AASHTO Journal, 13 March 2015
The American Public Transportation Association is making plans with “a broad coalition of partners,” including state departments of transportation and area chambers of commerce, to hold a series of events around the nation on April 9 to bring attention to transportation infrastructure needs.
The “Stand Up for Transportation Day,” APTA said, can help highlight the importance of infrastructure investment and the need for a long-term federal surface transportation authorization bill to replace last summer’s short-term extension of Highway Trust Fund programs that authorized its road and transit spending through May 31.
APTA said it is “encouraging local organizations and advocates who support public transit and highway investment to participate in these events, which are being held while Congress is on recess.”
State DOTs in Connecticut, Arizona and Colorado are among those said to be planning activities that day.
As of early March, APTA said more than 100 events were already being planned. Participating organizations planned to launch both traditional media activities and tap social media to draw attention to that day’s effort and the underlying need for more investment in transportation systems.
“Stand Up for Transportation Day is a single day when all transportation organizations and their coalition partners unite in common purpose with a unified message,” said APTA Chair Phillip Washington, who is also general manager and CEO of Denver’s Regional Transportation District. “It’s time to set aside partisanship and once again act in the best interest of our country to repair, strengthen and build transportation infrastructure,” he said.
More information about the April 9 activities, including a map communities holding events, is available at the program’s dedicated website or by contacting Rose Sheridan at email hidden; JavaScript is required.