Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook - Flipbook - Page 35
transportation infrastructure funds the actual movement
of people, workers, and goods through a community and
region. Communities that are hit by an earthquake, fire, or
flood may sufer significant physical damage to their “hard”
infrastructure. This damage can be repaired with new
investment and federal assistance. However, the COVID-19
pandemic impacted the “sof” transportation infrastructure
that funds the ongoing operations of bus, passenger rail,
water, and air travel systems that transport people to work
and move goods through a regional economy and are
usually funded via ride fares. While the pandemic caused
no physical damage to hard transportation infrastructure,
the financial viability of airports, passenger rail systems,
and other public transit systems were threatened when
passenger counts dropped by 90 percent.17
In a post-disaster recovery period, a community’s
transportation infrastructure improvements should extend
The needs of bicyclists and pedestrians should be accommodated
beyond roadway improvements that will simply reduce
when making transportation infrastructure improvements.
automobile travel time. The improvements should focus
on improving pedestrian and bicycle movement along with
public transit services via bus, passenger rail, and air travel, and continuing investment in electrifying public transportation. In
addition, more zero emission vehicle (ZEV) charging stations are needed in California, and the Governor’s proposed 2022 Budget
supports those measures with a $6 billion expansion in ZEV investments.18 All these systems must work together with any
transportation improvements needed by private automobile users.
Economic developers can also make it a priority to clean
up and repurpose brownfields and other polluted sites
that ofen can be found in a community’s core. Brownfields
are sites that either have real or perceived contamination
from previous uses. Since they are by definition sites that
have already been developed and “used” in some way, they
are ofen located in the main area of a community. When
lef unused, they can be eyesores and create dead space
in a central business district. Economic developers can
reactivate these spaces by cleaning and repurposing them.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides grants
to both land owners and communities to help with the
ofen expensive assessment and cleanup processes. (Learn
more about EPA's Brownfields resources in Appendix 1.) By
engaging in this activity, communities reinvest within their
boundaries, which by extension can help to keep VMT low.19
With some exceptions, funding sof transportation
infrastructure systems is not local government’s direct
responsibility. But local governments can play an important
role in supporting financially viable transit systems by
Transportation infrastructure improvements should
address the needs of all users.
17
San Francisco International Airport is just one example of a “sof” transit system that was badly damaged by the pandemic.
https://www.flysfo.com/media/facts-statistics/air-traffic-statistics/2020
18
See https://caled.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/01.25.22-CALED-Review-of-Governors-Proposed-Budget-Final.pdf
19
See https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/overview-epas-brownfields-program
Infrastructure Systems and Improvements in the Post-Pandemic Era
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