Pete Buttigieg Stresses a 'Fix It First' Infrastructure Policy

[marmar]

(Bloomberg CityLab) U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is emphasizing a less-than-flashy item as a top priority for his national agenda: Fixing the country’s “maintenance backlog.”

“‘Fix it first,’ I think, is going to be a very important mantra for us,” he said in an interview at CityLab 2021, a virtual summit for urban leaders hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute. “It doesn't always have the same sizzle as adding something new, but the truth is we’ve got to be doing both.”

These comments add nuance to the secretary’s frequent emphasis on improving transportation systems through expanded high-speed rail, electric vehicle expansion and public transit, priorities he reiterated at the conference.

“Look, if there’s a need, we should meet it. And I’m a big believer when appropriate, especially when it comes to transit, but also of passenger rail, of adding resources that could make a difference,” he said, pointing to the lack of dedicated federal funding for railways as a reason that “Americans are being asked to settle for less” compared to other countries. ..........(more)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-02/pete-buttigieg-embraces-a-fix-it-first-approach?srnd=premium

[pansypoo53219]

1. awesome.

[LaMouffette]

2. Brilliant plan! But what else would you expect from Mayor Pete? He is, after all, a "Roads Scholar."

Sorry about that one! Getting a little punchy from too much work today. I think I need to step . . . away . . . from the computer!

[marmar]

3. OK. I won't call the bad pun police....this time.

[Deuxcents]

4. I agree

Why start with new projects when we need to fix the ones we have? One step will lead to new projects so don’t invent the wheel.. make our infrastructure safe n then expand. We have a lot of work to do n I support this approach

[WA-03 Democrat]

5. It's great he's starting with that attitude and objective

The last 4 years the mantra was “break it first”