May 3, 2010

The United States must rebuild our transportation infrastructure to make our systems more energy efficient, less reliant on foreign oil, and more environmentally sensitive and protective. Transportation contributes more than two-thirds of our nation’s oil consumption and nearly a third of our carbon dioxide emissions.

This means going forward, transportation investments must address energy and climate concerns, through needed shifts and reforms in federal policies and programs that emphasize sustainable transportation investments, beginning with:

• Integrating transportation, housing, the environment, and economic development and land use;

• Increased investments in transit capital projects to begin meeting the escalating demand and mitigate decades of underinvestment; and

• Dedicated revenue for planning and development of high'speed and inter-city rail.

For additional information on the Conference of Mayors transportation priorities, contact Ron Thaniel, Assistant Executive Director for Transportation Policy, at rthaniel@usmayors.org.