(The following by John D. Boyd appeared on the Journal of Commerce website on August 26, 2010.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was touring the Federal Railroad Administration’s Transportation Technology Center complex this summer in Pueblo, Colo., when his group approached a three-foot rattlesnake near one of the buildings. It was no big deal, nothing they hadn’t seen before; locals just removed it and LaHood kept on his path.
Likewise, LaHood has kept on a steady course since the early days of the Obama administration, telling all who will listen that his Department of Transportation is knocking down traditional program “stovepipes” that used to control infrastructure policies and funding. That idea is more revolutionary than it may sound, especially under a president who favors construction projects that also cut fuel use and greenhouse gas pollution, or combine neighborhood “livability” and passenger mobility with upgrades to road, rail and waterway freight networks. LaHood is moving the DOT into new terrain that brings policy risks and criticism, but holding steadfastly to the trail.
Top DOT officials are, as they promised, putting federal grant money – both stimulus funds and regular annual program allocations — into multi-modal and regional planning efforts over single-mode projects, and targeting other societal challenges as well.
They are tying bike lanes or other livability features to road-building work, requiring carbon emission cuts in grant applications, and displacing highway cargo hauls where possible in favor of rail or even water alternatives. They are seeding innovative funding and project options — from highway tolls and dedicated truck lanes to unprecedented use of loan accounts and large “discretionary” DOT grant programs that are funded by government borrowing instead of user fees on fuel.
Skeptics say President Obama has no transportation plan. They have a point. Nearly two years after his election, Obama has yet to share whatever ideas he may have for a multi-year transportation program in Congress, or even finalize a strategic blueprint to guide operations within his DOT. And until the president says how he will fund his goals, some argue, he has no long-term transportation policy.
Many freight-related officials attack this newfangled mixing of the DOT’s traditional construction focus with pollution or lifestyle or inter-city passenger rail goals. Highway interests in particular, which have long dominated transportation policy, criticize LaHood and Obama for getting off course or trying to move more freight away from trucks.
But critics may also have trouble facing up to the fact that under Obama and LaHood, a significant transportation policy shift is already taking hold. The administration is expected to issue formal statements in coming weeks about DOT strategic plans and the next highway bill, and these should offer few surprises. The DOT is already pointing the way, and sticking to its path.