March 14 Briefing: The Economic Returns of a National Transportation Infrastructure Initiative

Jay OwenSustainability News, Greentech, Beyond GDP

“Ethical Markets recommends this event.  We describe our views in “Greening Trump’s Infrastructure Plan”  ( www.ethicalmarkets.com  and Just Means ) favoring electrified public transit, pedestrian and bike friendly lanes, LED lighting and smart, denser urban redevelopment, as well as making communications and broadband INFOSTRUCTURE available nationwide, including broadband deserts like our home town of St Augustine, Florida and many rural communities and low income zip codes.

~Hazel Henderson, Editor “

 

Tuesday, March 14, 2017     

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Room 212-10 Capitol Visitor Center (Senate side)
East Capitol Street and 1st Street, NE

Free and open to the public Please RSVP to expedite check-in

(wireless connection permitting)
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The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the National League of Cities (NLC), and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invite you to hear examples from communities across America of transportation investments that benefit the national economy, by creating direct and supply-side jobs while boosting regional economies.

The speakers for this forum are:

  • Moderator: Valarie McCall, Immediate Past Chair, American Public Transportation Association (APTA; Chief of Government & International Affairs, City of Cleveland (OH)
  • Introductory remarks: Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL)
  • Peter Rogoff, CEO, Sound Transit (Seattle, WA)
  • Representative of the National League of Cities

A reboot to America’s transportation infrastructure would be the investment that keeps giving back. Public transportation investments not only create immediate jobs necessary for project construction, but also spark and underpin ongoing job creation by linking people to markets, thereby providing access to jobs; by linking employers to workers; and by making the overall transportation system more productive, efficient and economically competitive.

Public transportation projects create local jobs to build local infrastructure, but they also create jobs across the country along the vehicle and material supply chains. Increased private investment in surrounding real estate is driven by access to an expanded customer base and employee candidate pool. The enhanced transportation network increases productivity as people and goods move faster, and less time is wasted in congestion. Investment in any network mode reduces congestion in all modes. Public transportation investment frequently reduces roadway congestion, which eases commercial access to markets, improves both passenger and freight delivery productivity, and reduces the cost of goods. Investments in intercity rail have a particularly high potential to alleviate congested highways and airports in many areas, since rail investment has been minimal after the 19th century compared to road and air investments.

In short, investments in transportation infrastructure provide strong and ongoing benefits to the economy, by creating direct and supply-side jobs, and by boosting regional economies and increasing the nation’s economic competitiveness.

 

This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP.

Materials from this briefing will be posted here after the event.