Position on Transportation

State or National:

State

Position in Brief:

Support a transportation system to move people and goods which includes a variety of transportation modes, with emphasis on increased public transportation services and other viable alternatives to reduce vehicle miles traveled; is efficient, convenient, and cost effective; is safe and secure; serves all segments of the population and diverse geographic needs; minimizes harmful effects on the environment; is integrated with land use; and is supported by extensive public education.

Details:

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  1. Transportation and land use planning should be integrated to promote reduced vehicle miles traveled through a jobs/housing balance and requirements that land use development facilitate use of transit and other alternatives to single occupant vehicles.
  2. Planning for transportation should promote:
    1. strategies to influence travel behavior, such as fees, taxes and tolls, combined with mitigation measures for low income persons;
    2. alternatives to single occupant vehicle travel, such as high occupancy vehicle lanes, expanded transit, car/van pools and bicycle lanes;
    3. other strategies to improve traffic flow, such as flextime and telecommuting;
    4. project evaluation processes which include early and informed public participation, analysis of alternative routes and modes, analysis of costs and benefits of each alternative, and consideration of consistency with regional and state transportation systems.
  3. Transportation funding should come from all levels of government, but regional and local levels should have maximum flexibility to select the modes and projects on which to spend allocated funds. User fees and other revenues derived from transportation related sources should be designated for transportation uses, including use of highway users taxes for transportation-related services such as smog control and transit. A variety of other funding methods are appropriate, including general funds, sales tax revenues and private sources such as developer fees. All funding should be evaluated in terms of equitable sharing of transportation costs, effect on travel behavior and indirect economic impacts.
  4. Government responsibility includes:
    1. provision for early and informed public participation in the planning process;
    2. cooperation and coordination among agencies and between different levels of government;
    3. maintenance of existing transportation systems.

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  5. The state should be responsible for setting statewide standards and for planning on a statewide level with provision for a strong regional role. –Begin vertical–
  6. Regional decision making should include extensive local input.
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Position History:

Adopted 1981; Revised 1985; New Position 1991; Readopted at last convention.