Important transportation ballot measures decided yesterday
Though there were some significant defeats for promising transportation-related ballot measures yesterday, they continue to be approved at very high rates and a few key wins carry some important impacts for years to come.
Join T4America this Thursday to unpack the transportation ramifications of tomorrow’s elections
Voters will make decisions on November 4 that will resonate deep into the future. Join us Thursday as we provide the inside scoop on how the elections will affect MAP-21 reauthorization and ever-dwindling highway trust fund revenues, and how important state and local transportation measures fared.
Competitive grant programs in PA and OR provide a blueprint for a different approach
There’s strong support for a plan in Congress to give locals more access to their transportation dollars, but two states are already leading the way on the idea of competitive grants for smart projects — and Pennsylvania took a big step today.
Leaders say St. Petersburg transit measure key to economic success
Voters in Pinellas County, Florida, which includes St. Petersburg and borders Tampa, have the chance to approve a one percent sales tax next week that will raise $130 million per year. The money will kickstart a 24-mile light rail system, improve and expand their bus system by 65 percent, build bus rapid transit lines, and increase important regional connections.
Massachusetts vote a bellwether for efforts to raise state transportation revenue
In 2013, the Massachusetts legislature came together on an ambitious plan to necessary revenues for transportation, passing a three-cent gas tax increase as well as indexing it to inflation. In what makes this one of the most interesting ballot measures to watch, just a year after the legislature approved it, voters on Nov. 4 will decide whether or not to repeal part of the package.
Rhode Island’s first statewide ballot measure to support transit
Rhode Island’s first ever statewide transit ballot measure would issue $35 million in bonds to invest in the state’s transit infrastructure and improve bus service statewide, including new and reworked transit hubs that can bring together different modes.
After spurning it for decades, suburban Atlanta county seems poised to join regional transit system
Though many cities or counties will be deciding ballot measures to raise local funds for transportation in a few weeks, in many states local jurisdictions have to get permission from their state legislature to decide those questions locally. One of the most notable examples of this will be taking place in a county in the heart of metro Atlanta, Georgia.
Voters in two states consider measures to restrict funding to transportation uses
Facing the uncertainty of stable federal transportation funding and often unwilling to raise their own taxes to fund transportation, some states have seized upon the idea of protecting their transportation revenues for transportation uses. On Nov. 4, Maryland and Wisconsin voters will be deciding on similar measures that would put transportation funds into protected accounts that can’t be appropriated for non-transportation uses.
Transportation-related measures we’re tracking in the 2014 elections
In just a few weeks on November 4, ballot measures and races with huge transportation implications will be decided at ballot boxes across the country. Some of the notable measures we are keeping an eye on would raise new revenue for transportation at the state or local level, while others redirect existing dollars. We’ll tell you more about each as we approach election day.
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