May 7th / 9th
"PART Summit Paves the Way for Progress"
Last week over 200 public and private sector officials gathered for the
Piedmont Triad Livable Communities Summit. The event, presented by PART,
afforded participants an opportunity to share information about the needs of
their localities, and propose ways to meet those needs for the future,
especially with regards to the role transportation plays in improving quality of
life.
The program included a panel discussion led by Piedmont Triad Partnership
CEO Don Kirkman, and featured transportation officials from around the
state, as well as local industry leaders. But the summit was highlighted by
keynote speaker Ray LaHood, United States Secretary of Transportation, who
reported on how federal funds were helping to create and sustain livable
communities throughout the nation. LaHood spoke of how DOT, HUD, and the EPA are
working hand in hand to tear down barriers to growth, and he explained the
importance of increasing state and local capacity for integrating housing
and transportation. That initiative is especially significant in today's
economic climate where jobs are scarce, and where people need cost effective
and accessible transportation, as well as an affordable place to live.
Services like the ones provided by PART help to address those needs, but
LaHood also promoted other alternatives, such as street cars and high speed
rail, the latter in which the Obama administration has invested $545
million dollars for development here in North Carolina.
Speaking of funding, USDOT has awarded over a billion dollars to qualified
localities under the Transportation Investment Generating Recovery
("TIGER") program. Those funds can be applied to any number of local or regional
projects that promote livable communities, and include construction of
sidewalks, bike paths, street cars, and safe streets. The city of Dubuque Iowa
received TIGER funds for street improvements which helped to attract a new
IBM plant and create over 100 new jobs. Unfortunately, North Carolina did
not qualify for the first round of TIGER monies, and LaHood admitted that he
was given a tongue lashing by Governor Perdue for the funding slight. That
prompted several summit goers to ask why our state failed to receive TIGER
funds, and what we needed to do to qualify. At first, the Secretary tried
to be diplomatic, but when pressed for a substantive explanation, he
morphed into Harry Truman and gave the audience some tough talk. Said LaHood,
"You have four MPOs, and that's three too many. You need to get your act
together. If you speak with one voice, you'll be pretty damned powerful".
Suddenly 200 movers and shakers had been moved and shaken as LaHood took them on
a long overdue trip to the woodshed.
MPOs (Metropolitan Planning Organizations) were established by the federal
government in 1962 as a way to assure that urban areas with a population
of over 50,000, would have a comprehensive transportation planning process.
Later, RPOs were created to do the same thing for rural areas.
Today, there are 17 MPOs and 20 RPOs in North Carolina. Here in the
Piedmont, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point, and Burlington-Graham each
comprise their own MPO, but if they heed LaHood's advice, the four groups
should become one entity. The problem is, there is turf to protect, and power to
wield. But these are extraordinary times we live in, and that calls for
extraordinary measures to be taken. LaHood's message was clear. If you want
to receive federal funds; if you want to attract solid new business and
industry; if you want to improve quality of life for residents; then you have
to cooperate and consolidate. PART's executive Director Brent McKinney is to
be commended for bringing together so many diverse voices. Now the
challenge is that they begin to speak as one.
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