In This Issue

	Oregon looks into Toll Road Potential
	Metrolink Engineer Probed for Running Red Signal
	Florida Special Session Addresses High Speed Rail
	High-Speed Rail Backers Press Illinois Senate for Funds
	Utah Commuter Rail in Salt Lake’s Future
	Toll Road Amnesty Ends--Violators Pay Up
	State Reviews may Delay Honolulu Transit Plans
	States Offer Congress New Project List worth $69.5B

Oregon looks into Toll Road Potential

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Transportation is taking steps toward using toll roads to ease congestion in the Portland area, including hiring a toll road expert this week to help the agency with a pilot program about tolling feasibility. The steps are mandatory as required by the 2009 state Legislature. The act promises $1 billion for transportation projects, but requires ODOT to complete at least one pilot tolling program in the next three years.

Cambridge Systematics principal Jeffrey Buxbaum, who led a study on the effects of road pricing in Washington state, said the ODOT officials face an ambitious timeframe for designing and studying the effects of tolling in three years. “It’s tight,” Buxbaum said in a press briefing Tuesday at ODOT’s Portland regional headquarters.. “I’m not saying it can’t be done, but it’s certainly a fast time scale.”

Buxbaum, a Cambridge Systematics principal, also gave the presentation Wednesday to the Congestion Pricing Advisory Committee, which will assist ODOT in developing the program. Officials say that if implemented improperly the proposed tolls could harm the local economy and increase traffic on surface streets.

Metrolink Engineer Probed for Running Red Signal

Officials are investigating a new incident in which a Metrolink engineer allegedly failed to stop at a red signal while another passenger train approached last Tuesday, 2 ½ miles east of downtown Los Angeles. The five-county commuter rail agency is still struggling to recover from last year’s September 12, head-on collision in Chatsworth, which killed 25 people and injured 135.

The most recent incident did not result in a crash, as both trains were able to stop several hundred feet apart, and no injuries were reported. This would be the fourth such violation since the Chatsworth crash, if the current investigation finds the driver ran the red light. Another basic safety rule violation during the past 14 months resulted in a sideswipe collision with a freight train in Rialto last November, despite intense reform efforts since the fatal 2008 crash.

Board members at Metrolink, operated by the Southern California Rail Authority, are expressing exasperation over the repeated safety violations. “This is simply inexcusable,” said board Chairman Keith Millhouse, a Moorpark council member and Metrolink rider. “I’m just extremely upset … These engineers are going to get weeded out if they are not going to do their job.”

Florida Special Session Addresses High Speed Rail

TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Lawmakers in Florida convened Thursday to begin a 9-day session on the potential of high-speed rail to connect metropolitan regions of the state. Advocates are optimistic that the possibility of federal stimulus dollars will outweigh opposition to plans to start building a high-speed rail system between Tampa and Orlando, which may someday continue to Miami.

Lawmakers will consider plans to create a central commuter rail system and bail out the existing Tri-Trail commuter system in South Florida through a $15 million subsidy from the state’s Transportation Trust Fund.

With a $2.6 billion request for federal stimulus assistance, Florida is among 24 states seeking a total of $50 billion – more than six times the $8 billion set aside for such projects. High-speed projects connecting to commuter rail systems are expected to have an advantage in the competition for federal dollars.

"We have been informed directly, or rather indirectly, from our federal friends that if we can accomplish something before the end of the year, we have a much better opportunity for the high-speed rail component," Gov. Charlie Crist said. Crist and legislative leaders are intent on passing a $2.1 billion SunRail commuter rail system for metro Orlando.

Although the article said that Florida is competing against $50 billion in other proposals, US DOT actually received a total of 278 applications, valued at $102 billion for High Speed Rail funds. Also, the TIGER grant program received 1371 applications valued at $57 billion—all vying for $1.5 billion in funds. It is a well-established fact how oversubscribed the FTA’s New Starts program is—around 10 to 1 in proposals for funding versus available money. It shows the desperation of state and local agencies for funding and reflects the pitifully small amount of federal dollars for which everyone is competing. TW

High-Speed Rail Backers Press Illinois Senate for Funds

Supporters of high-speed rail in Illinois are encouraging U.S. Senators not to back down to fellow lawmakers in the House. House legislators are pushing for an additional $4 billion added to the $8 billion pledged by the White House for high-speed rail projects nationwide, while the Senate wants about $1 billion. Advocates say the Senate should reconsider and up their bid to match the $4 billion. Illinois has applied for approximately $4.5 billion of the $8 billion available to upgrade passenger lines to reduce the commute time between Chicago and St. Louis, using trains that travel up to 110 mph.

A new report from a watchdog group says the $8 billion in stimulus funding set aside for high-speed rail projects across the country has sparked fierce competition among states applying for the funding. The competition has led over 50 groups to lobby on high-speed rail policy during the third quarter of 2009 according to reports by the Center for Public Integrity. Roughly one-third that amount, or 17 groups were doing so a year earlier.

“I don’t think this rise in lobbying is a bad thing,” said Matthew Lewis, author of the group’s article. “It’s just important to note and scrutinize how decisions are going to be shaped.” Among those lobbying on the issue are General Electric, Siemens and commercial rail giant Norfolk Southern.

