By Ron Thaniel
July 12, 2004

On June 27, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Chair of the Transportation and Communications Committee led a TEA-21 Workshop discussion calling on Congress to approve a well-funded metropolitan focused transportation measure that invests in transit, addresses aging and congested infrastructure, protects the environment and fosters job creation.

Joining Nickels was Jeff Squires, Deputy Staff Director for Transportation on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Jeff provided a review of the numerous roadblocks confronting House and Senate Transportation Conferees.

Highlights of the Conference's letter released to Congress during the 72nd Annual Meeting include:

• Recognizing that public transportation reduces congestion, the mayors urge no less than $56.5 billion for public transportation to stimulate a dramatic expansion of high-capacity public transit systems, including light rail, heavy rail, commuter rail, and bus service.
• Funding for the transit program from the general fund and the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund should be guaranteed and mayors' support maintaining current federal-local matching shares for the transit program as authorized under ISTEA and TEA-21.
• Oppose efforts to increase funding for the highway program by reducing funding for the transit program by maintaining the 20 percent transit — 80 percent highway share.
• Acknowledging that 32 percent of our major roads are in poor condition and 29 percent of the nation's bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, mayors' urge congress to fund the core highway programs at no less than the $261.5 billion identified in the Senate bill.
• Recognizing that it is difficult for localities and states to dedicate adequate resources to build, rebuild, or repair large'scale infrastructure projects addressing freight and goods movement, safety, and aging and congested transportation infrastructure, we urge no less than $6.6 billion for "Projects of National and Regional Significance."
• The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program (CMAQ) should be funded at the Senate's $13.4 billion level in response to the growing number of non-attainment areas designated under the 8-hour ozone and fine particulate matter standards.
• Recognizing that metropolitan areas are struggling with the contamination of drinking water and the cleanup of streams, rivers, lakes and ponds from stormwater discharge, including oil, grease, lead and mercury, the nation's mayors support the establishment of a Highway Stormwater Discharge Mitigation Program as designed in S.1072.
• Support the metropolitan planning fund provision in the Senate bill that would increase the takedown for metropolitan areas from 1 percent to 1.5 percent.

To review the full letter sent to the House and Senate Conferees, please visit the Conference's website at www.usmayors.org.