Some of you may have heard about SAFTEA-LU and may recall the story that made it famous. For the uninformed, SAFTEA-LU stands for “The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users” and was signed into law in 2005. The legislation is up for reauthorization in 2009 and funds projects that are designed to improve and maintain the transportation infrastructure of the nation.
Congressman Higgins knows about this piece of legislation and is not standing idly by while it comes up to the chopping block. Higgins is going to be meeting with Congressman Jerry Nadler – the senior New York member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which Higgins is also a part of. Together, they will be holding a Transportation Priorities meeting to explore the ways in which this legislation could benefit WNY.
The meeting is Monday, August 11 at 10:30 AM in the Medaille College Lecture Hall at 18 Agassiz Circle and features a list of prominent leaders from the area. The meeting will focus on the needs of the WNY region in the hopes of advancing federal investment in projects for the future transportation needs of the communities here.
The day kicks of with a welcome by Mayor Brown and a presentation by NYS Department of Transportation Commissioner Astrid Glynn. Transportation and elected leaders from Erie, Chautauqua, and Niagara counties will then participate in a panel discussion. Anyone can attend to watch the list of panelists below debate this important issue:
+Erie County Executive Chris Collins
+Larry Meckler, Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
+Hal Morse, Greater Buffalo-Niagara Regional Transportation Council
+Tom DeSantis, Niagara Falls Senior Planner
+Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul
+Niagara County Legislator Renae Kimble
+Erie County Legislator Robert Reynolds
+Assemblyman Sam Hoyt
+Town of Hanover Supervisor Katherine Tampio
+Town of Somerset Supervisor Richard J. Meyers
+Wally Smith, Chair of Transportation Council
+Gladys Gifford, Citizens Regional Transit Corporation
+Bruce Becker, Empire State Passengers Association
+Donald Rychnowski, Southern Tier West RPD
+Kelley Dixon, Center for Transportation Excellence
+Kassie Janicki, Transportation Information Clearinghouse
+Maria Lehman, Transportation Systems
+Bob Skerker, Robinson Home Products
+Len DePrima, Fair Apportionment of Infrastructure Revenue (FAIR) Organization