[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 92 (Monday, July 17, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H6056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LIVABLE COMMUNITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Blumenauer) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, the Federal Government has no greater 
priority than to be a good partner to promote livable communities.
  The morning paper carried a story about another independent study to 
chart the ecological vital signs of our national park systems.
  Madam Speaker, I think this is an important area to pose attention 
to, first, because it shows how the Federal Government can lead by 
example, and, second, it serves as a powerful refutation that somehow 
the United States, being a huge and wealthy Nation, does not have to 
worry about things like sprawl and congestion, unplanned growth and 
loss of farmland, that we just pave more, continue to expand, create 
more of whatever land we wish of farm, housing or roads.
  Madam Speaker, it is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland's experience 
with the Mad Hatter's tea party. ``Yes, that's it'' said the Hatter 
with a sigh, ``it's always tea time and we've no time to wash the 
things between whiles.''
  ``Then you keep moving round, I suppose?'' said Alice.
  ``Exactly so,'' said the Hatter, ``as the things get used up.''
  ``But what happens when you come to the beginning again?'' Alice 
ventured to ask.
  ``Suppose we change the subject,'' the March Hare interrupted, 
yawning. ``I'm getting tired of this. I vote the young lady tells us a 
story.''
  Our tea party with the built and natural environment is not solved 
with more stories. We are going to have to face realities in our mature 
cities, small town America, fraying suburbs, even in our national 
parks. There are limits to the strains we can put on the land in our 
transportation systems.
  The numbers are staggering in our national parks and other federally-
managed sites. In 1997, over 370 million visitors increasingly jammed 
on clogged parking lots, jammed highways, fragile and irreplaceable 
resources suffering damage from too many vehicles and too many people. 
Nearby gateways communities are also negatively impacted by 
trafficking, decreased air quality, but there is a new trend in 
thinking about how we solve these problems.
  Part of the TEA-21 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
called for a coordination and study between the Department of 
Transportation and the Secretary of the Interior. They have already 
produced recommendations for public transportation services at 128 
sites that will enhance the visitor experience and protect the 
environment.
  Madam Speaker, this new broach to transportation has already produced 
tangible results in a number of areas.
  The Zion National Park in Utah, which has suffered from severe 
congestion, gridlock and destruction of natural resources, has helped 
to implement a new program, a shuttle bus system initiated in May of 
this year helps protect the fragile natural resources and protect 
visitors away as they visit from the canyon and provide services to the 
gateway community of Springdale.
  The National Park Service has proposed a light rail transit system 
for the south rim of the Grand Canyon. It will allow visitors to leave 
their cars outside the park and ride the light rail train to a canyon 
view information plaza, there they can view exhibits, ride 
alternatively-fueled vehicles and hike along the canyon's rim. 
Construction has already begun on the information plaza in April, and 
the light rail system is expected to be in place by the spring of 2004.
  It is also a priority to reduce traffic congestion in the Yosemite 
National Park. It is already implemented a 2-year demonstration program 
for a regional transportation system that would allow visitors to leave 
their cars outside the park and travel by shuttle bus into and around 
the Yosemite Valley.
  Together activities like this will reduce reliance on private 
automobiles for visitors, allow for sustainable use and enjoyment of 
our public lands, improve the livability and quality of life in nearby 
communities, and allow visitors to better enjoy their experience.
  Unlike the Mad Hatter, we cannot continue to just move to the next 
place at the party. Fortunately, this leadership shows how we can 
achieve this, not just for national parks, but as a model for American 
communities to make them safer, healthier and more economically secure.

                          ____________________