TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

Transportation is the number one source of climate pollution in the United States. That means it's time to totally reimagine the way that we transport people and goods.

The states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the city of Washington, D.C., are working on a groundbreaking policy to modernize the transportation sector under the Transportation and Climate Initiative.

In order for this regional plan to work, governors of these states and the mayor of Washington, D.C., must ensure that this transportation plan is bold enough to cut harmful transportation pollution at the scale needed to avert the climate crisis. We need a plan that holds large transportation polluters accountable for the pollution they create and invests in clean transportation solutions including:

More public transit and electric vehicle infrastructure in rural areas
Expansion of commuter rail, electric vehicles, and streets in the suburbs that are safe, walkable, and bikeable
Sustainable and equitable housing near transit and electric bus fleets in urban communities

I live in Bedford, VA, that does not currently provide options for public transportation. I am a senior citizen with a medical condition that may not allow me the privilege of driving a personal vehicle for the rest of my life even though I may be able to continue to live reasonably independently with some occasional assistance. Having access to public transportation would enable me to continue to do what I need to do as well as improve the quality of life for the planet and all of its inhabitants. I totally support the effort to provide an Amtrak train station here in Bedford as well as providing public transportation in some other form that will permit individuals of all physical capabilities to travel throughout the Town / County of Bedford as well as the surrounding region including Lynchburg and Roanoke.

Sustainable and convenient transportation is greatly needed. We need to get more cars off our roads to help reduce carbon emissions. Convenient and reliable public transportation is needed to help our citizens who cannot afford or have problems maintaining a personal vehicle. I have recently downsized to one vehicle for our household and would use public transportation more if it was convenient. Let's reduce the number of cars on our highways to help with climate change and the stress that congestion brings to our citizens.

Please cooperate to make efficient and clean transportation options widely available in the region. We have a responsibility to do what we can now to ensure that the risks of catastrophic climate change are mitigated. We know that continuing to pollute Earth’s atmosphere with greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels will cause more extreme flooding, drought, hurricanes, wildfires, heat, rapid sea level rise and the acidification of the oceans. Let’s reduce the risks to human and environmental health and to our economy by taking action now to scale down pollution from transportation. Thank you.

“…design a regional low-carbon transportation policy proposal that would cap and reduce carbon emissions from the combustion of transportation fuels through a cap-and-invest program or other pricing mechanism… [and]… to complete the policy development process within one year, after which each jurisdiction will decide whether to adopt and implement the policy.”

We need a plan that holds large transportation polluters accountable for the pollution they create and invests in clean transportation solutions including:

More public transit and electric vehicle infrastructure in rural areas

Expansion of commuter rail, electric vehicles, and streets in the suburbs that are safe, walkable, and bikeable

Sustainable and equitable housing near transit and electric bus fleets in urban communities

It is morally imperative that we transform our transportation system in a way that minimizes (and eventually eliminates completely) our use of fossil fuels as the energy source of our transportation system and move to an energy source that is renewable and sustainable.

Thank you for ready my comments.

We need the initiative to reduce traffic congestion in the state. Traffic jams occur on freeways in Hampton Roads during rush hours. The highway from DC to Richmond often gets backed up. More efficient public transportation would reduce traffic congestion.

I am very concerned with our childrens future with warming from the burning of fossil fuels. A price on carbon pollution is what we need. Since a great percentage of carbon pollution comes from the transportation sector, something has to change. Please take the actions recommended in TCI. Thanks, Judy HInch

Implementing public transportation is beneficial to the environment and people of all economic levels. It would decrease traffic congestion, transit times, pollution levels and enable citizens without a vehicle to have improved access to so many things.

Too much woodland has been destroyed to accommodate more and bigger roads. Too many cars are on the road and far too many single passenger vehicles because America has not made public transportation a priority. In Charlottesville, too many busses run only once an hour, making it impractical to use the bus system. The argument is that not enough people use the bus; if the buses were easy to use, many more people, like myself, would be happy to use them. Bus stops are also difficult to reach. The closest bus stops to my house are half a mile away, or more. I cannot reach two of them because it requires walking along a road with only a very narrow shoulder and no sidewalk. This should be a priority, not new and bigger roads, and more parking lots.