Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the American Infrastructure at a Crossroads Conference held at Central Pennsylvania College in Summerdale, PA.
Comments [Add Comment]
It was an all star line up of current and past bi-partisan political figures. United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood appeared via satellite instead of in person due to a scheduling conflict that was created when LaHood's boss, President Obama, planned a 10:00 am meeting on infrastructure. As a result, LaHood stayed in Washington and laid out his thoughts to those in attendance on the big screens. Before fielding questions from Governor Rendell and the audience,
LaHood chastised Governor Rendell because Pennsylvania has not passed a law banning driving while distracted. “Governor, I hope you and your friends in the Legislature will eventually get with the program. We need your help. I hope Pennsylvania will pass a distracted driving bill. This is among the most pressing public health and safety issues of the 21st century and it deserves a place atop the infrastructure agenda that you’re helping to set. ..During 2008 alone, distracted driver-related crashes caused nearly 6,000 deaths…” explained LaHood. He added that 30 states so far have prohibited texting while driving. The Obama administration plans to hold a distracted driver summit in Washington on Sept. 21, 2010.
One audience member asked LaHood about the investment in natural gas cars. Mass transit busses are utilizing natural gas while the car manufacturers are focusing their efforts on battery powered cars. Gov. Rendell added that state vehicles should convert to natural gas.
As someone irritated by the erratic and voluminous traffic on 422 East heading towards Philadelphia, I took a personal interest in LaHood's answer to a question about light rail. "If light rail becomes a priority for state for our state, it becomes our priority.", said LaHood. I personally believe from an environmental, infrastructure and economical standpoint, there should be light rail service between Reading, PA and Philadelphia, PA.
Other notables in attendance included former US Senator and Gov of New Jersey, previous presidential candidate Dick Gephardt, Andrew Moore of Google and Terry O’Sullivan, the General President of LIUNA (“Laborers’ International Union of North America”).
O’Sullivan showed a picture of one of the LIUNA’s billboard signs that shows a picture of a structurally deficient bridge in Indiana. The sign states: “Next bridge structurally deficient,”. It requests motorists to ask lawmakers for help. The crowd laughed when O’Sullivan said he wanted to place another billboard on the other side of the bridge that stated, “Glad you made it,” but his attorneys advised against it!
My take away from the conference was that everyone agrees that the infrastructure needs to be improved. Who pays for it is where the break down occurs. Hopefully this will be resolved before there is a tragic accident.
Linda Evers
Attorney-at-Law
