As the Biden administration will soon introduce an infrastructure stimulus package, Americans should pay more attention to how funding is allocated than how much funding is proposed, a Transportation For America blog by Beth Osborne contends.
The proposed infrastructure stimulus package is reminiscent of the 2009 Recovery Act, Osborne said. In the act, funds were allocated to existing federal transportation programs, but these programs weren’t designed to hand short-term projects. Instead, money should have been targeted for a specific purpose.
“This time around, Americans want an infrastructure package that addresses economic recovery through job creation; rebuilds crumbling roads, bridges, and transit systems; and reduces climate emissions and racial inequities,” Osborne said. “But our existing federal transportation programs aren’t built to achieve these outcomes—no matter how much more money is pumped into them. In fact, they often produce the opposite result: building new infrastructure we can’t afford to maintain, driving up emissions and creating barriers to people of color trying to get to work and essential services.”
Osborne cautions Americans to look specifically at how funding is allocated. For example, if existing transportation programs are funded, then bridges and roads are not being repaired. If a vehicle-only transportation system is funded, then the climate is not a priority.