T4VT Coalition Priorities Include Increasing Funding, Safety, and Coordination for Sustainable Transportation
Vermont Business Magazine Transportation for Vermonters (T4VT) recently released their policy priorities for the 2023 Vermont legislative session. T4VT is a diverse coalition of organizations, service providers and institutions committed to working together, creatively, and across sectors to achieve a sustainable and accessible transportation system for our rural state.
Bold investments and creative solutions that help all Vermonters get to where they need to go can: improve quality of life and public health; increase affordability and equitable access for communities that have been underserved; foster smart growth, walkable community centers that support local economies; reduce air and water pollution; and shift us toward a cleaner transportation system that reduces our contribution to the climate crisis.
T4VT will be hosting an “Coffee & Lobby Day” at the State House the morning of Wednesday, February 22nd. Learn more and register at www.t4vt.org.
We must achieve clean and affordable transportation solutions.
New, equitable funding tools are needed to ensure significant, certain pollution reductions and raise sustained revenues to invest in vehicle electrification, transit, shared mobility and other transportation demand management (TDM) strategies. Setting the table for action in 2024 is needed for successful implementation and/or participation in a regional program. At the same time, short-term funding to fill gaps in public transit funding (not limited to fixed-route bus services) until a long-term strategy is implemented is needed to ensure this essential service is maintained.
While the 2022 legislative session saw significant progress for clean transportation, we must accelerate the adoption of and reduce barriers to electric vehicles (EVs) and more fuel-efficient vehicles to reduce emissions in the short-term and provide clean transportation options where alternatives are infeasible. Organizations with vehicle fleets that provide mobility services should be eligible for incentives to make a quick, large-scale impact.
In addition, the new E-bike Incentive Program experienced strong demand, especially high from lower-income Vermonters with 66% of funding going to enhanced rebates in 2022. The program should be expanded through a $500k investment targeted for Vermonters with low incomes to provide low-cost mobility options to access jobs and services.
We must improve street safety for walking and biking.
The “Vermont State Standards'' provide technical guidelines for road and bridge design, but have not been updated since the standards were implemented in 1997. We support VTrans’ work to initiate this update, which should be funded with $1M to support complete streets by providing greater sensitivity to social and environmental contexts, and designing roads for all users’ needs.
A recent assessment of Vermont’s complete streets policy highlights several opportunities for improvement. House bill H. 101 proposes to increase transparency and municipal training for complete streets, which will help to set the stage for an update to the state statute.
We must strengthen the coordination of transportation access efforts.
Municipalities must lead to implement many of Vermont’s sustainable transportation and land use goals, and have an unprecedented opportunity to do so – but without additional capacity and technical support, it will be difficult or impossible for small towns to leverage incoming federal dollars.
The Mobility & Transportation Innovation (MTI) grant program has successfully funded TDM efforts, innovative initiatives, and other projects to advance mobility goals. Allocating $10M for this program will help to ensure Vermont’s service providers, towns and others are able to take the steps necessary to create a sustainable system for our rural state.
Employer-enforced TDM plans can help to reduce emissions, traffic, and car dependence at an effective scale. T4VT supports requiring employers of a certain size to establish and implement TDM plans as feasible, and leveraging MTI grant funds for technical planning assistance and more.
Finally, a socially equitable and environmentally sustainable transportation system requires compact, mixed-use, housing-rich community centers that limit sprawl development and reduce vehicle dependence, emissions, and underutilized public transit. Smart growth and “missing middle” housing development (such duplexes and townhomes) are critical to provide the densities needed for transportation solutions.
The members of Transportation for Vermonters are: AARP-VT, CarShare Vermont, Chittenden Area Transportation Management Association, Conservation Law Foundation Vermont, Green Mountain Transit, Local Motion, Renewable Energy Vermont, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, Vermont Center for Independent Living, Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club, Vermont Clean Cities Coalition, Vermont Energy Education Program, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, the Vermont Natural Resources Council, and the Vermont Public Interest Research Group.
Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC), Montpelier. February 15, 2023. VNRC.org
