The Miller Center of Public Affairs held the inaugural David R. Goode National Transportation Policy Conference entitled "Beyond Stimulus: Toward a New Transportation Agenda for America" from September 9-11, 2009.

This policy conference of recognized experts, co-chaired by former Secretaries of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta and Samuel K. Skinner, was convened in order to facilitate, at a critical time, original and necessary thinking about the financing, governance, and management of America’s transportation infrastructure.

Three years ago, Americans celebrated the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Interstate Highway System - one of the proudest achievements of Twentieth Century America. Our pride was tempered, however, by conspicuous evidence of our transportation system’s steady deterioration, and its diminishing capacity to support America’s economic growth. Before the onset of the recession, bottlenecks in all transport modes had begun to compromise both the quality of people’s lives and America’s global competitiveness. Today, the transportation system’s deficiencies will almost certainly impede the pace of economic recovery.

What’s needed is nothing less than a fundamental overhaul of America’s transportation policies and programs.

While these conclusions have been the subject of a broad consensus among transportation policy thinkers for some time, and despite the growing prominence of transport infrastructure as a central element in the stimulus effort, Congress has been unwilling to treat transportation program reform as a front-burner issue.

The conference report, titled "Well Within Reach: America's New Transportation Agenda," provides a credible agenda to guide the legislative process and offers lasting value to the discussion of the future of our transportation systems.