We can Change our World One VOTE at a time

Mike Alford, recently appointed to the NC DOT came to Sneads Ferry on May 25th 2010 to bring us up to date on some issues of local road construction. Mr. Alford, representing the 3rd Division on NC, pointed out that 17 of the 18 seats on the Board are now filled, with one at-large rural seat remaining. He opened his remarks by telling us that the DOT Board is taking new directions in transportation reform and resource allocation with emphasis on safety, mobility and infrastructure health. Alford remarked that the historical 7-year plan was obsolete, overprogrammed and underfunded. 62% of programmed projects were funded and are currently being completed. With fresh perspective and reorganizing of priorities, the new 5-year strategy is expecting 95% realistic funding.

Locally, with the growth experienced around Camp Lejeune, Marine Special Operations Command and New River, we are seeing predicted but unsatisfactorily planned for increases in local Stump Sound traffic burdens relative to operations and dependent relocation in this area through to Hampstead and Wilmington. While it is anticipated some of the burden may be relieved when the new gate opens on the North side of Camp Lejeune, this community's infrastructure requires immediate and long-term consideration.

Statewide funding is required for about $9Billion in need over the next 5 years. So far, only $1.5 Bil has been identified as source of revenue. Hence, the Board truly needs BEST available date to evaluate needs. Alford commented that the NC Secretary of Transoortation would be in Jacksonville, and visiting Camp Lejeune within days. Many of us made a point of addressing our concerns to the Secretary, as did General Jensen and Joe Ramirez, Marine Corps liaison to Onslow.

Troop Expectations: The predicted 11,477 has been inflated SO FAR to 14,400.

Good news: Piney Green was a project planned to be completed in 2 phases. Now single funding ($50Mil) has been allocated and the project is added to the Transportation Improvement Plan.

DATA driven analysis: Vehicle counts of 2008 in Sneads Ferry on HWY 172 tracked 17,000 vehicles crossing through 4-corners. Of those, CLJ accounted for 7,600. Verification, update is needed on this data.

Plans are underway:

·       12-15 months Feasibility Study is now beginning to determine construction requirements for widening HWY172/HYW210.

·       Stone Bay traffic signal is fast-tracked, and now installed as of this writing. The base is paying for that installation.

·       HWY 210 is being widened 3 feet on each side with a 2 ft paved shoulder.

·       A Right-Turn lane from HWY172 to HWY210 is moving forward with construction targeted for this fall.

·       Recent surveys of traffic led to slowing down of speed limits on HWY 172 to 45mph.

Intergovernmental funding is critical for the Feasibility Study completion and infrastructure funding. We need to address strategic plans and requirements for troop movement, hurricane or tsunami evacuation. MARSOC, SOCOMM and Department of Navy all have skin in this game and should be major contributors. Mobility funding dollars should also be requested and projected with respect to the GTP/Lejeune corridor infrastructure planning.

Our DOT Division engineer, Alan Pope also remarked he is pressing for expedition of the Feasibility study. We did address that the Marine Corps can probably provide concrete evidences of needs with respect to population increases. Has their population seen increases in domestic violence, PTSD, suicide rates, base related MVA's (all growth-related stress indicators)?

We requested that the engineer consider posting website traffic warnings, place signage on HWY172 suggesting alternate routes along off-routes, and that HWY 210 be slowed to 45mph from the high-rise bridge consistently past North Shore and the mini-golf course/commercial section.

This meeting was productive and informative. As expected, the wheels turn slowly, and we were reminded that the squeaky one gets the grease. We as a community need to become skilled at providing data to DOT in such fashion that they hear us.

NC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM SELECTION PROCESS IS ANTIQUATED

North Carolina, and particularly our neighborhoods have suffered historically from poor roads, heavy congestion and inadequate planning for future growth. In Onslow County, as we all know, the Highway 17 ByPass never really by-passed very much. A recent study on North Carolina's roads system estimates residents WASTE $5.7 BILLION per year in lost time, fuel and vehicle repairs. Congestion relief alone could offer positive economic impact of as much as $850 million.

On April 6th 2010, Joseph Coletti, Director of the John Locke Health and Fiscal Policy Studies team presented recommendations to improve funding allocations and stop wasteful spending on non-productive State Roads Projects. Road-related economic losses could be dramatically changed by changing the weay NC funds transportation I endorse these recommendations:

• Remove geography from funding allocations and replace it with a formula that evaluates projects, comparing every individual project head-to-head across the state.
• Refocus on Stewardship rather than Ribbon-Cutting ceremonies: Maintaining roads needs to be our first priority, not the last. New construction with very low cost effectiveness like Marc Basnight's Road to Nowhere have stolen our tax dollars that should have been used to maintain bridges like our own Phillips Bridge, plus many other more cost-effective projects.
• Do NOT seek new revenue sources for additional funding. Currently, NC has one of the highest fuel taxes in a 5-state region and if we consider additional user taxes, industry will search other states to take their business.
• Road funding has increased almost 20% since 2002, yet maintenance and repairs have fallen behind. Because we have neglected maintenance, the roads system now has deficient bridges and poor road surfaces, forcing local users to detour from current systems and waste valuable time. We need to "live with less" for a while .
•  Transportation Improvement Program should be more closely managed  to avoid over-optimistic projects, adding too many projects, and undedrstqating costs of projects.
• Prevent DOT from using existing fund formulas for too restrictiv ely blocking worthwhile projects.
• Restructure the Board of Transportation so that it becomes a Policy-Setting group with fewer members. The members should be charged with setting the vision for the State's transportation system, but not with approiving individual projects.

As Coletti so wel states; "More money is not the only issue, or even the most important issue. Spending what we have wisely is the key, by acting to delay or delete funding for those most cost-inefficient projects and moving that money into maintenance needs.

."Hey, did anyone see the great new video about ACT for America being the largest grassroots national security movement in America? It will knock your socks off! 5 stars for me." Here is the link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk4E-B5LDkw

Better Priorities for America

• Health Care Reform: Instead of introducing a massive government-run health care plan, Congress should consider alternatives that give families control of their health care by making insurance plans portable, reform the tax system to allow the same tax incentives for all insurance purchasers, and deliver real competition through innovative state-based solutions.
• Budget Reform: Instead of higher taxes and a second stimulus, President Obama should embrace real tax and entitlement reform by lowering business taxes, permanently repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax, reducing individual tax rates, and introducing serious Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security reform so future generations aren't buried in excessive debt.
• Our Nation's Defense: The world remains a dangerous place, populated with rogue states and terrorist organizations that pose an imminent threat to our nation. Instead of cutting defense spending, the Administration should restore missile defense funding and maintain a minimum defense budget of 4% of GDP for the next 10 years, not including war funding.

Talking points acqired from the Heritage Foundation

Pro-life, I stand for the Christian principles of marriage for one man and one woman and I concur with our need for a "fetal homicide law" in this state to protect unborn innocents from crime. I will keep the Constitution  as my foundation for all law and our Bible the foundation for all moral decisions.

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Email me at tracey@Tracey-Miller.com