New Report Outlines Need for Highway Funding
On May 29, The Road Information Program (TRIP) released a study estimating that poor Pennsylvania roadways are costing the state’s residents approximately $9.4 billion annual in the form of additional vehicle operating costs as well as in costs of lost time and wasted fuel due to traffic congestion and traffic crashes.
To view coverage of the press event in Harrisburg, Pa. view the video below.
PA motorists now pay three times the cost of fixing road woes, report says
Roads and bridges that are deficient, congested or lack desirable safety features cost Pennsylvania motorists a total of $9.4 billion per year statewide, due to higher vehicle operating costs, traffic crashes and congestion-related delays, according to a report by TRIP, a national transportation research group.
The report, “Future Mobility in Pennsylvania: The Cost of Meeting the State’s Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility,” finds that 37 percent of the state’s major roads and highways provide motorists with a rough ride, while 42 percent of Pennsylvania bridges show significant deterioration or do not meet current design standards. The state’s major urban roads are becoming increasingly congested, with drivers wasting increasing amounts of time and fuel. And Pennsylvania’s rural non-interstate traffic fatality rate is nearly two-and-a-half times higher than the fatality rate on all other roads in the state.
“As the General Assembly looks at a transportation funding measure, there’s a lot of discussion about the cost,” said PHIA Managing Director Jason Wagner. “The TRIP report quantifies the cost of not addressing this problem, and that cost is almost three times greater than the $3.5 billion annual transportation funding gap. Of even greater concern is the safety threat that a deficient transportation system represents, especially in Pennsylvania’s rural areas.”
Wagner noted that the funding proposal by Sen. John Rafferty, majority chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, represents an investment of about $2.50 per week for a typical motorist, less than the cost of a gallon of gas and an amount consistently deemed reasonable by a majority of Pennsylvania voters.
Look for video coverage of the report’s release on this site later this week.
To view the media coverage of the TRIP study, click HERE.
TAC Report: Cameras In Work Zones
PA State Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) Cameras in Work Zones November 2012 Final Report
DOWNLOAD: TAC Cameras in Work Zones Report (PDF)
Study IDs consequences of funding cuts
Cutting funds for transportation without reforming the existing federal surface transportation program would create significant economic consequences, according to a study by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
In metropolitan regions especially, congestion would increase and transit service would decline. The impacts would reverberate nationally because the regions in question account for a substantial percentage of national economic activity and growth, the study said. Read more
Bipartisan Policy Center Study on Consequences of Reduced Federal Transportation Investment
Download: The Consequences of Reduced Federal Transportation Investment (PDF)
PHIA commissions study on most congested corridors in PA
The Pennsylvania Highway Information Association (PHIA) is partnering with The Road Information Program (TRIP) in researching Pennsylvania’s most congested corridors. The report is expected to be released by the end of the year and is being conducted in cooperation with the PA Department of Transportation (PENNDOT).
The report will provide information on the most congested corridors in several urban areas throughout the Commonwealth. The focus regions are: Allentown-Reading; Harrisburg-Lancaster-York; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; and Scranton-Wilkes/Barre. The report will provide a description of each corridor, an estimate of the amount and value of fuel and time wasted by commuters traveling on these corridors and a description of the improvements needed to relieve congestion on these routes. Read more
The cost of doing nothing
August 1 marked the one-year anniversary of the completion of the Transportation Funding Advisory Commission’s (TFAC) work and the submission of its recommendations to Governor Corbett.
Despite the introduction of legislation that embodied the TFAC recommendations, the issue still awaits the leadership of the governor, who one year later has not identified which funding measures he will support.
Much of the information in the TFAC report was gleaned from a 2010 study by the Pennsylvania State Transportation Advisory Committee. That report was the basis for identifying the state’s transportation funding gap, set then at $3.5 billion per year and accepted by virtually everyone involved in the funding issue. Read more
The cost of doing nothing
PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch frequently points out that there are costs for NOT addressing transportation funding needs. A new U.S. Treasury report says traffic congestion wastes 1.9 billion gallons of gasoline per year. Additionally, the report says, poor road conditions cost the average urban motorist an additional $400 per year in vehicle maintenance. For a news account of the report, click here.
Iowa legislators stepping up on transportation
While we haven’t forgotten that the “P” in PHIA stands for “Pennsylvania,” from time to time it’s worth noting how other states are dealing with transportation funding issues. News reports from Iowa suggest that legislators from both parties are coalescing toward a proposal to raise user fees in order to address the Hawkeye State’s transportation needs. The effort is being advanced by legislators and is based on recommendations of the governor’s transportation advisory commission. Sound familiar?
For a news account, click here.
To read a copy of the PA’s Transportation Funding Advisory Commission Report, click here.
National research group says PA rural roads unsafe and among worst in nation
A national transportation research group, The Road Information Program (TRIP), released a report showing that Pennsylvania’s rural roadways are becoming increasingly unsafe. The report, “Rural Connections: Challenges and Opportunities in America’s Heartland,”states that Pennsylvania leads the nation in the percentage of rural bridges that are structurally deficient and sixth in the nation in the number of rural roadway fatalities. Read more
