Another Way For The DOT
Government’s response to government inaction is often the creation of more government.
The recent proposal to split the state Department of Transportation into two separate agencies — one that deals with roads and the other with mass transit — is the result of more than a decade of frustration with an agency whose motto seems to be, “It can’t be done.”
For all the talk about the need to “change the culture” of DOT, the real issues are the policies the agency is asked to implement and the management of that implementation. Every once in a decade the political leadership of the state decides transportation must be addressed. Commissions are appointed and the commissions recommend investing more money. The investment is made, and to the general public, it looks like nothing changes. Interstate 84 in Waterbury is still a mess; it’s still impossible to get onto I-95 South at the junction with I-91 and in Hartford. Traffic is always stop and go over sunset ridge.
The culture of DOT is only a symptom. The problem begins and could end if the state’s transportation policy was developed and carried out on a schedule apart from the legislative campaign schedule. Connecticut needs a transportation vision with legislative and executive branch power behind it over the long term.
The perception is that mass transit is the enlightened approach to our transportation future. If that is the direction we want to head in as a state, then the political leadership of the state must commit to making it happen. Plans must be made, taxes need to be raised and political leaders need to follow through to make sure the work is done.
Funding is a major issue. Much of the DOT’s budget consists of federal money, which is one of the reasons the agency seems to focus more on highways than any other form of transportation. Washington’s share of transportation dollars to the states is shrinking every year and for that reason alone, it is time for states to begin thinking about their own funding sources.
If Connecticut wants to write its own transportation destiny, it needs to be self-reliant. One of the major reasons the commute never seems to get better is that it will cost more. And if you are a politician in favor of transportation, sooner or later, you will have to be in favor of new taxes.
Self-Reliance Needed
Leadership on this issue is most effective coming from the executive branch. The governor has the best opportunity to define the state’s transportation goals and force her appointees to make the vision a reality. It takes the same kind of focus Gov. William O’Neill applied to transportation in the 1980s, the focus Gov. Lowell Weicker Jr. applied to passing the income tax, or that Gov. John Rowland applied to urban development.
Legislators seem to agree there needs to be a different approach, but none seem to be leaping at the two-agency model. Another road the governor might consider is giving the old DOT one more try, by defining the goals and moving her office to DOT headquarters — if that’s what it takes — to see it through. It would take that kind of commitment.
Short of that, she might consider putting Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele to work on the issue. A businessman from traffic-plagued Stamford, with experience in the legislature could work the governor’s vision and her team full time.
There is nothing like the direct involvement of the boss to get everyone’s attention.
Dean Pagani is a former gubernatorial advisor. He is V.P. of Public Affairs for Cashman and Katz Integrated Communications in Glastonbury.
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