Head Of Philadelphia Area Planning Group Weighs In On Trump Talk On Transportation
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- President Trump's recent take on transportation funding is getting some in the Philadelphia region who feel the federal government needs to be heavily invested in projects a little nervous.
Barry Seymour is executive director of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. He says the Trump administration's preliminary plan briefly outlined in the president's State of the Union speech is really just that.
"It's too soon to panic, so, this is an early draft that we've seen," Seymour said. "We'll wait and see what the final plan is before we start to make any changes or take a different approach to any of the projects."
Seymour says one of the planks of the plan stresses forming more public-private partnerships to pay for projects.
"A public-private partnership works well where the private sector can make a profit," he said. "So, whether that's a toll road or toll bridge or something where they can get a revenue stream back that's where they're going to be interested."
He says most of the work in this region is bridge and road rehabilitation and reconstruction. And, unless money can be made off those, the private sector isn't likely to invest in them.