Eliot Cutler on Environment

Helped Senator Ed Muskie craft the Clean Air Act

More bus services, dedicated HOV lanes, and bike routes

A: Our transportation goal should be moving more people and more goods at lower costs and with fewer environmental impacts. New bus services, dedicated lanes for high-occupancy vehicles and buses, bike routes, and sidewalks along existing roads can typically all be obtained for less than 1/10 of the cost of a typical road widening. The last decade has brought exciting success stories for rail transportation in Maine, notably the intermodal facility in Auburn and the return of passenger rail service to Maine. State investments in new or expanded transportation systems--whether roads, passenger or freight rail, buses or other modes--need to meet a cost-effectiveness test and need to be compared with alternatives where the analysis takes into account not only the economic costs and benefits of the alternatives, but also the environmental costs and benefits.