Editorial: 5 hot topics with Ray LaHood

(Original source Cincinnati.com) 

Ray LaHood, U.S. transportation secretary from 2009-2013, is traveling the country pitching his federal highway funding proposal. He is a former Illinois Republican congressman and is currently a co-chair of the non-profit Building America’s Future. He visited The Enquirer’s editorial board on Monday to talk highways, streetcars, bridges and getting things done (or not) in Washington, D.C.

On Cincinnati’s streetcar: “I’m very happy your streetcar is going to be running in about a year. … I know the criticism: walking and biking paths, streetcars, transit – why should that come out of the so-called transportation bill? Because people use it. Every light rail, every streetcar, has surpassed the ridership that was ever projected. Why? Because some people don’t want to own a car, particularly people that live in Chicago or Atlanta, that can’t afford it or whatever, and they’d rather use public transportation. Streetcars are part of the overall mix. is it a big part? No, it’s not. But it is a part of it.”

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