Testimony
of Anthony Williams, Mayor of the District of Columbia
United States
Senate
Committee on
Environment and Public Works
Subcommittee
on Transportation and Infrastructure
Monday,
July 23, 2001
3:00
p.m.
Good
afternoon Chairman Reid, Senator Inhofe, and members of the committee. Thank you for this opportunity to testify
before the Committee on Environment and Public Works’ Subcommittee on
Transportation and Infrastructure.
Before
I begin, I wish to also acknowledge Mayor Marc Morial of New Orleans, the new
President of the U.S Conference of Mayors and a strong voice for transportation
improvements, especially rail transportation.
The Council of Mayors has been focusing on the transportation and
infrastructure issues that are facing are major cities.
Transportation
is a critical issue to the general public.
In fact, in Washington, DC, transportation was picked as the second most
important issue in our Neighborhood Action planning sessions -- second only to
public safety. Neighborhoods are
concerned about traffic, pedestrian safety, parking, development, and
mobility. All issues that become
increasingly significant as we attempt to increase the District’s population by
an additional 100,000 residents over the next ten years.
I
am sure you are all aware that nationally, the Washington Metropolitan area is
classified as the third most congested area in the country. The District, though, can be part of the
solution to this problem. Already, the
District is the core of the metropolitan region and of the regional
transportation network. It plays a
vital role in the economic health of the region and in the region’s
transportation. One-third of the
region’s office space and nearly 500,000 jobs are located here. And these jobs are concentrated. We have the second largest concentration of
jobs in the country, after New York City and tied with downtown Chicago.
Job
concentration is part of the solution to gridlock because it reduces travel
distances and the number of trips.
Also, concentrated job centers can be more efficiently served by mass
transportation. Washington, DC is
second only to New York City in the number of commuters who use mass transit
every day. More than 50 percent of District residents use mass transit for
their home to work trip each day. This
saves energy and saves money that would have to go into building many more
highway lanes to serve those riders if they drove.
However,
many people do drive to the District each day.
The District is already second only to New York City’s Manhattan in the
number of cars that enter downtown every weekday. These users of the District’s road infrastructure are largely
from outside the city. In fact,
approximately 70 percent of the cars on our roads each day are registered
outside the District – and because of the District’s unique financial
structure, these vehicles do not contribute significantly to the maintenance
and capital costs they impose directly on our transportation infrastructure.
The
District is also the largest contributor to the operations and capital costs of
the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) – known to most as
METRO. The District pays nearly 40
percent of both operating and capital costs of the METRO system. And while the recent growth in METRO
ridership, the highest in the country in some categories, ensures traffic does
not come to a complete standstill, it has a substantial impact on the
District’s finances. Its like that old
joke: “We’re losing money on every unit, but we are making up in volume.” Metro ridership increases cost the District
more each year in operating subsidy payments, increasing roughly 10 percent
between Fiscal Years 2001 and 2002 – one of the largest jumps in any District
program.
The Federal presence has a major impact on the District’s unique transportation role. Federal workers account for one-third of METRO riders and as the District’s largest employer, the federal presence adds to the heavy burden on our roads.
This
special relationship to Washington and the region has not gone unrecognized by
the federal government over time. There
have been significant federal contributions to two of the most important
regional transportation projects ever undertaken. These are the long-term investment in METRO and the new Wilson
Bridge. Both of these attest to the
role the District can play as a model for transportation improvements. METRO and the new Wilson Bridge show that
the federal government has recognized the unique role the District plays in the
region and as the Nation’s Capital.
Thus,
as we examine how to maintain and improve the District’s transportation
infrastructure, we look for the federal government to assume a special role in
recognition of this special relationship.
Maintaining
this transportation infrastructure, much less improving or expanding it is very
costly. While Federal Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), has provided almost $100
million per year in much needed assistance for transportation capital,
operations and maintenance, this is not enough.
This
inequity can be summed up as a “tale of two cities” for our non-transit
transportation infrastructure. One is
the Federal City. This is a city with
less than 450 miles of roads and a $250,000 annual per mile fund for
maintenance and improvements. Not
surprisingly, more than 70% of these roads are in good or excellent condition.
The
other is the local city with nearly 650 miles of roads that have just come out
of a five-year period of almost no investment.
Although we are now spending $8,500 per year per mile for maintenance or
improvements, 50% of local roads remain in fair or poor condition.
Transportation Funding for
Today
As
you can see, shortfalls in transportation funding represent one of the biggest
challenges to improving mobility in the District and the region and keeping it
economically viable. The District, as
part of the region’s long term transportation planning process, identified
anticipated funding sources over the next 25 years at $11 billion. This includes both $100 million per year in
federal aid and local taxes dedicated to the transportation system.
A
1998 lifecycle analysis by the Federal Highway Administration found an
anticipated $1 billion needed in the next six years for transportation
improvements. Since the study, our
needs have increased as have our costs, further exacerbating the funding
dilemma.
