AAA To Back 'Fix Our Roads' Campaign

AAA, the highway safety and travel organization with more than 325,000 members in Oklahoma, said today it will announce on Monday its support and endorsement of the “Fix Our Roads – Be F.O.R. It!” campaign of the T.R.U.S.T. (Transportation Revenues Used Strictly for Transportation) Coalition. AAA will urge lawmakers to not neglect their promise to adequately fund transportation.

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TRUST Says Voters Prefer Road Work

The Transportation Revenues Used Strictly For Transportation (TRUST) Coalition, in a follow-up to Governor Henry's proposed FY 2009 budget, today released fresh polling data showing when faced with competing budget priorities, 43% of voters opted for speeding up road and bridge funding over a $2,000 across-the-board teacher pay raise.

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TRUST Poll: Public Views Roads, Bridges As Unsafe

The Transportation Revenues Used Strictly for Transportation (TRUST) road coalition today released a statewide survey of 400 registered voters showing a significant portion of Oklahomans believe the state’s roads and bridges are unsafe.

They expressed near universal demand for elected officials to significantly increase road and bridge funding by using more of Oklahoma’s $600 million in motor vehicle fees to provide for the repair and maintenance of the state’s infrastructure.

The most compelling results of the poll included: 63% of Oklahomans think it’s just a matter of time before a similar incident to the recent bridge collapse in Minnesota happens in Oklahoma; Close to 1/3 of voters say the feel unsafe when driving on Oklahoma roads; 92% of voters say the legislature should spend more on roads; 81% agree the legislature should use Oklahoma’s existing motor vehicle fees to dramatically increase funding, with 63% strongly agreeing with this; Road funding is not a partisan issue among voters, among the most supportive of increased funding are senior citizens, a critical voting bloc for any politician; Increasing road and bridge funding is the most important issue facing the state – more than jobs, crime, illegal immigration, education or healthcare.

Pollster Pat McFerron of Cole Hargrave Snodgrass And Associates, who conducted the poll on behalf of TRUST said, “Voters have reached a tipping point and have shifted from wanting to complain about our state’s infrastructure to truly expecting action and answers.”

TRUST co-chairman and spokesperson, Kell Kelly, chief executive officer of SpiritBank, said, “Oklahoma's elected officials are making significant strides in the right direction. But we have major hurdles that may prevent us from achieving meaningful progress in making roads safer. When you look at Kingfisher and flood damage statewide, it will be an astronomical number that will cut directly into our state’s road maintenance plan. In fact, prior to the flood damage, we already had a $9 billion backlog in needed road repairs and bridge replacements.”

TRUST president Neal McCaleb said, “Our crumbling infrastructure not only hampers our image and holds back our economy, it puts Oklahoma families in danger. Minnesota is a four-alarm wake up call to what will happen if we don’t move quickly to increase significantly our investment in the state's infrastructure.”

“The only way to meaningfully reduce the $9 billion in needed road repairs and bridge replacements is to use more of the $1.2 billion in road taxes and fees Oklahomans already pay each year to fix roads. This poll shows Oklahomans agree with that. They want their transportation revenues to be used strictly for transportation,” said Kelly.

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