Mayor Anthony Foxx at a press conference for the LYNX Light Rail line. Photo via.
Later today President Obama is expected to nominate Anthony R. Foxx, mayor of Charlotte, NC, as the next secretary of transportation. If confirmed Foxx would replace current secretary Ray LaHood, who announced in January that he would step down.
What might a mayor bring to this national position? And what projects in Charlotte might inform Foxx’s work if he becomes secretary?
Mayors and other city leaders understand transportation in a unique way, and we talked to The Atlantic Cities about this back in November. Their task is to create a vibrant city. Transportation is one part of that effort, but so are housing, jobs, safety, cost of living and quality of life. At the city level it’s particularly easy to see how transportation impacts all of these things.
As a result mayors are likely to view transportation as an investment that supports broader economic development rather than just a way to move people. This thinking is already part of many programs at the Department of Transportation (DOT), including the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants and a cross-agency between DOT, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Charlotte already has plenty of examples of this strategy at work. The Charlotte Streetcar Project, which began construction in December, will run along Trade Street through Charlotte’s central business district. The streetcar is a core component of the Charlotte City Center 2020 Plan, a “big picture” framework and unifying vision for Center City’s ongoing growth and development.
A map of the proposed Charlotte streetcar system. Photo via.
The LYNX Light Rail line is another such example, and the city is expanding the system to increase its ability to support the region’s economy. “Transit is about job creation, managing growth and, for Charlotte, building a 21st century city,” Mayor Foxx said in a press release in September.
Mayor Foxx certainly isn’t the only mayor who understands the broader benefits of strategic investments in transportation. Smart Growth America’s Local Leaders Council includes mayors and city council members from across the country who are using strategies like those in Charlotte.
If Mayor Foxx indeed becomes secretary, using strategies like those already at work in Charlotee would help create not just great roads but great places and ultimately a stronger country.