Posted July 31, 2024 in Weblog
By Ben Crowther
Is it doable to reconnect communities whereas increasing highways that cut up communities?
The reply is clear (no!), however state departments of transportation proceed to place freeway expansions first and a few even promote expansions underneath the guise of reconnecting communities.
That’s why 155 organizations are calling on the US Division of Transportation to take a stand and apply Reconnecting Communities as a precept for all its discretionary grant packages. In contrast to the transportation components funding that goes on to states, USDOT has direct management over discretionary grant packages. USDOT has the facility to cease funding freeway expansions by way of these packages.
For years, advocates throughout the nation have referred to as on USDOT to reject highway-oriented purposes to its Reconnecting Communities program. This 12 months, USDOT dedicated to decrease the rating of purposes which can be related to freeway expansions. However why cease there? A decrease grade for freeway growth initiatives could possibly be utilized to all USDOT discretionary grant packages. This aligns with the suggestions of USDOT’s personal Nationwide Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, which endorses a fix-it-first strategy (one of many Communities Over Highways rules).
The harms of freeway growth in susceptible communities are myriad and important – elevated air air pollution, higher noise air pollution, contributions to the city warmth island impact, lack of reasonably priced housing, extra impermeable surfaces rising flood threat, and naturally higher carbon emissions from induced driving.
Repeated growth doubles down on the twentieth century transportation planning that precipitated a lot injury, significantly for low-income communities and communities of colour. Deprioritizing it throughout all packages would make important progress towards Reconnecting Communities as a USDOT precept and provides the company the facility to deal with the challenges of the twenty first century head on.
On the very least, let’s use Reconnecting Communities grant funding for its major goal, and never use these {dollars} to mitigate additional freeway growth.
