Home | A Vision for a Changing America (Continued)
A Vision for a Changing America (Continued)
Connecting America’s Metropolitan Regions Inside and Out
Figure 7 
Metropolitan areas will continue to be the center of population and economic growth in the United States. Over the past 50 years, the number of people living in metropolitan areas in this country increased from 85 million to 225 million. Over the next 50 years, it is expected to grow to nearly 350 million. (Figure 7.) Because over 80 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is generated in metropolitan areas, giving these areas priority for transportation investments makes sense.
Figure 8 
The 2007 NCHRP Study on the Future of the Interstate shows that to reduce current congestion and meet future needs, the equivalent of 40,000 lane-miles needs to be added to the existing 75,000 urban Interstate lane-miles. To do the same on urban segments of the National Highway System (NHS), an additional 50,000 lane-miles needs to be added. Finally, up to 8,000 centerline miles of HOV lanes needs to be added, which could carry buses, vans, and autos or trucks with two or more occupants. (Figure 8.)
Maximizing the Economic Power of Mega-Regions
In 2006, a report by the Regional Plan Association called America 2050 forecast that most of the nation’s population growth and economic expansion would take place in 10 emerging mega-regions, such as the “Northeast” which includes the metropolitan regions from Washington, D.C. to Boston, or “Cascadia,” which includes the metropolitan regions of Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, B.C. The map which follows outlines what these areas look like. (Figure 9.)
These mega-regions are not something government or industry is trying to bring about. However, recognizing that they do exist and that they offer competitive advantages when dealing with similar economic regions in other world markets, we should take steps to maximize what these mega-regions can do for the national economy.
For goods movement, these mega-regions are connected internally and to the global economy through the national truck and rail network described in the next section. The question remains how people within these mega regions can be efficiently connected across distances of 100 to 400 miles.
According to the America 2050 report, similar regions in Asia and Europe are using high-speed rail and separated goods movement systems to link enterprises across distances in that range. Increasing the mobility of workers, business travelers, information and goods between the cities of these mega regions enabled greater collaboration and innovation. They found that enhanced mobility is a competitive advantage in the global playing field, where value is created by time savings.
Figure 9
Map courtesy of Regional Plan Association (2006) .Most of the nation’s rapid population growth, and an even larger share of its economic expansion, is expected to occur in 10 or more emerging megaregions: large networks of metropolitan regions, each megaregion covering thousands of square miles and located in every part of the country.
Meanwhile in the United States, the coupling and chaining of industrial activity to take advantage of just-in-time production and delivery has proven increasingly critical to the success of our economy. Efficiently providing services in a congested transportation system is among the greatest challenges for businesses trying to compete in the global economy. This challenge needs to be met with coordinated new investments in infrastructure development at the mega regional scale.
Japan, China, and Europe are investing
in bullet train high-speed rail systems.
Figure 10 
The Urban Land Institute’s Infrastructure 2007 report gave the United States a bit of a wake-up call. It stated that, “America is more of a follower and no longer a world leader when it comes to infrastructure…Other countries marshal vanguard strategies… In the United States, there is a tendency to invest in the infrastructure we have instead of the infrastructure we will need. Japan has 2,000 kilometers of high-speed rail and is building about 300 more kilometers by 2020. China is planning to build more than 2,500 kilometers of high-speed rail by 2020. Europe has over 4,000 kilometers of high-speed rail and is planning to build 900 more by 2020. The United States has about 300 kilometers, but is building none.” (Figure 10.)
Intercity Passenger Rail System a Necessity
It is time for action on intercity passenger rail. (Figure 11.) An intercity passenger rail system in North America can provide the traveling public with a genuine transportation alternative. Passenger rail service that is well connected to other modes, such as airports, and to commuter rail and other transit services would further enhance its utility. Establishing such a system requires planning, technology, and design that supports the vision of regional and national connectivity. As a first step, Congress should enact a national system of intercity passenger rail including resolution of Amtrak’s role and fund pilot projects to demonstrate the feasibility of high speed passenger rail service. The nation should move toward these objectives recognizing the necessity of expanding freight capacity and service while expanding passenger rail service. Research needs to be applied and innovative operational practices implemented to produce safe and reliable services for all customers. For passenger and freight rail to continue to grow, it may be necessary to provide public investment to establish additional capacity and separate infrastructure.
