Category Archives: funding

Trend: Hyperloops. Pods. Coming to Austin. Economic Development Looking

What, the Jetson’s have arrived in Austin? personal rapid transit pod proposal is making the rounds in Austin.

What proposal? its a 5 year old study that has been in the hands of the conomic development community that focuses on pod transportation in and around UT

Funding Options? Richard Garriott, USA PRT Inc., the group behind the Austin proposal, says private funding.

What’s the initial build cost? < $100 million

Austin Business Journal | Austin’s futuristic rapid transit pod…

Lege Trend: State Switches Away From User Fees to Fund Transportation to Rely on …

Michigan legislature is poised to approve a transportation funding shift from user fees to general revenue funded transportation.

What does Michigan’s new transportation funding bill look like?

  • $1.2-billion road funding plan
  • $600 million in general fund dollars being dedicated to roads each year, starting in 2020-21
  • It would “vault Michigan from 17th to 5th in the nation in terms of how much general fund money it earmarks for transportation”

 

What’s the opposition? Democrats, the…

Lege Trend: Sales Tax for Road Funding. County Based Funding with Pros & Cons.

Utah voters will be asked to approve whether counties can add a 0.25 percent general sales tax, excluding food, to be used exclusively for transportation at the county level. 

Opponents Say:

  • Burdens  taxpayers
  • Taxpayers will soon pay more in fuel tax & property taxes
  • Utah should instead advocate for a Oregon-style vehicle-miles-traveled system. 
     

Supporters Say:

  • Necessary to help address population growth, deteriorating roads, and insufficient funds
  • A fuel tax increase alone…

6 Poll Results on Support of Transportation Funding

AAA released its polling information on transportation funding this week showing huge support for transportation funding:

  • 70% think the federal government should invest more than it does now for roads, bridges and mass transit systems
  • 91% think it important to conduct routine maintenance and repair of roads and bridges, such as fixing potholes, repaving roads, etc.: 
  • 70% rate it important to expand public and shared transportation, such as busses, commuter rail and support for…

Trend: Electronic Data to Prioritize Road Repair

What city has gone techno for road repair? In Cincinnati what amounts to a larger scanner scans roadways to prioritize repairs.

How do you scan and map roads? The laser scanning of roads offers ” more comprehensive data than the random boots-on-the-ground sampling methods used in the past.”

What’s the benefit of scanning roads?

  • better assessment of needed road repairs
  • saves the city money
  • increases by 150% the number of lanes that can be repaved per year.

Governing | Cincinnati Uses…

Transportation Safety & Oil Boom Costs Billions. New Report. 4 Points.

Who authored this study about transportation safety being impacted by the oil boom? Texas A&M transportation Institute

What areas did they study to conclude its costing billions? They studied crashes in 2 time frames, 2006-2009 and 2010-2013, and in 3 areas; the Permian Basin, Barnett Shale, and Eagle Ford Shale regions.

What was the conclusion? As rig counts go up so do traffic collisions, and as rig counts go down so do traffic collisions.

How much do traffic collisions in energy…

Japan Says 6 Things About Texas High Speed Rail

  1. A plan to use Japanese shinkansen technology for Texas high speed rail is moving forward as the project is acquiring land
  2. Tim Keith, CEO of Texas Central Partners, said that land has been secured  in Dallas to build a station
  3. construction of which is expected to start in 2017 for completion as early as 2021
  4. It will be the 1st US high spped rail to use Japanese shinkansen technology
  5. Texas Central Rail will seek foreign investors from ” sources such as overseas sovereign wealth funds…

3 Things the Lt. Gov. Said about Transportation in West Texas

 
  • Prop 7 will allow the state to put 2.5 million dollars more to transportation without increasing taxes.
  •  He also stressed that there was “not adequate transportation funding to West Texas in the past”
  • “Now that I’m Lieutenant Governor, we want to be sure that West Texas gets their fair share,”

News West 9 | Texas Lt. Gov. Discusses State Propositions at Odessa Country Club

The Home of the Ducks has a new State Transportation Panel for Long Term Funding with 4 Focus Areas

Oregon Governor Kate Brown reinstituted a transporation advisory panel to focus on long term transportation planning.

Advisory Committee Focus Will:

  1. Determine how much OR would have to spend to prepare its transportation to be “resilient” during a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake
  2. Recommend ways to promote alternative transportation to address traffic congestion
  3. Recommend spending levels and options to raise money for current and future transportation needs
  4. Recommend how OR can…