Analysis

Candidates have far to travel to fix nation's jammed roads

WASHINGTON - Everybody gripes about traffic congestion. It affects more people than Medicare or Social Security and it frustrates Republicans and Democrats alike. It costs billions of dollars in lost productivity and robs commuters of precious time.

It's an important political issue for suburban voters such as Jack Leopold, a retired auto dealer in Squirrel Hill, Pa., who wants the presidential candidates to say more about it.

"I don't know why somebody hasn't taken the bull by the horns and made an issue out of it," he says. "I think they would get a lot of mileage."

So why aren't the candidates talking about it?

A few have called for more "infrastructure investment" - a term that makes road-building sound about as appealing as dental work - but no one has pushed the issue with much vigor.

"I think it's a very ripe federal issue if someone can articulate it well enough," says John Delaney, a former Jacksonville mayor who in 2000 persuaded voters to approve a $2.2-billion tax increase for better roads and other projects.

Doug Callaway, president of Floridians for Better Transportation, a road-building advocacy group in Tallahassee, calls congestion "a sleeper issue that has some potential to help somebody, whether it's George W. Bush or Howard Dean or somebody else."

Clogged roads are a major headache for millions of people, especially independent-minded suburbanites who often cast the swing votes in elections.

A U.S. Department of Transportation survey says half of adults in metro areas consider traffic congestion a problem. A DOT study released last week shows why: the typical household has more cars (an average of 1.9) than drivers (1.8).

Commuters are so unhappy with clogged roads that Republicans like Delaney who usually shun tax hikes have supported them for roads and other projects.

"There's tremendous frustration" with clogged roads, says Frank Moretti, director of policy and research with the Road Information Program, a Washington group that advocates more highway construction. "The public has generally been willing to pay for improved transportation as long as they're confident the additional taxes are going to go to their community."

Road-building has not kept up with congestion.

Nationally, the length of the average commute grew by 14 percent from 1990 to 2000, which translates into an extra 26 hours on the road each year for the average worker. In Florida, a draft study by the state Department of Transportation last spring showed the state would have to spend an additional $2.7-billion per year just to keep the roads as congested as they are today.

"It's pretty sobering when you look at it," says Paul Ledford, senior vice president for public policy for the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

"Cities can never keep up," says Delaney, now the president of the University of North Florida. "They never build roads big enough to begin with."

Delaney says reducing traffic congestion should have broad political appeal, especially to working parents and "the moms caught in traffic schlepping kids between soccer and home." He says it even strikes a chord in smaller cities, which often have traffic as bad as metro areas.

So why hasn't traffic become a campaign issue?

One possible reason: Presidential candidates don't drive much.

On most campaign trips, they ride in the back seat while aides drive. Candidates use that time to make phone calls or do interviews and are often unaware of traffic jams.

Also, many voters don't realize the federal government has a large role in paying for highways.

"Most people don't really understand that the feds are shelling out $30-billion a year and largely control transportation and infrastructure investment in this country," says Rob Atkinson, vice president of the Progressive Policy Institute, a Democratic think tank.

But the main reason the candidates have ignored roads is probably cost. They haven't pushed expensive highway investments because the projects would require tax hikes.

"The only real option for transportation funding is to increase the federal gas tax," says Ledford of the Florida chamber. "I don't think you're going to see George W. Bush or any of the Democrats pushing for an increase in gas tax."

Some of the Democratic candidates have included highway money in their economic plans.

Rep. Richard Gephardt has proposed tapping the highway trust fund to get more money for roads, but spokesman Erik Smith said that plan is primarily focused on boosting the economy, not relieving congestion.

"For him, Job No. 1 is lifting this lagging economy," Smith said.

Florida Sen. Bob Graham has earmarked billions of dollars for highways in his "Build America" economic plan. Instead of using a gas tax, Graham wants to raise income taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

But as with Gephardt, highways are just one aspect of Graham's plan. It would also invest more for bridges, schools and water systems. A recent Graham news release was headlined, "Graham Calls for Millions in New Investments in Infrastructure for New Mexico" and only briefly mentioned his road plans.

Eric Schnurer, Graham's issues director, said the plan is intended primarily to stimulate the economy, so roads are just one of several areas for additional federal investment.

Callaway, the head of Floridians for Better Transportation, said elected officials and road-building advocates need to find jazzier ways to talk about roads and stop using words like infrastructure.

"We are not doing a good job of selling the product," he says.

Frank Luntz, a Republican political consultant, said in a report to highway advocates last year that road-building is "one of the few areas in which the public believes a dollar spent by government is a dollar well-invested."

Luntz advised them to use snappier lines that emphasize the safety benefits and time savings that everyone receives from better roads.

He suggested they use lines such as "It's not pork, it's not politics - it's a question of saving people's lives" and, "The American people should not waste their lives sitting in traffic jams. The American people have places to go and things to do."

- Bill Adair can be reached at 202 463-0575 or adair@sptimes.com

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright