Reconnecting America CEO Calls For Bold New Agenda For Small-Town America

As the Senate continues to develop a revitalized, long-term federal transportation program, Reconnecting America CEO John Robert Smith called on senators to support a bold new agenda for rural transportation that would spur economic development in small towns and cities across the United States.

In testimony March 18 before the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, Smith — former Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi and past chair of the Amtrak Board — issued a series of forward-looking recommendations to invigorate Main Streets across rural America and connect small cities and towns to increased economic opportunity. Others testifying included: Tim Lomax, Research Engineer, Texas Transportation Institute; Scott Haggerty, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, California, on behalf of the National Association of Counties; James Townsend, Webster County Judge/Executive, Kentucky, on behalf of the National Association of Regional Councils; and, Bryce Marlatt, Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Transportation of the Oklahoma State Senate. Support was unanimous among those who testified for close attention to the needs of rural areas and small towns in the reauthorization of the transportation bill and for the involvement of state, regional and local officials in the planning process.

The testimony was part of Transportation for America’s Rural Transportation Initiative to gather policy recommendations from key transportation practitioners, nonprofit advocates, service providers, and elected officials who serve small town and rural America. Smith serves as co-chair of T4America.

The working group’s recommendations are summed up in the white paper released today along with Mayor Smith’s testimony entitled, “Principles for Improving Transportation Options in Rural and Small Town Communities.”

“Transportation challenges facing small town America are not of congestion but of access,” Mayor Smith testified. “Long commutes, volatile energy prices, and shifting demographics all impact the prosperity of these communities. Many small towns and rural areas lack the financial resources, planning capacity, or authority to implement solutions to their transportation needs. A bold new policy is needed at the federal level to meet those needs.”

The recommendations presented by T4America highlight the importance of six key areas of policy reform necessary to meet the transportation challenges facing rural America:

• Invest in Main Street to link public transit, passenger rail, high-speed rail, commercial air service and intercity buses. These intercity transportation networks will create local hubs and generate millions of dollars in private economic development to preserve and revitalize small town main streets across the country.
• Empower Local Communities through institutional reforms to ensure residents and leaders of small towns and rural communities are part of the decision-making process in finding solutions.
• Improve the Conditions and Safety of our Transportation System by fixing our rural infrastructure and finding highway design solutions to correct dangerous conditions that threaten the safety of our people.
• Invest in Public Transportation to meet the growing demand and need of an aging rural population that is increasingly reliant on local transit service.
• Preserve and Create Livable Communities to enhance the economic competitiveness, historic character and heritage of small town America.
• Move Goods Through Rural America with increased flexibility and investment in infrastructure such as rail, intermodal transfer points, and inland waterways to ensure that rural economies continue to be competitive in the 21st century global economy.

Smith knows firsthand about the transformative power of thoughtful transportation investment.

“In my own hometown, through investment in our downtown and the creation of a transportation hub, we bolstered the local economy and reversed the decline of our historic buildings and city center,” he said. “Other communities like ours can experience that same revitalization if our country will commit the resources needed to enhance the economic competitiveness of existing communities.”