Yesterday, on the heels of the Wall Street bailout and hours before the final presidential debate, policymakers, community and business leaders, activists and citizens gathered in six cities across the country to call on the next President and Congress to strengthen our economy by building a 21st Century transportation system.
They were joined by more than 3,300 people — including some of you perhaps — who signed onto a petition with Transportation For America urging the candidates to tell us their plans for a world-class transportation system at last night’s debate.
The events and the petition highlighted “Build for America: A Five-Point Plan to Get Our Economy Moving,” a bold agenda that has the potential to create millions of good, green jobs, save Americans thousands of dollars per year, and reduce America’s dependence on oil once and for all. (“Build for America” was created by the Transportation for America campaign, of which SGA is a co-chair.)
Build For America proposes a five-point plan:
- BUILD TO COMPETE with China and Europe, by modernizing and expanding our rail and transit networks to reduce oil dependence, connect the metro regions that are the engines of the modern economy.
- INVEST FOR A CLEAN, GREEN RECOVERY through cleaner vehicles and new fuels as well as the cleanest forms of transportation – modern public transit, walking and biking – and for energy-efficient, sustainable development.
- FIX WHAT’S BROKEN before building new roads and restore our crumbling highways, bridges and transit systems.
- STOP WASTEFUL SPENDING and re-evaluate projects currently in the pipeline to eliminate those with little economic return that could deepen our oil dependence.
- SAVE AMERICANS MONEY. Provide more travel and housing options that are affordable and efficient, while helping people to avoid high gas costs and traffic congestion. Save taxpayer dollars by asking the private developers who reap real estate rewards from new rail stations and transit lines to contribute toward that service.
“Americans are running on empty, with falling home values, rising gas prices, and a lagging economy,” said Shelley Poticha, co-chair of Transportation For America and president and CEO of Reconnecting America. “We’re here to say that we can start building a way out of this mess with a wise investment strategy.”
Though it’s too late to tell the candidates that you want answers in last night’s debate, it’s not too late to take action with Transportation For America and demand that Congress and the next President provide us with a true 21st Century transportation system. You can tell them that:
We need our nation’s leaders to invest in public transit, high-speed trains, places to bike and walk, and green innovation. We need leaders with a plan to put 15 million people to work in jobs that can’t be outsourced, bring down the costs of travel, and create a sustainable infrastructure that will keep America on the cutting edge. Make the commitment today to help build real transportation alternatives that get our country and economy moving again.
Learn more, download the Build For America plan, and take action at Transportation For America today.