AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg offered a glimpse of the direction he wants to lead American transportation during a keynote session at the SXSW Online festival. This conversation comes a little more than one month after the former South Bend, Indiana Mayor was confirmed as U.S. Transportation Secretary.
Buttigieg’s session Thursday was introduced by Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer at SXSW. Forrest noted among the several U.S. presidential candidates who spoke at SXSW in 2019, Buttigieg was “the breakout star from this crowded field of candidates.”
During the actual session which was broadcast live, MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart asked Buttigieg about his transportation vision for the country. The transportation secretary emphasized his desire to address climate change and reduce emissions, to make transportation more equitable and to work to improve types of transportation that don’t require a car, like high-speed rail.
Buttigieg told Capehart he feels many of the transportation investments the country needs immediately are fixes and improvements to the systems we already have.
“I know this is probably heresy in Texas, there are are some things that need to be reduced,” he commented. “Sometimes roads need to be widened; sometimes roads need to go on a diet.”
“There is a cost of ownership for every spare inch of pavement, and we should be adding and subtracting to that,” he continued.
Buttigieg spent a great deal of time talking about the role transportation has in curbing U.S. emissions.
“We have to make sure our vehicles are cleaner, greener and safer, and that people have alternatives to getting into vehicles at all,” he said, adding some spaces around the country where roads are now may need to be reclaimed for other types of transportation.
Capehart asked Buttigieg: if he could have one “pie-in-the-sky” wish for U.S. transportation come true, what would it be?
Buttigieg answered his ideal would be for every form of transportation Americans use to have the same level of emissions as riding a bicycle.
As he tossed around ideas, Buttigieg suggested high-speed rail could connect all the major cities in Texas. By adding more rail access to our existing transportation options, Buttigieg made the case that “we would be a more economically-connected country.” But he acknowledged he can’t make those rail changes alone and will need the support of local and state leaders to make that a reality.
The transportation secretary said it is past time for the country to have a forward-thinking infrastructure plan.
“The last administration kept getting our hopes up for something big to happen in infrastructure and it never did,” Buttigieg said. “I think we are close to the beginning of what I am gonna call infrastructure season, and if we do it right, this is gonna be an infrastructure decade, because there is so much demonstrated need.”
He believes America is at the brink of a “once-a-century” type opportunity to make massive improvements in transportation, something he said the country hasn’t seen the likes of since President Eisenhower’s work on the Interstate Highway System.
Austin area leaders say they have already made Buttigieg aware of the high-capacity transit plan known as Project Connect and are hopeful the Biden administration will invest in that effort.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler has been a friend of Buttigieg’s for years. The two actually met on a trip to Norway with former U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
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