Survey shows Americans want more mobility options--biking, walking, and transit should be in the mix

A few weeks ago, I blogged that, "People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning."

It didn't seem that controversial to me. After all, I didn't say they should have the only voice. Just a voice.

Speaking to attendees at the National Bike Summit. This picture © J. Maus of Bike Portland.

People are always going to drive cars. And we are always going to rely on the hardworking trucking community to haul our nation's freight. We’ve made a huge investment in our interstate highway system, and that's not going away. We are going to continue maintaining that investment.

But we do have many modes of transportation in this country, many different ways of getting around. Why not make room at the table for bicycling and walking?

As the New York Times Green Inc column noted yesterday, this idea generated a huge outpouring of support on Facebook, Twitter, my Fastlane page, and other blogs. A lot of people out there are enthusiastic about a return to a healthier, greener American mobility.

That's why I told Green Inc, "This is not just Ray LaHood’s agenda, this is the American agenda; people want alternatives to the automobile."

You see, it turns out I'm not the only one who thinks America can increase access to public transit and safe walking and bicycling.

Transportation For America released survey results last week indicating 59% of Americans would choose to reduce road congestion by adding more transportation options to the mix.

Four out of five voters--82%--support the idea of an expanded U.S. transportation system. The kind of system that allows people to use their cars if they want to, but also allows easier use of other ways to get from place to place.

The poll results indicate that a majority of voters would like to spend less time in their cars, but 73% said they had no other choice but to drive.

Interestingly, according to T4America, "the desire to increase the amount of funding allocated to options beyond roads and highways was shared across demographic, geographic and political lines."

T4America co-chair Geoff Anderson reached this conclusion:

"In small towns and big cities alike, Americans are saying loudly and clearly that their lives would be better, and their nation stronger, if we had world-class public transportation and more options for walking and bicycling."

This is precisely what I've been talking about here in this blog with regard to livability, transit, and walking and biking. I have traveled all over this country in the past 14 months, and everywhere I go people want better options. Options that offer reduced greenhouse-gas emissions. Options that offer reduced fuel-consumption. Options that offer better health. Options that bring communities together.

Now, let me make this absolutely clear: I never said we would stop repairing, maintaining, and--yes--even expanding roadways. I said only that it's time to stop assuming that putting more cars on more roads is the best way to move people around more effectively.

This survey demonstrates that, by and large, the American people get that. I never doubted them, but it sure is nice to see the numbers.

So, thank you, Transportation For America, for that 82%-strong vote of confidence.

Comments

[gecko]

Yes! This can't happen too soon.

Lives are at stake.

The environmental crisis demands immediate change from the status quo.

[Steve Langenderfer]

Thank you Mr. LaHood for being a voice of reason in this nation! I commend your clear thinking on this topic, and will support you by asking my elected officials to take a similar stance.

[David Soto]

Great post Ray!

You should come down to Puerto Rico where people have literally no choice but to drive. It would be nice to have someone from the Federal government encouraging the state government what is popular on the mainland. Sometimes it feels like we live in a bubble.

Encourage mass transit, walking and biking.

The San Juan metro, the Tren Urbano, was never finished and it's a poor system in it's current state. Only 1 phase out of 4 phases was built.

There are also no cycling systems in Puerto Rico.

Finally, if there is one thing you could really do, it's encourage the government to draft a referendum about how to fund public transportation. This is how cities and states across the nation have actually progressed on these issues. By asking the people what they want. Examples include California's HSR and cities' referendum to raise taxes by x% to pay for transit.

I thank you for all the time you take to help make America a better place to live in.

[Rob]

Zero Tolerance policies equate to Zero Thinking policies. While Zero Thinking is easy, not very many great things are easy. Thus, as many Americans are advocating for more transit and support for alternative modes, while at the same time presenting well-reasoned arguments against a variety roadway capacity expansions, etc., few would argue that a complete ban on roadway maintenance, repair, and capacity enhancements is prudent. The question is one of balance, yet balance is what has been missing for several decades. It is refreshing, though, to see a committed administration endeavoring to effect positive change.

Our transportation policy and funding mechanisms need to empower and reward improved decision-making in major metropolitan areas, in particular. It is not a question of roads or no roads, but rather how to identify and fund the types of improvements - roads or otherwise - that are *genuinely* most cost effective and truly supportive of local, regional, and national needs. This requires a fair amount of work, as the applicable "rules of the game" are heavily slanted in favor of roadway-oriented investments.

Incidentally, I love driving and enjoy great roads, e.g., Lake Shore Drive, Going to the Sun Road, U.S. 129 Deals Gap, Highway 1, and many more, but *really* wish that I could take the train to work. If even one of the major capital projects that have taken place within the past 35 years on the Interstate closest to my home had extended existing rail service instead of expanding highway capacity, I could do that. Instead, we have ever-increasing capacity investments and ever-increasing congestion. That's a fairly common urban American experience.

