Cities like Arlington can help Congress with infrastructure plans for a better future
COVID hit Main Street hard, but it wasn’t a knockout punch. With the help of the American Rescue Plan relief legislation, communities are hard at work implementing innovative policies to revive Main Street.
However, our work — and, I hope, Congress’ — has just begun. The pandemic has made clear we can’t afford to defer investments in critical infrastructure. If Main Street (and the water, sewer and stormwater systems that run under it) could talk, it would tell us that we still have work to do.
Deferred investment across the country has left our infrastructure in poor shape, threatening our public safety and economic growth. That’s why local officials throughout the nation are urging Congress to build on the American Rescue Plan and enact a bold infrastructure plan.
Such a package in and of itself is not enough, though. Congress should take a cue from the American Rescue Plan and make local governments a true partner. This means empowering local leaders to meet locally identified needs.
As the most direct, responsive level of government, local leaders understand how the right investments in infrastructure can build our economies and improve our communities. Indeed, local governments own and manage a whopping 80% of all the nation’s roads.
And, local level leadership is driving innovative partnerships, including on-demand transportation options such as Arlington’s new rideshare shuttles and autonomous-vehicle trips. Our nation cannot achieve a sustainable economic recovery without robust investment in the systems that connect our communities.
In Arlington and North Texas, we have experienced one of the largest increases in population growth of any metro region. We simply do not have time or money to waste on investments that will not improve mobility, safety or access to opportunity.
As it develops legislation, Congress can take a few simple steps to forge a partnership with local governments that empowers communities to put local knowledge to use meeting locally identified needs. Here are some steps it should take:
Raise the metropolitan area share of the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program and increase overall funding to this program. A larger, more local grant program would be a proven and effective way for Congress to invest in regions and communities of all sizes in a manner that maximizes community decision making and gives local leaders flexibility to meet regional mobility priorities.
Increase funding for the Transportation Alternatives Program to invest in “safe routes to school” and other non-vehicular safety and mobility projects. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, there is always more demand than the program can fund.
Build on the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act, the Water Infrastructure and Innovation Act and other recent laws to make the federal government once again a true partner in building and maintaining our nation’s water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure.
As Washington debates big investments in infrastructure and jobs, Congress must understand that local leaders in their home regions are eager partners to address our nation’s most pressing needs. If we want to bounce back from the economic damage caused by the pandemic, a status quo, top-down strategy won’t suffice — and will be unresponsive to communities.
Congress must seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage local knowledge and innovation and make a historic investment in repairing and modernizing our nation’s infrastructure in partnership with cities such as Arlington. It is past time for Congress to make meaningful investments to help revitalize Main Street — and all streets — and support our economic recovery.