LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - September 27, 2007) - The Automobile Club of Southern California
has launched "The Road Ahead," a campaign to increase transparency, public
awareness and motorists' influence over how their transportation dollars
are spent.
"Voters passed Proposition 1A and 1B less than a year ago because they
wanted more money spent on transportation to address increasing congestion
and decaying infrastructure in the state," said Steve Lenzi, the Auto
Club's senior vice president for public affairs. "The voters' message was
clear, but the California Legislature went ahead and stripped $1.3 billion
from transportation spending anyway this year. Motorists need to be aware
of what is happening so they can tell their legislators 'no more.'"
The Auto Club launched a Southern California transportation information web
site at
www.AAA.com/roadahead. The web site is continuously updated with
local information about transportation spending, projects and issues in
Southern California. It also includes easy-to-use tools for motorists to
make their wishes known by contacting state, local and federal officials.
Also, The Road Ahead's first newsletter is appearing in the Auto Club's
four million member households as an insert in the October issue of the
Westways member magazine. The newsletter, which has six regional versions,
provides details on legislative actions and transportation projects. It
also issues a call to action to motorists to contact local and state
government officials if they don't think their tax money is being well
spent.
"We know that California voters don't have time in their busy schedules to
seek out all the different sources of information on transportation
projects and spending decisions," said Lenzi. "The Auto Club is going to
compile the information for Southern Californians on the Road Ahead Web
site in an easy-to-read format so they can keep track of transportation
issues and projects in their local areas. We will also give them a forum
for contacting elected officials if they don't like what they read about."
The Road Ahead campaign points out that:
-- The average Southern California commuter is stuck between 50 and 72
hours a year in urban-area traffic
-- Vehicle owners pay an average of $600 a year in needless repairs
caused by substandard streets and roadways
-- California ranks last among all 50 states and Washington, D.C. for
average per-capita highway spending.
"Transportation clearly should be one of California's top priorities," said
Lenzi. "While the Legislature has taken some positive steps in using
gasoline sales taxes for transportation and appropriating bond money from
Proposition 1B, transportation, especially transit, was hard hit in the new
budget. We think motorists need to make it clear that such actions aren't
acceptable and we want to give them the information and tools they need to
protest."
The Road Ahead campaign offers suggestions for cutting red tape so
transportation projects can move faster:
-- Making better use of the private sector for project design
-- Coordinate federal and state processes to eliminate long wait periods
-- Speed up project reviews and permitting processes
-- Expedite project design and contruction by using "design/build"
techniques where one team designs and builds a project
-- Involve all interested parties as soon as possible in the debate about
proposed road and transit projects
Contact Information: Contact:
Carol Thorp/Jeffrey Spring/
Marie Montgomery
(714) 885-2333