[Reid Davis]

Amen and amen. I talk to people all the time who hate all the time they spend in their car, but they've been deceived to think that a roads-first agenda is "The American Way" and to subsidize any other mode represents some sort of knuckling under to Euro-style socialism.

Me, I'm largely a Libertarian, yet I recognize how little our current array of investments has to do with the "free market." Many railroads and streetcar systems were private, tax-paying enterprises that got completely undone by subsidized infrastructure for cars/trucks and aircraft. It's time we at least balance out the subsidies, rather than mindlessly continuing to expand a status quo that extracts huge externalized costs in terms of pollution, obesity and in propping up regimes hostile to the US via oil revenues.

Again, thanks. Would that a transportation/land-use overhaul were first on the agenda rather Health Care Reform...

[Jesse]

You forgot to mention that a large segment of the population cannot drive due to disability, income, age, etc. As a deaf person myself, I rarely drive and prefer to walk, bike, and take the bus/train everywhere.

My question to you is how does this large population of non-drivers get around safety without depending on someone else to drive them? In America, we value our independence. Therefore, we definitely need to shift transportation funding to sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, paths, and public transportation to improve mobility for non-drivers. The advantages and benefits are huge!!! When more people walk and bike to work, shopping, and entertainment venues, that means fewer cars on the road, which enhances traffic flow and results in fewer accidents, delays, and pollution. Lets mandate Complete Streets in our federal transportation policies and the quality of life will improve for all Americans who would love to walk/bike, but are prevented from doing so!

Keep up the great Secretary LaHood,

Jesse

[Jesse]

Our roads and highways are heavily subsidized and paid for with our tax dollars so they earn no money whatsoever. In fact, our roads are a money pit as they require law enforcement patrols, plowing services, clearing accidents, repairing potholes, and repaving the surfaces. Automobile travel is incredibly inefficient, especially as the American population expands and traffic congestion gets worse. Adding bike lanes, sidewalks, trails, and public transit would significantly increase the capacity of our roads. These non-motorized multi-modal facilities would reduce car trips, therefore, improving traffic flow with less accidents, lower pollution, etc.

We have a large segment of the American population who cannot drive due to disability, age, income, personal preference, etc. In America, we value our independence, therefore, we should invest more in sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, and public transit especially as our population becomes more elderly and has to give up driving.

The tax dollars of this non-motorized population are currently being used to fund roadways and highways, yet they cannot use these motorized facilities due to lack of multi-modal facilities. What is being done for the non-motorized population? Not much, really! So I praise Secretary LaHood for doing something about it! Please mandate Complete Streets in the federal transportation policy and require all States to implement Complete Streets. The result will be a better quality of life as people are able to get out and about more easily on foot and bike without having to rely on the incredibly-inefficent automobile.

[bArlington]

Arlington VA bike paths are quickly experiencing rush hour loads where the paths are LOADED with commuters. There are clear congestion points with bikers overloading capacity of paths and intersections. Arlington is a great bike community and it is great to see bike commuters growing and growing

[Jack Zabrowski]

Survey says, people want go by bike

[Harry van Beuningen]

Great to hear the words being spoken. It would also be great to get rid of trucks on the highways. Develop rail infrastructure to move goods about.Take a cue from European countries - Denmark and the Netherlands for walking and biking, Switzerland for for moving goods.

[DJ Hughes]

I don't think the question is really whether Americans want more transportation options. Of course they do, why wouldn't they? The questions is whether a blanket policy wihtout consideration to location or transportation value is good. That answer is an obvious no to me. Treating bikes/peds as equals in urban areas is one thing. However, the location and character of the area as well as the actual transportation value should be the determining factors of what extent to accommodate bikes and pedestrains. A blanket policy dictating decisions for projects is not good and not what Americans want or need. Context sensitive design should come into play. Whether the area is rural/urban and whether there is a significant benefit compared to the cost should be considered.

[Chapin Spencer]

Thank you Secretary LaHood for reframing the transportation policy discussion so eloquently. Well done.

[webster]

I don't know how to drive because I used to live in Chicago and I never had a need to drive there. I recently relocated to Austin, TX because of my husbands job and it is frustrading living in a city where you must have a car to get around. People in this coutry who don't know how to drive or cannot drive have been forgotten.

[Mark Loeb]

Sec. LaHood,

Thank you for your vision and leadership. I would like to add a voice to the conversation as this really is a defining moment in building a stronger and healthier America for the new Century.

First, transportation is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Infrastructure investment drives commerce, economic competiveness, energy use, land settlement patterns, public health, social equity and environmental quality. Invest a dollar wisely and get a dollar+ in return.

Second, the risks associated with over-dependence on the automobile has left us vulnerable to the realities of the new Century: peak oil/energy security, climate change, fiscal constraints, urban decline and social disenfranchisement. We best heed the warning of the oil crisis of the 1970s and 2008.

