Land Use and Transportation Panel

1. Land Use and Transportation Panel Tim Maloney – Senior Policy Director, Hoosier Environmental Council Kim Irwin – Executive Director, Health by Design

2. Land Use/Transportation • Tim Maloney, HEC • Kim Irwin, HbD/ICAT • Bill McCoy, USFWS

3. 21st Century Transportation for IndianaConservation Funding Tim MaloneyHEC Senior Policy Director

4. Indiana’s Transportation Challenges • Sprawl • Traffic congestion • Urban air pollution • Limited funding

5. Indiana’s Transportation Challenges • 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

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

10. 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

11. Our Plan Of Action • Promote IndyConnect transit legislationthat 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. High Speed Trains: Our Plan of Action • 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

15. 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

16. New-Terrain I-69 • 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

17. Our Plan Of Action • 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 funding obstacles • Building costly new-terrain I-69 means road and bridge maintenance, transit and rail projects throughout Indiana will suffer

18. 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

19. Conservation Funding to protect Indiana’s Forests & Wildlife Habitats

20. 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)  • Wetlands 813,000 acres • Prairie <2,000 acres

21. Promising new projects underway • Wabash River • Muscatatuck River

22. Our Plan of Action: Conservation Funding 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

23. 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

24. 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