DeLeo On Transportation
Speaker Bob DeLeo, in his speech opening the 2013-'14 legislative session, focused primarily on transportation funding. Here, from his prepared remarks, is the section where he discusses the issue:
As we await MassDOT’s plan, I want to lay out some of
the principles that will inform our approach to transportation:
·
The Department and
Administration must consider all opportunities to bring efficiencies to our
transportation operations.
·
Any transportation plan
must reflect a sense of regional equity. The cost burden must not be borne by
any one region nor may the plan benefit one region at the expense of other
regions of the state.
·
Our roads, bridges and
tunnels must be maintained in good and safe condition –worthy of the top-flight
national standard that we expect our state to have and consistent with our
interest in attracting employers to invest in and brings jobs to Massachusetts.
I do not accept that safety must be sacrificed for the sake of fiscal solvency,
and I will not accept any proposal that does not provide our citizens with the
assurance their transportation infrastructure will be safe and state-of-the-art.
As I have heard from members of
our business community and civic leaders, the health of our transportation
system is central to the economic future of our state. Whether we can fix the
system’s existing problems and develop a future transportation infrastructure
that improves the ability of workers and residents to travel around
Massachusetts will be a factor in how our economy performs in the coming years.
Accordingly, I am interested in learning about innovative solutions to spur
transportation development.
We all know the stakes are
high. In order to implement the improvements we seek, we will have to be
prepared to make investments.