ICT participates in the BGA-SJR whiteboard: Gender equity, tech and transportation

On Dec. 5, 2018, the Better Government Association and the State Journal-Register hosted a panel in commemoration of Illinois’ bicentennial at the Wyndham in Springfield, Illinois.

The panel, centered on Gender Equity, Tech and Transportation, featured experts from each topic.

The transportation panel, “The Future of Transportation in Illinois” included Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn; Lindsay Hollander, a senior policy analyst with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning; and Dr. Imad Al-Qadi, director of the Illinois Center on Transportation and the University of Illinois Smart Transportation Infrastructure Initiative. State Journal-Register Editor, Angie Muhs, moderated the panel discussion.

Panelists stressed the importance of investing in Illinois’ transportation network in order to attract economic opportunities to the area and build communities. Secretary Blankenhorn called for an increase of at least 15 cents in the state gas tax in order to meet that need, noting that the tax had not been increased since 1990. However, Hollander said that as energy efficiency increases, gas tax revenues will continue to decrease, signaling a need for innovative transportation funding strategies such as the introduction of freight usage taxes.

Additionally, Dr. Al-Qadi discussed the future of mobility in Illinois that includes driverless vehicles and high-functioning drones to help meet consumer needs through package delivery. He indicated that autonomous vehicles, if addressed safely, have the potential to reduce congestion, reduce fuel consumption and emissions into the environment, and ultimately enhance Illinois’ mobility, infrastructure, connectivity, and sustainability. He introduced an existing collaboration among the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Chicago, Northwestern, Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois Autonomous Vehicles Association, and industry partners to develop an autonomous and connected track at the former Chanute Air Force Base. The vision of the track is to provide space to develop, pilot, and test the next generation of transportation engineering innovations and prepare them for broad deployment. Blankenhorn agreed on the need to be a leader in this field and noted that he had met with three universities in November to further this vision.

The interactive panel featured an artist creating a whiteboard word cloud to highlight the overarching concepts presented by the panelists. All panelists promoted the development of cohesive transportation visions and strategies that support such visions by viewing Illinois’ infrastructure in a holistic manner. These kinds of conversations, they said, can positively impact the future of Illinois by providing platforms for collaborative planning as well as the ability to raise the profile of critical transportation issues that particularly impact disconnected communities and vulnerable populations in the state to grow the state’s economy. If we want to build our communities, attract new people who can contribute to those communities, and fund governments then we need to invest in transportation infrastructure, the panelists said.