Not So Fast, Mary -- Pres. Bush on Line 1

Just when she thought she could settle into life in the private sector, President Bush nominated Mary Peters to replace the retiring Norman Mineta as secretary of transportation.  Mary was the former federal highway administrator, stepping down a little over a year ago.  She was also a former director of AZ DOT (and a coworker and friend of Utah's own Mr. Transportation, Tom Warne).

Here's a little excerpt from the DNews article:

Peters said that if confirmed, she would try to improve a transportation infrastructure that is showing signs of aging.

"We are experiencing increasing congestion on our nation's highways, railways, airports and seaports and we're robbing our nation of productivity and our citizens of quality time with their families," Peters said. "In some cases this is the result of systems and structures that are more suited to a bygone era than to the 21st century."

Peters is an advocate of user fees, or tolls, for building new highways. In a recent interview, she said that the federal highway program will run out of money by decade's end without substantial changes and, rather than raise taxes, some states are turning to toll roads already to fill gaps.

"You just can't depend on the federal government to bring the money in that was around when the interstate system was first built," Peters said.
(Bush picks former highway administrator as next Transportation secretary)

Based on Mary's comments, you can see why Utah has been taking proactive steps to shift our transportation policies in a forward-thinking manner.  With the highway trust fund scheduled to go bankrupt before 2010, it's important for states to address their transportation needs without heavy dependence on the federal governments.  Times are changing and strong leadership is needed.  Mary Peters is a great choice.