On September 5, I attended the Kansas Transportation Summit
in Emporia, KS along with many of the state’s transportation leaders. The
summit was hosted by the Kansas Department of Transportation and Kansas
Turnpike Authority. Representatives from the states elected officials,
departments of transportation, consultants, contractors and municipalities all
attended and discussed different industry trends, funding and where we are
headed in the future as stakeholders of the state’s transportation network and
how it plays into economic development. Through the discussions, there were a
few themes that seemed to dominate the day.
The Urban vs. Rural
Debate: What should be the determining factor in how projects are funded in
the future? The theme seems to be that transportation projects that help boost
the state’s lagging economy will be higher on the priority list. This typically
means projects in urban areas will receive a higher priority as urban areas
generally attract the high employment companies. But, where does that leave the
rural areas? A large portion of Kansas’ economy relies on its agricultural base
and the transportation networks to these rural areas in the central and western
half of the state are incredibly important. There seems to be a large
deficiency in quality north-south highways that can move goods from Kansas to
Texas. This urban vs. rural debate will continue into the future as project
selection criteria continues to evolve.
More projects will
use toll revenue to fund: As funding continues to dry up for transportation
projects due to smaller gas tax revenues, tolling is increasingly being favored
as a means to fund projects. Several large projects are in the planning stages
at KDOT and as we begin to look at the state’s next large transportation bill,
I believe many of these projects will eventually be funded through the use of
new toll facilities. I’ve always been a proponent of user based fees so this
shift in philosophy is ok with me. The challenge here will lie in the fact that
many of these larger projects are facilities that move interstate traffic. Will
increased tolls cause interstate traffic to avoid entering the state? I don’t
believe so, not if the highways are picked strategically. More is definitely to
come on this shift in the project funding model.
The impending radical
change in how we drive: This by far was the neatest part of the conference
for me. Futurist Garry Golden spoke at lunch about the future of driving. Much
in the same way the mobile phone changed from a roaming phone line to a
computer in your pocket, the car will be the next to go through this revolution.
Society will move away from the “driver” concept and move towards the “captain”
concept. Through technology that Google is currently testing on roadways today,
cars are now driving themselves with GPS and radar technology. “Captains”
essentially sit in the car, tell it where to go and the car drives them there
at the precise speed that is posted for that roadway. There is no telling when
the day will come when society ultimately shifts to this new technology, but it
will have a drastic effect on the transportation industry. Capacity will be
incredibly increased if all vehicles are travelling at the same speed. Trucking
and freight will have greater reliability on times it reaches its destination.
It will be an incredible transition; I can’t wait to see it!
If you have any further questions on the summit or
transportation related issues, feel free to drop me a note at
jrlackey@transystems.com.
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