By Ben Crowther

Is it potential to reconnect communities whereas increasing highways that cut up communities?

The reply is clear (no!), however state departments of transportation proceed to place freeway expansions first and a few even promote expansions underneath the guise of reconnecting communities.

That’s why 155 organizations are calling on the US Division of Transportation to take a stand and apply Reconnecting Communities as a precept for all its discretionary grant applications. Not like the transportation components funding that goes on to states, USDOT has direct management over discretionary grant applications. USDOT has the ability to cease funding freeway expansions via these applications.

For years, advocates throughout the nation have referred to as on USDOT to reject highway-oriented functions to its Reconnecting Communities program. This 12 months, USDOT dedicated to decrease the rating of functions which are related to freeway expansions. However why cease there? A decrease grade for freeway growth initiatives may very well be utilized to all USDOT discretionary grant applications. This aligns with the suggestions of USDOT’s personal Nationwide Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, which endorses a fix-it-first strategy (one of many Communities Over Highways rules).

The harms of freeway growth in susceptible communities are myriad and vital – elevated air air pollution, better noise air pollution, contributions to the city warmth island impact, lack of inexpensive housing, extra impermeable surfaces rising flood danger, and naturally better carbon emissions from induced driving.

Repeated growth doubles down on the twentieth century transportation planning that brought about a lot injury, notably for low-income communities and communities of coloration.  Deprioritizing it throughout all applications would make vital progress towards Reconnecting Communities as a USDOT precept and provides the company the ability to sort out the challenges of the twenty first century head on.

On the very least, let’s use Reconnecting Communities grant funding for its main function, and never use these {dollars} to mitigate additional freeway growth.