Lastly, what we have learned in the past half century is that more roads begets more traffic, creating a negative feedback loop. This is a paradox that is not well understood by the general public and not well communicated. Cars were suppose free mankind from the limits of human mobility. What we discovered is that all these cars create congestion which limits mobility. It's a frustrating reality that we will have to come to terms with.

I appreciate all that you are doing and wish you all the best.

[Michael Cape]

I'm surprised and pleased to see the majority of Americans prefer improving public transportation rather than building or expanding more roads.

I'm a life-long resident of Jacksonville, Florida. Over 30+ years, I've seen roads go from 2 lanes to 6 or 8, with dedicated turn lanes, etc. Even though those roads can handle more traffic, congestion hasn't improved one bit.

I'm convinced that reducing congestion cannot be accomplished by adding more pavement.

[Judy Mize]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I fume every time a zoning request, asking for an exemption from putting in sidewalks, comes up before the zoning board here in Jefferson County, KY. I live in a subdivision built in the mid 70's where I cannot walk anywhere without walking on the edge of a very busy road, all of which are without shoulders. I'd really like to be able to walk to the store, a few blocks away, but have to take the car, for fear of being hit. I grew up in a small city, where one could walk from one end to the other on sidewalks. Even those who had cars would a lot of times walk to work or the store. You have my support of this initiative, along with a lot of other regular folks in this country who would like to keep their cars parked on occassion, and get out and walk or ride to their destinations!

[Sam Davenport]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Secretary LaHood! Your initiative for including non-motorized transportation in all transportation planning is historic and long overdue. Wonderful!!

[Mary]

Bicycling in places like Florida - where it is flat and there isn't any frozen precipitation in the winter - should be facilitated and encouraged through the funding and creation of more dedicated bicycle routes. Not only would bicycling help the environment, it would also help get some of the sedentary Americans off their obese duffs getting some exercise and sunshine.

[Dylan]

excellent!
i am a bike rider in new orleans. every single one of my friend, me included, has been hit while riding their bikes. some have suffered broken bones and had to endure tough physical therapy. some had no insurance, so now have debt collectors hounding them. of course people feel like they have no choice! the roads are not safe for pedestrians and cyclists!
not to mention the public health issues associated with having a car-centric built environment.
maybe my friends and i have not suffered under the wheels of cars and endured road rash for nothing? maybe we can be safe one day? i sure hope so, before it's too late and one of my friends or I are killed by the 2-ton machines rushing past us at 50mph.

[Elisabeth Robson]

Thank you! And remember, people will not "always be driving a car" - or at least not cars as we know it since oil will eventually run out. More roads for cars and trucks is totally the WRONG direction for our future. I totally support the move to encourage more walking, biking and rail transport and decrease car and truck usage. It will help the environment and help keep us pedestrians and cyclists more safe! THANK YOU!

[Craig Claeys]

I'm hugely in favor of the Transportation Dept.'s policy statements giving an equal status to non-car modes of transportation. America's car-centric perspectives concerning infrastructure and urban planning need to be reconsidered. The new initiatives are bound to have some positive impact on the obesity/diabetes/general "un-fitness" of large swaths of the American public issue. I bike or walk my 1-mile commute daily.

[Linda Walsh]

Secretary LaHood, Thank you so much for speaking up for biking and walking trails and alternatives to auto travel. I live in Houston - my husband calls biking a contact sport in Houston. I'm not sure that is true, but we have just started giving bikes a bit of space. The more attention this gets, the better. I support you 100%.

[Cindy L. Robbins]

Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your support of alternative transportation. I live in a wonderful community of about 100,000. Our community is growing and we (cyclists and those who care about livability) are working hard now with the City to improve in-road bicycle facitilites that connect and take us where we need to go. I believe that making Las Cruces a community safe for cyclists and pedestrians now, before we have grown too large, is critical. Retrofitting bike facilities is more expensive and more difficult after the roadways have been constructed. While I own a motor vehicle, it is my preference to ride my bicycle to work and to conduct my personal business. Cycling benefits me and the local businesses close to my home - I prefer short trips for food, banking, and other needs. So count me among your supporters. AND please make sure that those of us who live in smaller communities are not left out of the planning or the funding.

[Elizabeth S]

I am a Disabled 50 year old woman that lives in a rural area where there is no public transportation. I have to drive 120 miles one-way in order to have my surgeries done due to the complex nature of my Disabilities. My car has taken it's toll. You can't imagine the obsticles of first being Disabled, then not having a way to get surgeries done. My car is now in need of repairs. I'd like to attend College and become independent but how do I do that when there isn't transportation and the College is 45 minutes away? There is no car pull program here. I've tried to post many blogs gathering individuals together to drive to College. Nobody attends College in my area. Most students are young and go away to school. Does anybody have any suggestions for me? I really could use some help.

[Chris Jones]

I agree we need more pathways for walking and biking not only could this increase jobs creating but should help with healthcare as more people get out and exercise