Land Use and Transportation Panel

Tim Maloney – Senior Policy Director, Hoosier Environmental

Council

Kim Irwin – Executive Director, Health by Design

Land Use/Transportation

•Tim Maloney, HEC•Kim Irwin, HbD/ICAT•Bill McCoy, USFWS

21st Century Transportation

for Indiana

Conservation Funding Tim Maloney

HEC Senior Policy Director

• Sprawl

• Traffic congestion

Indiana’s Transportation Challenges

•Urban air pollution

•Limited funding

96% of $2 billion annual state transportation spending goes to roads

•Over one half of “major moves” spending goes to new roads

•Minimal state investment in public transit

•No state investment in passenger rail

Indiana’s Transportation Challenges

Indiana Transportation Challenges

• 6th highest road density in U.S. • 4,000 bridges rated as deficient or obsolete • $5.4 billion backlog in local road and street maintenance• Nearly 20% of Indiana’s carbon emissions are due to

transportation

21st Century Transportation Solutions

• A diverse and efficient transportation system that gives Hoosiers real transportation choices

• Indiana’s major cities connected by high speed passenger rail,

and our urban areas served by light rail and bus systems

Local Transit Struggling

• Central Indiana IndyGo barely avoided major service cuts Express buses facing cutoff

• NW Indiana South Shore commuter rail has made cuts

in service

• Statewide PMTF funds hit by recession

But cause for optimism…. Central Indiana transit plan-IndyConnect Ridership rebounds Public wants more transit

ICAT

Challenges In Funding Transit

• Just 3% of total state transportation budget allocated to transit

• Many more transit agencies competing for meager transit funding

• No state gas tax money goes to transit• New Indiana property tax caps further reduce

funding

Our Plan Of Action• Promote IndyConnect transit legislation that enables a regional

transit authority & provides for countywide referenda to approve a dedicated local option funding source Transit advocates helped preserve IndyGo service in 2010

• Build statewide coalition for transit through Indiana Citizens’ Alliance for Transit (ICAT)

• Partners include Central Indiana Transit Task Force, AARP, Indiana Transportation Association, MIBOR

What You Can Do

• Write to your state legislators in support of regional transit districts and dedicated transit funding

district number (for ex. H86)@in.gov

High Speed Trains

High Speed Rail Routes Through Indiana:

• Chicago to Detroit—funding through HSR stimulus grants

• Chicago to Cleveland• Chicago to

Indianapolis to Cincinnati

Midwest high speed rail system will be incremental high speed rail: 110 mph

Build support for improved & expanded passenger rail service

December 3rd HSR Forum Coalition: HEC, Indiana High

Speed Rail Association, Mayors, Chambers of Commerce, Businesses, others

High Speed Trains: Our Plan of ActionHigh Speed Trains: Our Plan of Action

What You Can Do

Urge city and state support for passenger rail:

Write to:

Honorable Gregory Ballard

Mayor, City of Indianapolis

2501 City-County Bldg.

Indianapolis, IN 46204

Proposed 142-Mile Interstate Highway with Mostly “New Terrain” Route

•Substantial environmental impact •Over 7,000 acres destroyed

•High cost•$3.3 billion and increasing

New-Terrain I-69

Our Plan Of Action

• Support I-70 and U.S. 41 as the route for I-69 Support I-70 and U.S. 41 as the route for I-69 New-terrain I-69 is not a done deal Cost cutting on I-69, INDOT layoffs demonstrate Cost cutting on I-69, INDOT layoffs demonstrate

funding obstacles funding obstacles

• Building costly new-terrain I-69 means road and bridge Building costly new-terrain I-69 means road and bridge maintenance, transit and rail projects throughout maintenance, transit and rail projects throughout

Indiana will sufferIndiana will suffer

What You Can Do

• Contact your congressman and Senators Lugar and Coats: Ask them to oppose federal funding for new-terrain I-69

Members of Congress senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov

(202) 228-0360 fax http://coats.senate.gov/WebMail1.htm

(202) Congressman ______

https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Conservation Funding to protect Indiana’s Forests & Wildlife

Habitats

Indiana’s natural areas and habitats Lowest percentage of publicly-owned

lands in Midwest

About 780,000 acres publicly owned –4% of Indiana’s land area

Natural lands area statewide: • Forestland

5.1 Million Acres (1,800 acres old growth) 

• Wetlands813,000 acres

• Prairie<2,000 acres

Promising new projects underway

• Wabash River

• Muscatatuck River

Support acquisition of more lands for state parks, state forests, fish and wildlife areas, nature preserves through the Indiana Heritage Trust

Support expansion of Indiana’s national lands Patoka River NWR, HNF, Indiana Dunes

Provide annual funding for Clean Water Indiana

Our Plan of Action: Conservation Funding

What You Can Do

• Ask your state legislator to support funding for the Indiana Heritage Trust and Clean Water Indiana

• Ask your congressman/Senators Lugar & Coats to support appropriations for federal land acquisition Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge Hoosier National Forest

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Write to:Indiana Legislators: district number (for ex. H86)@in.gov

Members of Congress senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov

(202) 228-0360 fax http://coats.senate.gov/WebMail1.htm

(202) fax Congressman ______

https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml