Talking to the public or elected officials about transportation policy and funding can be difficult. AASHTO and blogger Lloyd Brown have some tips for crafting and delivering your message.
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The Language of Mobility (AASHTO, 2011)
As a supplement to Making the Case for Transportation Investment and Revenue, AASHTO produced materials which update their case studies and present tips for successful communication strategies to talk about transportation funding and revenue.
The Language of Mobility (AASHTO, 2011)
As a supplement to Making the Case for Transportation Investment and Revenue, AASHTO produced materials which update their case studies and present tips for successful communication strategies to talk about transportation funding and revenue.
Making the Case for Transportation Investment and Revenue (AASHTO and Parsons Brinckerhoff, 2009)
Many states are looking for ways to ask for additional transportation funding to maintain crumbling infrastructure and meet current demand. This study of successful campaigns recommends how to craft a request for funding. Case studies and elements to examine before the request are included.
Building Public Support to Fund Preservation Work (Spitfire Strategies, 2012)
The Iowa Department of Transportation asked SSTI for assistance building public support for a gas tax increase to fund critical repair and maintenance work. SSTI contracted with Spitfire Strategies, a strategic communications firm that works exclusively with nonprofits and foundations, to help Iowa craft effective messaging that would resonate with policymakers and key stakeholders. Based on SSTI and Spitfire’s work in Iowa and recent polling, this paper outlines how transportation professionals can gain support for a “fix-it-first” approach to transportation policy. It highlights messages and tactics that have effectively garnered voter and policymaker support and presents lessons learned from the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Crafting messages for funding system preservation
SSTI and Spitfire Strategies worked with the Iowa DOT to develop support for funding system preservation. Spitfire researched what messages would appeal to voters and decision makers, then wrote a plan for Iowa DOT to make the case for funding maintenance.
Roads buckling under the weight of the shale gas industry
Although hydraulic fracturing has meant jobs and business development for some economically hard-hit areas, the rural roads in those areas are taking a beating because of the many heavy trucks required to carry sand, water, and equipemnt. Maintenance costs to rebuild the roads can reach the tens or even hundreds or millions of dollars. Now some states are trying to assure that the companies causing the damage will also help with the cost of repairs.
How do we get “everyday Americans” to support transportation funding?
Despite the fact that everyone uses some mode of transportation, a recent article in Governing Magazine explored the transportation community’s failure to engage “everyday Americans,” in the need for transportation investments. There is too much at stake – jobs, money, infrastructure – for people to ignore these critical issues. If we want policymakers to make smart transportation decisions, they need to feel pressure from their constituents. The article finds that we aren’t reaching “everyday Americans” because the messages that the transportation community has been using doesn’t resonate with them. How do we fix this communications challenge?
U.S. Treasury report outlines need for road maintenance, transit investment, and alternatives to driving
A new report from the U.S. Department of the Treasury says that Americans are wasting gas and time every year due to traffic on congested roads. Maintenance costs due to poor road conditions add additional financial burdens to family budgets. In total, the report estimates that insufficiencies in the transportation system and lack of transportation options cost over $100 billion in time and money. However, many news stories have focused only on deficiencies in the road network and missed another message in the report: the need to give commuters alternatives to being stuck in traffic.
Congress debates raising the 80,000 pound truck weight limit
Congress set the current 80,000-pound weight limit for trucks on Interstate highways in 1991. For years proponents of raising the limit have argued that it would reduce the number of trucks on the road, shipping costs, and congestion. On the other side of the argument are those who believe these benefits are outweighed by the fact that heavier trucks are more difficult to control and stop, and that heavier trucks cause greater damage to roads and bridges.