Let's meet the challenges of transportation

The Commercial Appeal
November 27, 2006

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, who chairs the 12-member National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission created by Congress last spring, led a commission hearing in Memphis on Nov. 15 to hear what regional leaders have to say about transportation issues in the rapidly growing Southeastern corridor.

Among those who testified was Tennessee state Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, who spoke in his capacity as chairman of the 16-state Southern Legislative Conference Economic Development, Transportation and Cultural Affairs Committee.

This guest column is an edited version of Norris' remarks.

As chairman of the Economic Development, Transportation and Cultural Affairs Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference, part of my job is to foster innovation and cooperation between the federal government and the Southern states in the development of our nation's long-term transportation policy.

Intergovernmental innovation and cooperation is alive and well in West Tennessee. I represent the "West Coast of Tennessee" in the Tennessee Senate. It is one of the nation's main arteries of transportation and commerce. It includes the Interstate 69 corridor, the Mississippi River and the world's largest cargo airport, not to mention that it also is the home of Federal Express.

Last month, we broke ground for construction of a new port at Cates Landing in Northwest Tennessee. A coalition of Lake, Obion and Dyer counties worked with state and federal governments to make this a reality. Road improvements funded under the new federal highway program, dredging funded under the Safe Harbors Act, bonds and other improvements approved by the State of Tennessee, and joint participation agreements made this a model of regional cooperation in economic development.

Similar innovation and cooperation will be essential in coming years as congestion increases and funding decreases. By 2030, the population of the South is projected to increase by 43 percent. With 36 percent of the nation's population 55 and older residing in the South, transportation decisions should be made that reflect and accommodate this growing population.

In addition, the South's impressive intermodal capacities -- including the array of aviation, shipping, rail and trucking facilities, and the need to constantly upgrade these capacities -- will present special needs. Southern ports play a tremendous role in overall waterborne commerce and international trade. Almost 75 percent of waterborne exports and imports in the United States travel through a Southern port. We must have strategies and resources to expand.

These challenges present us with opportunities which may be lost unless we do three things: First, we must raise public awareness and educate the general public about the importance of maintaining and improving transportation; second, work to achieve greater flexibility in federal funding by encouraging regional collaboration, public/private partnerships and local control; and third, promote alternative energy, both as a source of energy independence from foreign oil and as a means of fostering economic development.

Tennesseans need a better understanding of the interrelationships between roads, public transportation, commerce, the environment and overall quality of life. While all politics may be local, the broader economic implications of regional, national and international economies must be put into proper perspective. All too often, efforts to increase funding for transportation are equated solely with the construction of new roads rather than properly maintaining the roads and public transportation systems we already have. Citizens need to understand the costs and benefits of both.

Performance-based measures are important to maximize funding, align resources with desired results and encourage devolution of federal authority to the states. These performance-based measures, in turn, should create incentives to depoliticize appropriations and decentralize decision making when it comes determining how best to serve the ultimate consumer, John Q. Public.

Promoting alternative energy also means finding practical alternatives to the gasoline tax and improving mass transit. This will not succeed unless the public is properly educated and can determine, for example, whether the benefits of a toll road outweigh the burdens of a higher gas tax and whether mass transit is efficient and cost-effective enough to encourage metropolitan area residents out of their automobiles.

As a state senator, I realize that many states will likely have to do more with less in the next decade. But several regions, including the South, will require more if we are to meet the demands of the nation to remain competitive. This can be done, provided we have the flexibility to fully leverage our resources, but taxpaying citizens must be properly educated about the challenges we face and the consequences if we fail to meet them.