Figure 11. The U.S. Passenger Rail System
Intercity passenger rail can efficiently connect mega-regions.
A strong Federal role in funding an intercity passenger rail system will be essential. The availability of over $100 billion in tax credit bonds may prove the catalyst which enables corridor service to be provided in all ten of the mega-regions by 2030. States have agreed to provide matching funds on an 80 percent Federal/20 percent state basis, for intercity passenger rail service which meets their needs.
Connecting Rural America
Even rural states are facing population pressures and growth in travel demand. Out of the 20 states expected to grow the fastest over the next 30 years, several are rural including Nevada, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Alaska, and Montana. What these states have in common is large geographic size, and, as a consequence, highway systems which have to span great distances.
The volume of long-haul trucking in the United States moving trade to and from the coasts across rural America is expected to at least double by 2035. Agriculture also continues to be a major part of the economies of many states. Agriculture depends on efficient, low-cost rail, truck and water transportation to keep U.S. products competitive in the global economy. All rural states will face the enormous cost of preserving for future generations the network of roads they have built over the past 80 years. It will be important for them to succeed, not only to meet the needs of their own citizens, but also to maintain their part of the national network the U.S. economy depends on.
Figure 12
There are non-metropolitan areas of the country that need new roads, or upgrades to existing roads, to adequately interconnect with other regions, rural areas and parks, and recreational opportunities. The NCHRP Interstate Study estimated that this would require the addition of 12,400 lane-miles to rural parts of the National Highway System (NHS). In addition, 40,000 lane-miles would need to be added to the existing 135,000 lane-miles of rural Interstates. Another 6,000 lane-miles would need to be added to existing NHS routes that already exceed capacity or were expected to in the future. (Figure 12.)
Investments to Support Travel, Tourism, and Recreation
One of the least understood and appreciated industries in the United States is travel, tourism, and recreation. Together they rank as the most important industry in three states, and they rank second, third, or fourth in all the rest. Travel and tourism generated over $700 billion in revenues in 2007, over $100 billion of that from international visitors. Leisure trips represented 80 percent of domestic travel. Over 200 million Americans visited U.S. Forest campgrounds. The use of forest service roads increased 15-fold between 1985 and 2005. The number of visitors to National Parks is approaching 300 million.
This industry is directly dependent on the efficiency of the transportation system. But there is more to it than that. Travel should also be enjoyable. Since the first national survey of public recreational activities was conducted in the early 1960s, driving for pleasure has ranked at or near the top of the list of preferred pursuits.
Photo courtesy of America’s Byways. Scenic route through Logan Canyon, Utah.
Traffic bottlenecks at major vacation destinations are becoming more prevalent, all too often making the weekend outing with the family anything but enjoyable. Many of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations—including seashores, lake regions and national parks—experience significant traffic delays on roads that serve as primary access routes for visitors. In fact, traffic on many of these roads has increased faster than on major urban roads. Similar to what was envisioned for key freight corridors, focused investments are needed to eliminate these bottlenecks.
Most important to improving travel to these destinations is strong investment in the Federal-aid system beyond the Interstate and NHS. Much of the access mileage to national parks and similar destinations is on two-lane, Federal-aid highways. These are highways that also need improvement to facilitate delivery of agricultural, other resource products, and to improve their safety. Also helpful is increasing investment in park roads, forest highways, and scenic byways.
New Strategies Needed
A new strategy which goes beyond what has been done before will be needed to reduce congestion, keep America globally competitive and meet 21st Century metropolitan mobility needs. It will require a multi-modal approach which preserves what has been built to date, improves system performance, and adds substantial capacity in highways, transit, rail, seaports, and airports. It will require giving connections to world markets, and regional passenger rail service higher priority. It will require the synchronization of transportation, land use, housing, and energy policies. Finally, it will require the use of advanced technologies, a quantum increase in investment, getting governmental restrictions out of the way, and inter-jurisdictional collaboration.
Photo courtesy of VA DOT.
