent of rail cars are in poor or marginal condition.

“The deteriorating condition of our roads, bridges, and transit system is a public safety hazard for everyday users and commuters,” said Art Kinsman, director of Government Affairs for AAA Southern New England. “Massachusetts drivers should not have to worry about their safety when they are driving to work or driving their kids to school.”

According to the TRIP report, driving on roads in need of repair costs motorists in Massachusetts $718 million each year, or $156 additional per driver, due to increased operating costs such as vehicle depreciation, additional repair costs and increased fuel consumption and tire wear. The campaign, Our Transportation Future, will highlight this
data so elected officials, policymakers, and other community leaders understand this as a statewide problem that has been neglected for too long.

“Rising fuel costs and the growing climate change crisis have produced a dramatic shift in demand for public transportation in Massachusetts,” said Philip Warburg, president of the Conservation Law Foundation. “Unfortunately a staggering debt load and lack of new revenue mean the state’s transportation agencies are unprepared to meet the challenge of a growing maintenance backlog, outdated equipment and long awaited expansion projects.”

The coalition began to come together following the Transportation Finance Committee report that concluded Massachusetts has a $15 to $19 billion funding shortfall over the next two decades in road, bridge and transit improvements. Without addressing this shortfall, Massachusetts will face significant economic development challenges until it has a solid infrastructure.

“The longer we wait to tackle this problem, the more expensive and more drastic it gets,” said Allan Blair, president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council. “What we’re doing now is not enough, and we can no longer afford to wait.”

The report and additional information on the coalition is available on the coalition’s website: www.ourtransportationfuture.com.

Coalition members include:

Massachusetts Building Trades Council, AFL-CIO
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
A Better City
Construction Industries of Massachusetts
Conservation Law Foundation
Urban Land Institute
Massachusetts Municipal Association
NAIOP Massachusetts (National Association of Industrial and Office Properties)
Alternatives for Community and Environment
Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council
MASSPIRG
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission
Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and Scientists
Associated Industries of Massachusetts
American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA)
Urban Edge
AAA Southern New England
Massachusetts Motor Transportation Association
MBTA Advisory Board
MassCommute
Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance

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The Conservation Law Foundation works to solve the environmental problems that threaten the people, natural resources and communities of New England. CLF’s advocates use law, economics and science to design and implement strategies that conserve natural resources, protect public health, and promote vital communities in our region. Founded in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization. It has offices in Boston, Massachusetts; Concord, New Hampshire; Providence, Rhode Island; Montpelier, Vermont; and Brunswick, Maine.