The Transportation & Climate Initiative Program Will Save Lives, Improve Air Quality While Providing Critical Funding for States’ Transportation Systems

HARTFORD, CT – June 15, 2021 – Our Transportation Future issued the following statement today:

“The Our Transportation Future (OTF) coalition, representing thousands of residents in Connecticut and other eastern states, is strongly encouraged by Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia’s progress toward adopting the regional TCI program to reduce vehicular pollution and fund transportation investments.

Despite the Connecticut General Assembly's failure to take up TCI-P authorizing legislation in today’s special legislative session, Governor Ned Lamont and a majority of state lawmakers remain committed to advancing the program and still have multiple opportunities to adopt TCI-P authorizing legislation before the program is set to formally launch in January 2023.

 The worsening crises of transportation breakdowns, climate change, and toxic air pollution demand immediate action by our state leaders. Families in Hartford, Fairfield, and New Haven Counties breathe some of the worst air in the country for ozone pollution, according to the American Lung Association. Transportation pollution prematurely killed 367 Connecticut residents in 2016, according to a recent study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Do Connecticut state lawmakers stand for reducing vehicular pollution and addressing climate change, or do they stand with fossil fuel suppliers and industry lobbyists? The TCI Program means less congestion, less pollution, fewer early deaths, and more transportation options to connect our families, including those in underserved and overburdened cities and rural areas.”

Recent polling found that nearly 7 in 10 Connecticut voters support the program as a way to grow good-paying jobs and rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the TCI program is expected to save participating states billions of dollars in transportation pollution related health costs over the course of the program’s implementation according to modeling by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

In addition to the ongoing effort to advance TCI-P in Connecticut, lawmakers and agency staff in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia are still moving forward with steps to implement the program in 2023.

Our Transportation Future is a coalition of 77 local, regional, and national organizations committed to modernizing transportation in the Eastern U.S. OTF is focused on improving our transportation system -- the ways we move people and goods in the region – to spur economic growth, make us healthier and safer, clean up the environment, and improve our quality of life. 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Alex Frank, (703) 276-3264, [email protected]; 

OTF members include:  A Better City, Acadia Center, Alliance for Business Leadership, Appalachian Mountain Club, Center for Sustainable Energy, Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, Ceres, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Chispa Maryland, Clean Air Council, Clean Water Action, Climate Group, Climate Law and Policy Project, Climate XChange, Connecticut Fund for the Environment / Save the Sound, Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs, ConnPIRG, East Coast Greenway Alliance, Energize Maryland, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), Energize Maryland, Environment America, Environment Connecticut, Environment Massachusetts, Environment Maryland, Environment Maine, Environment New Hampshire, Environment New Jersey, Environment New York, Environment Rhode Island, Environment Virginia, Environmental Advocates of New York, Environmental League of Massachusetts, Greater Prince William Climate Action Network, Green Energy Consumers Alliance, Green For All, Health Care Without Harm, the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Maine Conservation Voters, Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Maryland PIRG, Massachusetts Climate Action Network, Massachusetts Public Health Association, MassINC Gateway Cities Innovation Institute, MassPIRG, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Natural Resources Council of Maine, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), The Nature Conservancy, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, New Jersey Sustainable Business Council, New York League of Conservation Voters, New Yorkers for Clean Power, NHPIRG, NJPIRG, Northeast Clean Energy Council, PennEnvironment, Philadelphia Solar Energy Association, Rail Passengers Association, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Save the Sound, Southern Environmental Law Center, Transport Hartford Academy at the Center for Latino Progress, Transportation for America, Transportation for Massachusetts, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Union of Concerned Scientists, U.S. PIRG, Vermont Conservation Voters, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Vermont Natural Resources Council, and 350 MASS for A Better Future.