Lewis emphasized that his report is “dramatically underestimating” the actual number of groups lobbying high-speed rail, because lobbyists can list their work in broader terms, such as transportation, rather than specifying subjects. High-speed rail advocates said the expansion of lobbying is encouraging. “I would like to see hundreds and hundreds of lobbying firms working for high-speed rail,” said Richard Harnish, director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association. “This is a very, very big issue. There’s a lot that needs to be done.”

Okay, let’s add $4 billion more and make the total High Speed Rail money available $12 billion. Then we are only oversubscribed by $90 billion. No problem. TW

Utah Commuter Rail in Salt Lake’s Future

Utah Transit Authority officials knew the Salt Lake area needed light rail, but opening the 17-mile route on Dec. 4, 1999 was a gamble. Numerous protests and intense opposition to TRAX continued until the line opened: thousands of people crowded the former Delta Center to try the trains.

“We were worried, just worried,” said UTA Assistant General Manager Mike Allegra. “I couldn’t sleep because you just didn’t know if anybody would use it.” The crowds that came to the inaugural rides resulted in stranded riders, trains stopping in the middle of the tracks and hundreds turned away. “It was so heartwarming, to see the community embrace this new alternative, this change,” said Allegra. Over the last ten years, the original north-south line has expanded to include connections to the University of Utah, and an inter-modal hub downtown, which links TRAX to the FrontRunner commuter rail.

Ridership has increased from 500,000 people riding TRAX each month when it first opened, to over a million riders monthly. Construction has already begun to expand the network to ten times its original distance, including connections to the Salt Lake International Airport. Support for the lines has gradually become more widespread as well, as voters passed a quarter-cent sales tax increase in 2000 and again in 2007 to speed TRAX construction.

UTA general manager John Inglish said TRAX has helped boost the use of public transportation across the authority’s network. A survey taken in the early ‘90s reported that about 25 percent of residents had used mass transit in the past year. When the survey was repeated after TRAX opened, about 75 percent of people reported having used UTA.

The story of transit growth in Utah is exemplary in the transportation world. The early days before the North/South line opened were tense and fraught with many challenges. UTA weathered the opposition and opened the line to record ridership. Leadership, project delivery, and service bring the public transit support you see in Utah. Congratulations to everyone who helped these efforts. TW

Toll Road Amnesty Ends--Violators Pay Up

Texas – As a 90-day amnesty period ended this week, a last minute rush jammed phone lines at the Texas Department of Transportation, keeping a service center open until 2 a.m. Tuesday and resulting in about 7 percent of 151,000 toll violators paying fines. The total paid over the amnesty period was about $265,217, plus about $500,000 in late fees, out of the original $3.2 million owed.

Approximately $3 million remaining in unpaid tolls, along with an additional $53 million in associated late fees, must be collected by the courts. TxDOT said in a Tuesday news release that the agency may be willing to work with those who could not get through Monday on the toll customer service line.

“While the 90 percent fee discount offered under the toll violation recovery program will not be extended, customers unable to reach TxDOT before the program deadline are encouraged to call or visit (customer service center) over the coming weeks to discuss payment of late tolls or fees,” the release said. Once a case is filed with a justice of the peace court for an unpaid toll, bargaining with that customer will end.

Officials reported that many people trying to call the customer service center Monday got only busy signals, or if they were lucky, long hold times,. The agency still managed to resolve 3,000 unpaid toll accounts on Monday alone, more than 25% of those who came forward during the 90-day period.

State Reviews may Delay Honolulu Transit Plans

Hawaii officials waited until last week to raise questions about what alternatives city officials analyzed before selecting an elevated heavy-rail commuter line, despite opportunities to question these issues earlier. The state also did not inquire whether the city of Honolulu’s financial plan was viable, according to state agencies’ comments on the project environmental impact statement completed by a Feb. 6, 2009 due date.

The state has now announced plans to study both issues, which may subsequently delay the city’s ambitious plan to break ground on the 20-mile line by February. City officials were surprised at the announcement over issues they thought had previously been settled.

City spokesman Bill Brennan said Gov. Linda Lingle’s decision to thoroughly review both questions before making a decision on whether to approve the project’s final environmental impact statement would result in an unnecessary re-review of an analysis already completed by various state agencies. “That’s what the (environmental impact statement) process is – us working with them to address concerns that have been identified,” Brennan said. “The concerns that she mentions don’t seem to be the ones that her agencies are raising.”

States Offer Congress New Project List worth $69.5B

WASHINGTON, D.C. – State transportation departments have identified 9,500 transportation projects worth more than $69 billion, that if, funded, could be used to create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country.

The report was released Wednesday at a Capitol Hill news conference by John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN), and House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR). AASHTO also presented the report to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

“We hope Congress will use this survey to make the case that investment in transportation infrastructure projects are guaranteed to create jobs,” Horsley said. “We need to keep the momentum going. The unemployment rate in the construction trades today exceeds 18 percent. What the state DOTs have done over the past eight months to put economic recovery dollars to work shows there is no better way to create jobs and long-lasting benefits to every part of the country.”

As of November 20, 2009, 10,600 transportation projects worth more than $30 billion were approved for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Of the 9,300 highway construction projects authorized to date, more than half – 5,458 projects – were either under construction or already completed. Three-hundred fifty-five projects worth $1.08 billion approved under the airport grants program are underway or complete. Of the $8.4 billion provided for transit, approval to proceed has been received for 690 grants valued at $7.90 billion. Thousands of buses and rail cars have been ordered and are being assembled, and service cutbacks and layoffs have been avoided.