TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

I'm opposed to this as the cost of living in southern Maine is already too high. I can't even afford an apartment. Pretty soon I'll be living under a bridge.....

Please note that I fully support Maine's need to update its transportation system to address the pressing problem of climate change, among other reasons. Our outdated transportation system is Maine’s largest source of climate pollution—and it doesn’t even meet the needs of Maine people.
Maine people deserve clean, modern, affordable transportation options that deliver economic, health, and climate benefits to local communities.
It makes sense for Maine to work with neighboring states through TCI’s bipartisan, proven policy model.

Sincerely,

Catherine Lee

Our outdated transportation system is Maine’s largest source of climate pollution—and it doesn’t even meet the needs of Maine people.
Maine people deserve clean, modern, affordable transportation options that deliver economic, health, and climate benefits to local communities.
It makes sense for Maine to work with neighboring states through TCI’s bipartisan, proven policy model.

Please develop a low carbon emissions plan for the transportation industry. Our future survival depends on making these types of changes.
Robert Warrington

Not good for Maine or the people that live here. It's already hard enough for the working people of maine to make ends meet, this just adds another financial burden for a problem that doesn't exist in our state.

I support all public transportation going green. There is no time to waste, when considering and preparing for our childrens' futures.

Our outdated transportation system is Maine’s largest source of climate pollution—and it doesn’t even meet the needs of Maine people.Maine people deserve clean, modern, affordable transportation options that deliver economic, health, and climate benefits to local communities.It makes sense for Maine to work with neighboring states through TCI’s bipartisan, proven policy model.

As a Maine resident, I am worried about the threats to our state and citizens from climate change such as sea level rise and air pollution. Our transportation system is old, dirty and inefficient, and it is the largest source of climate emissions and health-damaging localized air pollution in Maine. Moreover, the money that Mainers spend on oil and gas ($5 billion) goes to the fossil fuel corporations outside of the state, not benefitting our economy.
I applaud Gov. Mills's participation in the Transportation and Climate Initiative regional design process. I am delighted that this is a bipartisan effort and hope that the latest scientific advances are included in the planning. Rural Maine does not have much in the way of public transportation, so most rely on driving themselves or asking for transport help from friends, thereby adding to the amount of vehicular pollution and wear and tear on the roads. More public transportation options such as electric buses or trollies, safer and more options for cyclists and walkers, incentives for the purchase and charging of electric vehicles - all of these would be healthy and equitable improvements for our citizens, while retaining monies for our state economy. An increased use of internet access to enable patients to attend appointments remotely would help, too. We certainly do not want to hurt the low income folks in our state in the process of trying to fight climate change; they are suffering enough already.

It's imperative that America's states and nation need to begin the development of far more environmentally responsible transportation alternatives. America is clearly falling far behind many other similar industrialized nations in the world in this respect; that's especially true for long-haul mass transit. America's high-speed rail system is archaic compared to that of most countries in Europe and Asia. Americans should not be flying between cities that are 1,000 miles or so distant from each other. Given all the delays associated with flying, high speed rail would likely get New Yorkers to Chicago sooner by rail than flying and potentially at much less cost and environmental impact. And like Europe, America should be creating cities that are essentially traffic free. And all this should be accomplished utilizing non fossil fuel burning vehicles as any efforts at improving our nation is doomed in the long term if something isn't done soon to reverse the impacts of global warming. And with respect to Global Warming, I question whether scientists are considering the fact that by humans simply wrapping the world in black asphalt roads and parking lots which hold and retain heat since the early 1900s; along with having built tens of thousands of cities with large buildings which also retain heat; all of which has made it harder for earth to return to the latent overnight temperatures of pre industria- age values, isn't also contributing to global warming; and that something needs to be done soon to reduce the heat retaining effects of our roads, bridges, large buildings and other structures whose retained heat has served to gradually increase earth's daytime temperatures because the latent temperatures in the morning have gradually in and of themselves been rising. It just seems common sense that if we started with an essentially prestine world almost devoid of large buildings and roads at the end of the 1800s and since then have added millions of heat retaining structures (roads, bridges, buildings, etc) not to mention heat spewing factories, large ocean liners, etc., that just these structures and other heat retaining/spewing objects that their presence alone would gradually cause the atmosphere's latent temperature to rise over time - forgetting all about the increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere.