Fixing a $1.4 Trillion Problem: Smarter Land Use for Safer Streets

Roger is the former secretary of transport at Washington State Department of Transport. He’s Currently serving as a strategic advisor based on expertise in transportation, land use, and the environment guides public, private, and not-for-profit organizations towards innovative and sustainable solutions. With a vision anchored in economic vitality, environmental stewardship, and access to opportunity, Rogers efforts are modeled on successes like the Innovative DOT initiative, the National Complete Streets Coalition, the Portland Streetcar and the Glenwood Springs to Aspen Bus Rapid Transit system, setting benchmarks for mobility nationwide.

As the Secretary of Transportation at the Washington State Department of Transportation from 2016 to 2025, Roger’s leadership was defined by a commitment to resilience, sustainability, and teamwork, overseeing a $5 billion annual budget and a team of 7,600. He and his team ensured the seamless operation of Washington's multimodal transport system, operating, maintaining, preserving, and improving roads, bridges, ferries, railways, and public transit, and reinforcing the economic and social fabric of communities.

What you’ll learn:

• The importance of balancing maintenance and expansion – Investing in existing infrastructure ensures reliability and public trust
• The hidden costs of congestion vs. crashes – While congestion is a well-known problem, crashes cost the economy significantly more, yet receive less funding and attention.
• Multimodal planning and transit-oriented development – Cities benefit from shifting away from car-centric development toward integrated land-use and transportation strategies that prioritise active travel modes
• Data-driven decision-making in transport – Effective advocacy requires facts that resonate with decision-makers and the public.

Quotes:

"If you're not taking care of the billions, billions of dollars of infrastructure that the public's already paid for, you really don't put yourself in a good position to ask them for more money to build more stuff."

"The economy doesn’t run on the infrastructure that you wish you had. The economy runs on the infrastructure that everybody takes for granted every day."

"People who want change need the data, need the facts, need the sound bites when they go and talk to their elected officials."

"The bright, shiny object is always popular, but fixing what we have should come first."

"We’ve spent a lot of money to solve congestion, but crashes cost Washington state’s economy five times more. Yet, that’s not where the funding goes."

"The cost of congestion in the U.S. is $200 billion a year. The cost of crashes? $1.4 trillion. That’s seven times what the entire country spends on transportation."

Links:

Byte Size on Apple Podcasts

Connect:

Connected with Roger via Linkedin

Connect with Emily via email: emily@compassiot.com.au

Connect with Byte Size via LinkedIn