Both Missouri gubernatorial candidates weigh in on Missouri state transportation funding : WRAL.com

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KOSTER: "The Missouri Department of Transportation has been preparing for some time to show Missourians that they have been good stewards of the resources that we have sent them. In recent years, MoDOT has laid off approximately 1,200 workers, sold 700 pieces of heavy equipment, closed 124 maintenance barns and three division offices around the state. All of the money that has been saved as a result of those decisions has been put into road contracts. Nonetheless, Missouri is still approximately $200 million underfunded in maintaining the existing 34,000 miles of road and as much as $500 million beneath where we were in 2008 and 2009, when Missouri was at the high point of the Amendment 3 bonding revenue.

"Yes, I believe that MoDOT is going to require additional revenue in order to keep Missouri's roads in good condition and to repair the 681 bridges — most of which are in rural Missouri — so that we can keep them in good operating condition. The issue is too important for any one party to decide independently and so, immediately after the election, I would look forward to sitting down with Republican and Democratic leaders, particularly those leaders who have a great deal of experience in the issue — like Mike Kehoe and Doug Libla over in the Senate, Todd Richardson in the House — to develop a proposal that we would put before Missouri voters in November of 2018. I think it's also important that once that consensus is reached, the chief executive of the state puts it on the November ballot and not on the August ballot, and actively campaigns on behalf of the Missouri Department of Transportation to explain to Missourians why good roads are critical to our economic development future, particularly in rural Missouri."

GREITENS: "This is one of the big differences between me and my opponent, Chris Koster, in this election. Chris Koster has been involved in politics for over 22 years and his focus is always on taxing people more. I do not believe that we need to raise taxes on the people of Missouri. When you talk to the people of Missouri, you talk to 100 people and 95 of them will tell you we need to be spending more money on roads, bridges and ports. But you ask those same voters if they trust career politicians like Chris Koster to spend that money wisely and all of them will tell you no. We need to have a governor who's going to practice fiscal restraint, who's going to rein in out-of-control spending, who's going to put an end to special-interest giveaways, so that we can focus people's tax moneys on the priorities of the people of Missouri."

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Both Missouri gubernatorial candidates weigh in on Missouri state transportation funding : WRAL.com

MoBikeFed comment: We have yet to see either of the Missouri gubernatorial candidates weigh in on the issue of whether they support the fix state transportation funding including funding for all modes of transportation.

Missouri is facing a crisis in highway funding--one far more serious than most citizens in Missouri realize.

But the facts show that the crisis in state transit and pedestrian/bicycle funding in Missouri is even worse than the highway funding crisis.

Meeting with legislators and MoDOT leaders in Jefferson City this year, we have been taking this message:

Missouri's dramatic underinvestment in transit, walking, and bicycling harms the ability of communities across the state to compete in today's global marketplace

• Missouri ranks 44th of the 50 states in public transportation funding.

• Missouri spend just 9 cents per capita on public transportation funding; our bordering states average $2.85 per capita (excluding Illinois, which spends $66.30 per capita).

• Missouri provides no state transportation funding for walking or bicycling.

• People in every Missouri county depend on public transportation, walking, and bicycling for access to vital jobs, school, and medical care. This is an issue for communities large and small; urban, suburban, and rural.

• Transportation options that meet the needs of all citizens are vital for a strong economy and the public health.

• As a far outlier state in state funding for public transportation, walking, and bicycling, Missouri harms its economy and drives talent and business to more competitive states.

Transportation in Missouri today means a lot more than just highways. Support a comprehensive solution to state transportation funding that meets the needs of all Missourians.