Transportation is at the heart of civil rights and equal opportunity

Transportation deeply shapes life opportunities in our communities. Our transportation options determine where we can (and can’t!) get a job, send our children to school, see a doctor, buy groceries, catch a show. Because it so critically shapes our access to opportunity, transportation justice has been an historical source of the civil rights movement.

How will the next $300-500 billion in federal transportation dollars land in our communities?

Right now, the federal transportation bill is being reauthorized in Congress. This bill will potentially send billions of federal dollars flowing to transportation projects in our neighborhoods across the country. TRPT is leading a legislative campaign to ensure that our communities’ civil rights are protected and equal opportunity is promoted when these federal dollars begin to flow.

• When a new road or a new transit service is built, do our communities receive a fair share of the benefits?
• Do we bear the unequal brunt of a project’s negative impacts?
• Do our communities have equal access to the jobs generated by a new project?
• Are cuts to transit services or increases in fares unjustly targeting or burdening our communities?

What do we want in the upcoming transportation act reauthorization?

We want to make sure of two things:

1. that federal transportation dollars reach our local communities quickly and efficiently
2. that all communities benefit from these investments so that nobody is unfairly left out.

Now more than ever Americans are relying on our roads and transit systems to participate in the economic recovery.

There are common sense rules currently on the books that guarantee equal opportunity and non-discrimination in federal spending. And we believe that when agencies play by these rules, project delivery is quicker, our communities are treated fairly, and we ensure transparency – which what taxpayers expect.

Problem #1: Our rights are at risk because existing civil rights regulations are being neglected

There is a backlog of civil rights complaints at the US Department of Transportation, impeding the ability of agencies to work with members of the public to resolve grievances. Between 2007 and 2009 the backlog doubled in size.

A recent investigation by US DOT revealed that many state highway agencies are not complying with longstanding obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights of 1964. It rated almost half of all state highway agencies “at risk” for inadequate Title VI compliance.

Problem #2: As a result of this accountability gap we are seeing unnecessary delays in transportation projects

In 2008, a new Twin Cities light rail line was planned to run without a single stop through a local minority business district. Neighborhoods of color and business owners were shocked. It took three lawsuits and intervention by the Federal Transit Administration to add stops to prevent those businesses and neighborhoods from being excluded from the opportunities of this transit investment.

Toward a legislative solution

We believe that a legislative solution should focus on 3 principles:

1. providing additional resources for agency enforcement and technical assistance on Title VI to close the accountability gap and get rid of the backlogs
2. supporting research and data-gathering that helps identify the obstacles to opportunity in transportation projects and that help generate new tools and solutions
3. enabling private enforcement so that citizens can enforce Title VI in court when egregious violations of civil rights occur

For more information, please contact

• Francisca Porchas, Labor/Community Strategy Center, at (213) 387-2800 or by email: info@transitriders.net
• Guillermo Mayer, Public Advocates, at (415) 431-7430 ext. 309 or by email: gmayer@publicadvocates.org