Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

The allure of misguided rhetoric doesn't discriminate between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. For every moment of questionable logic from one of the parties, a moment of good sense can usually be found.

micacommuterrail196f.jpgRep. John Mica (FL), senior GOPer on the House transportation panel (Photo: Orlando Sentinel)

So it's worth pointing to an op-ed published in The Hill today by Rep. John Mica (FL), the House transportation committee's senior Republican. While some of his GOP colleagues were mocking the Obama administration's high-speed rail plan, Mica was offering a substantive critique of the stimulus plan as an insufficient investment in infrastructure.

Mica continues on that note today, lamenting the dense federal bureaucracy that often forces lengthy delays in transport projects. He suggested taking the 437-day reconstruction of Minnesota's I-35 bridge, which collapsed in 2007, as a model for future infrastructure timelines:

Cutting red tape and the inordinate amount of time it takes to getshovels into the ground to build projects will save money. Thesesavings can be invested in other critical projects. Instead of throwingmoney into a bureaucratic black hole, we can invest more in ourcrumbling infrastructure and sooner realize the benefits of a safer,more efficient transportation system.

Mica also makes a healthy break from the politically safe line on funding for the next federal transportation bill, describing the gas tax not as off limits to increase -- as the White House has -- but wholly "obsolete." And it's not often that Republicans use the clause in the middle of this Mica sentence:

We should not be spending a decade on projects that can be completed, without trampling over the environment, in a year or two.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Are Driverless Big Rigs a Good Idea?

What will automated trucks really mean for America?

May 30, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Have a Future

But these freeways shouldn't, according to the Congress for New Urbanism.

May 30, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Bike Guides to Build Your City

Bill Schultheiss on AASHTO and NACTO bike lane design guides, the importance of history, political will and the stress of being an expert witness in court.

May 29, 2025

Outrage Grows Over NYPD Bike Criminalization, But City Council Is In No Rush

Many members of the New York City Council want Speaker Adrienne Adams to act to protect immigrant cyclists from the NYPD, but she doesn't want to.

May 29, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Live to Fight Another Day

Congestion pricing won a major court victory that suggests it's here to stay, and could eventually open the door for other cities to follow New York's lead.

May 29, 2025

Duffy Tells Congress He’s Not Delaying DOT Projects — As He Delays DOT Projects

Thousands of federal transportation grants remain in limbo as the Trump administration cuts staff and cracks down on DEI, bike lanes and environmental rules.

May 29, 2025
See all posts