On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation recapping a Sept. 4 panel discussion in Lansing featuring a thoughtful discussion among experts from various fields on the need for sustainable transportation infrastructure funding and why it’s such a challenge.
John Peracchio, who helped organize the event and moderated the discussion, says he was pleased with the comments of the panelists but hoped for a more robust question-and-answer session that followed.
Some key themes:
- Chad Livengood, politics editor and columnist at the Detroit News, talked about reporting when he was at Crain’s Detroit on subdivisions being built in outer-ring suburbs with no sustainable source of funding for their roads.
- Lance Binoniemi of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association reiterated the job losses that would result from a lack of increased investment in road and bridge building.
- Baruch Feigenbaum of The Reason Foundation explained the long-term benefits of switching to a road user charge (RUC) system for funding roads, as some other states have piloted. He has previously talked about the topic on the podcast.
- Jane McCurry of Clean Fuels Michigan provided perspective on how fees on alternative-fuel vehicles contribute to the road funding mix.