Unfortunately,
this level of funding will not keep pace with the continuing need to
rehabilitate, maintain and expand transit services, resurface streets, fill
potholes, fix curbs and sidewalks, provide bikeways and implement other traffic
calming and roadway safety improvement projects.
Perhaps the single largest long-term transportation-related financial constraint facing the District and the region is the investment needed in METRO in the forthcoming ten to twenty-five years. METRO estimates a $3 billion preservation funding gap over 25 years for the its Infrastructure Renewal Program, with the District’s share being $1.2 billion. This is over-and-above what the District has already pledged to METRO improvements. In addition, METRO capital needs are underfunded by $100 million annually, representing another $40 million in unfunded District obligations. These investments are needed to simply maintain the METRO’s ability to deliver its core services given the current rate of ridership growth.
The
District, like other cities, also face a brewing problem under its
streets. Aging utility infrastructure,
including power and gas lines, as well as new technologies (such as fiber optic
lines) are putting strains on cities’ ability to manage and control their
rights-of-way. Perhaps most challenging
is the problem of combined sewers. In
the District alone, this largest source of water pollution will cost upwards of
$1 billion to address.
One
of the most creative proposals to meet this need has been put forward by our
Congresswoman, Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Her DC Non-resident Tax Credit Act proposal would transfer to the
District an amount equivalent to two-percent of the income earned by
non-District residents working in the city.
This would produce some $400 million for the District and earmarking a
part or all of this for transportation improvements would make a significant
dent in the District’s, and the region’s transportation needs.
Clearly,
funding shortfalls represent one of the biggest challenges to improved mobility
in Washington, D.C. and in the regions.
Working on long-term—25 year— regional funding needs, we have discovered
that both Maryland and Virginia are experiencing similar challenges and we look
forward to working with Congress and our neighboring jurisdictions on solving
our shared transportation problems.
While
funding our existing infrastructure is a major concern to the District, we need
to look beyond what we are doing today.
For the last fifteen or twenty years the District has been largely
replacing or rehabilitating its existing transportation system – major pieces
of which are nearing their useful life.
Therefore, we are now presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
plan, design and build the transportation system for the new millenium, serving
our city, its citizens and visitors as they now live, work and play.
We
need to look at our major transportation gateways and devise ways to make them
more attractive and functional. For
example, the New York Avenue and South Capitol Street corridors do not present
the appropriate grand entrance into our city that they should. Major bridge projects such as the Theodore
Roosevelt and South Capitol Street bridges represent opportunities to redesign
these connections in a way that suits our monumental city and better serves
commuters, citizens and guests.
Pennsylvania
Avenue should be reopened in a way that both serves the needs of the 26,000
citizens who used to pass by the White House each day and those who live and
work within that historic structure.
The access to the Kennedy Center needs to be improved, reuniting that
world class facility for the arts with the rest of the District and the
monumental core.
Access
to and around our hidden jewel, our Anacostia waterfront needs to be enhanced
by building the Anacostia Riverwalk and improving access across the Anacostia
freeway. Our other freeways, the
Southeast/Southwest and the Whitehurst have to be studied for ways to alleviate
the barrier they represent between communities and the Georgetown Waterfront,
respectively.
We
also need to look at our transit infrastructure and how we can grow that to
support the District’s own rebirth and internal mobility needs. Two new transit routes that need to be
explored include building – finally – the long needed subway connection to
Georgetown. In addition, the District
should revisit the mistake made almost exactly forty-years ago when Congress
mandated the removal of our world-class light rail system. Possible routes for a new trolley include
the then-most popular trolley route – and currently most popular bus route – of
Georgia Avenue to Seventh Street. This
route could connect with the new Convention Center, our reawakening retail
district and the reborn Anacostia waterfront, and Southeast Federal Center.
The
District is also looking at the longer term future of transportation by joining
with Maryland to compete for a Federally-sponsored Magnetic Levitation Rail
(MAGLEV) demonstration project. If
funded, this project would whisk riders between Washington and Baltimore in
roughly twenty minutes – essentially rendering each city a neighborhood of the
other. This sort of aggressive,
visionary thinking is what Washington and Baltimore will need in order to
successfully compete for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Washington, D.C. Reborn
Our
Olympic bid signifies the culmination of the process we have begun in
rebuilding Washington, D.C. in terms of its financial stability, its
attractiveness as a home, its perception and reputation and its importance in
the region. As part of this symbolic
rebirth we must commit to rebuilding, refreshing and improving the arteries and
passageways that serve our Nation’s Capital.
I
believe that one can tell a lot about how a city is doing by looking at its
infrastructure – its roads and trees and sidewalks and signs. A city that is doing well and is well
managed has a well-maintained infrastructure.
It sends a signal to its citizens and visitors through its
transportation infrastructure – its largest, most valuable and visible asset – that
it cares and is a good steward of resources entrusted to it. We have made great strides during my
administration to send that message and I look forward to working with each of
you, the Committee and Congress to keep moving forward.
Thank
you.