Session 2 -- Transportation Funding: The future of federal, state, local and other funding

Moderator, Mr. Douglas J. Callaway, President, Floridians for Better Transportation
Ms. Susan J. Binder, Director, Office of Legislative and Governmental Affairs, Federal Highway Administration
Mr. Lowell Clary, Assistant Secretary for Finance and Administration, Florida Department of Transportation -- Presentation
Ms. Laura Kelley, Deputy Executive Director, Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority -- Presentation

Investments in our transportation system are investments in the backbone of our state’s economy. Transportation revenue sources must be sustainable and predictable so that planned projects – which represent commitments by local governments in their comprehensive plans – are not delayed. State, metropolitan, and local plans indicate that the costs of additional improvements exceed available revenues. Narrowing the gap will require additional revenues, “joint funding” of projects through public and private partnerships, and major efforts to reduce costs.

Doug Callaway moderated this session and remarked that without funding the planning is meaningless. There are huge unmet transportation needs and declining sources of revenue; this session was focused on strategies for addressing this issue.

Lowell Clary discussed transportation funding in Florida. Over the past 15 years, growth from traditional transportation revenue sources has been robust or stable; however, transportation revenues have not kept up with Florida’s growing transportation needs. Short-term transportation funding options include tolling new expressways, leveraging existing funding sources (e.g., right-of-way and GARVEE bond programs), and use of public private partnerships (e.g., to advance projects). Long-term options address the use of market pricing strategies such as open road tolling, perhaps tolling all new lanes added to expressways, and perhaps a change in the revenue collection system (e.g., vehicle miles traveled based fees).

Susan Binder, Director of the Office of Legislative and Governmental Affairs for the Federal Highway Administration, discussed the work of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission. This Commission was created by section 1909 of SAFETEA-LU to examine alternatives to replace or supplement the fuel tax as the principal revenue source to support the federal Highway Trust Fund over the next 30 years. The four key federal multi-modal transportation issues identified by the Commission are: freight movement (represents a threat to the national economy if not resolved), metropolitan mobility (providing choices for people), regional connectivity (missing corridors in our national system), and safety (use of ITS, other technology to make improvements.

Laura Kelley, Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority’s Deputy Executive Director, discussed the approach the Expressway Authority is taking to evaluate funding alternatives for its regional transportation needs. At the request of surrounding counties, the current Expressway master plan considers regional transportation needs related to the continued growth expected in this region. Five concept development and evaluation studies are currently being conducted to identify expansion projects needed to meet the mobility demands of Orlando and the surrounding area in the next 25 years.

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