With Intel's plans to make central Ohio the Silicon Heartland, public-transportation advocates are calling on leaders to ensure development plans include multimodal transportation options.

The tech giant announced a plan to build a $20 billion semiconductor manufacturing plant near Columbus, which already is home to data centers for Google and Facebook, as well as Amazon warehouses.

Josh Lapp, chair of Transit Columbus, said with an initial 3,000 jobs expected to be created, considerations need to be made to maximize access.

"So we have this chance, right now, right now is the time, the inflection point to really plan for and invest in a different type of growth," Josh Lapp asserted. "That includes transit and pedestrians and cyclists and more walkable communities."

Ohio committed nearly $700 million in local infrastructure improvements, including $290 million to support transportation issues related to the Intel Facility. Given the historic nature of the investment, Lapp contended state funding should focus on minimizing congestion and promoting sensible land use.

Lapp added local and state leaders are being encouraged to create robust transit infrastructure to connect individuals of all income levels to the jobs developed around the area.

"Whether it's a larger-scale regional bus service that's run by COTA (Central Ohio Transit Authority), whether it's further investments in things like Go-Bus that connects rural communities or investments and things like Amtrak that would help on a regional scale," Lapp outlined. "That's the core of what needs done and something that our state and our region is just not doing."

He urged leaders to get ahead of challenges faced by burgeoning cities such as Austin, Texas, which is struggling with affordable housing and other issues tied to rapid growth.

Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

The number of pedestrians and bicyclists killed on roadways in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the past 12 years and a New Mexico researcher wants to know why.

Nick Ferenchak, associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering at the University of New Mexico, said if you're in a car, you are safer than you have ever been. But it is not true for what the engineering world calls "VRUs," vulnerable road users. Although pedestrian deaths in 2022 were about the same as in 1975, he noted they have increased 83% since reaching their lowest point in 2009.

"Pedestrians and bicyclists are about a quarter of the people killed on our roadways in America," Ferenchak reported. "To put that in context, I think about 400 New Mexicans are killed every year on roads, about 100 of them are pedestrians and about 10 are on bikes."

Nationwide, about 45,000 Americans lose their lives on roadways each year, including 6,000 pedestrians. Another 76,000 pedestrians are injured. Ferenchak leads the newly-formed Center for Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety, which is studying why the increase has occurred among VRUs and helping to identify engineering solutions for city and county planners.

Ferenchak pointed out cyclists tend to raise safety issues and demand roadway improvements, while pedestrians do not have strong advocacy networks. In Albuquerque, he added, many pedestrian deaths occur on dark, arterial roads.

"It doesn't make the problem easier to solve but a lot of the issue is actually at night, which is kind of surprising," Ferenchak observed. "You'd think most people are out walking and biking during the day but a lot of the issues are happening at night."

He emphasized while about 95% of people in Albuquerque drive to work, similar to other cities, but everyone is a pedestrian at some point and higher fatality rates need to be understood and addressed.


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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has revived congestion pricing after a five-month pause.

The program's biggest change is a $9 toll, down from $15 but by 2031, the toll will increase to $15 for all drivers. The program's mixed reception from New Yorkers is partly to blame for the pause.

Renae Reynolds, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, said the program faced opposition from commuters.

"There have been a plethora of critiques from folks in New Jersey who have complained about the cost of the toll, who have made claims that people are going to create congestion in other areas as they aim to avoid the congestion pricing fee," Reynolds noted.

An environmental assessment showed congestion pricing could increase pollution in the outer boroughs and New Jersey. Specifically, the Bronx might see increased soot from more than 700 trucks entering the borough daily. MTA is spending $130 million on mitigation efforts. Congestion pricing will go into effect at midnight on Jan. 5, 2025.

Lawsuits were brought forward or considered to both terminate and reinstate congestion pricing. Estimates showed canceling it would have cost New York 100,000 jobs. The program is slated to generate more than $15 billion for MTA.

Reynolds pointed out it will go toward overdue improvements to the city's subway system.

"That's signal upgrades, making sure our system is accessible for all folks regardless of abilities by installing elevators where there need to be," Reynolds outlined. "Because we are well behind the requirements of ADA accessibility."

Only 113 stations of the entire subway system's 472 are accessible. The MTA's capital plan calls for 70 stations to be made entirely accessible. Congestion pricing would also pay for the next phases of the Second Avenue subway to be built, and transitioning the city's bus fleet to all electric.

Construction is scheduled to begin early next year on improvements to railroad infrastructure in and around Illinois' capital city.

Springfield has received a $157 million Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grant through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. Nate Bottom, the chief city engineer for Springfield, said the money will go for a number of projects designed to improve safety and rail service across the region.

"It's been one of the bottlenecks for the high-speed rail between Chicago to St. Louis," he said. "It's one track through the city of Springfield, so now it'll be dual track, and there will be a new Amtrak station, multimodal station, where we'll have bus transfers as well as a parking structure."

The grant is part of $2.4 billion in Federal Railroad Administration funding for 122 rail projects in 41 states and Washington, D.C. Agency officials say the projects will make rail travel safer, more reliable and more resilient, getting goods and people where they need to be more quickly.

Bottom said the federal grant will also allow Springfield to make safety and service improvements along rail lines in the city.

"We're going down from 68 to 32 at-grade crossings in the city of Springfield, potentially improving service," he said. "We also increased trespassing countermeasures. Our goal is to get on a January letting. Construction to be completed by August of 2027."

Other rail projects affecting Illinois include money for regional projects including planning for the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission's Invest Midwest project, and a yard-area rail decongestion and safety project involving a group of 12 Midwestern states, including Illinois.


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