NO. 13 $ 1,500,000.00 is currently committed by the

Pennsylvania Transportation Fund Assistance Grant via the Hazleton Public

Transit Department. We are requesting your support to fund three million dollars of the Project.

NO. 14 This is the initial request for funding for this Project.

Mr. WOLF. Mr. Sabo. Mr. Packard.

Mr. PACKARD. Just a question, perhaps maybe to Mr. Cannon.

Much of the motivation for the significant improvements in your transportation system around Salt Lake City and your district was motivated by the Winter Olympics there. And that of course is in question right now.

What would that do to your ongoing progress with your transportation improvements?

Mr. CANNON. Thank you for that question. Let me say, first of all, I don't think there is any question what the 2000 Olympics are going to be held in the Salt Lake area, and much of that in my district. As part of the overall problem with transportation in Utah, the governor, and I think virtually everyone in the State has come to the conclusion we needed to get behind an upgrading of our system which had fallen way behind what it needed to be to serve the current population.

The State has in fact taken the bulk of this. We are not here saying we need this because of the Olympics. But we are taking upon ourselves in the State of Utah a much larger burden in a shorter period of time because of the deadline that the Olympics proposes to us.

I think those projects will be done but we do need the help from this committee to finish out and balance some of those elements. Mr. PACKARD. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. WOLF. Thank you very much. We appreciate your testimony. Congressman Visclosky, Congressman McGovern, and Congressman Capuano.

Your full statement will appear in the record, and you can proceed.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1999.

ATTLEBORO INTERMODAL MIXED USE GARAGE

FACILITY

WITNESS

HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS

Mr. MCGOVERN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. If I can begin.

I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify before the committee, and I will be brief.

I am here today to seek support for a project which is very important of my district, indeed the people southeast to Massachusetts, and I would say the people of Rhode Island, and that is the Attleboro Intermodal Mixed Use Garage Facility, which is located in Attleboro, Massachusetts.

Specifically, I am here to ask the committee to provide $2.5 million to aid in its construction. Attleboro Station is one of three commuter rail stations in the southeastern Massachusetts region, which has been experiencing strong growth during the last decade. According to audits taken by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority over the last 10 years, Attleboro Station has consistently been ranked one of the three busiest stations in Massachusetts;

and because of its close proximity to Providence, Rhode Island, commuters from Rhode Island contribute greatly to the congestion at this station.

The project, which has been proposed by the greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority is expected to support the increasing needs of the current commuter rail station that services Attleboro central business district.

Commuter demand that the station currently exceeds capacity, and ridership projections indicate that the station will need at least 73 percent more parking spaces by the Year 2010. Increased parking and transfer capacity at this station will facilitate usage of commuter rail, which is an important goal, by cutting down on intense traffic congestion in the region.

Additionally, the proposed facility will include a daycare center which will eliminate wasted time that parents spend driving to daycare each morning. Further, because of the proposed facility's location, the Transit Authority will be able to move public bus service closer to the center of the station. Relocation of the busline will make intermodal transfer simpler for all passengers and far more accessible to the handicap

For these reasons, I request that you and the members of this subcommittee when determining transportation priorities for Fiscal Year 2000 include support of this worthy project. And I will be happy to provide the committee staff with additional materials as you move through this process. Thank you.

[The prepared statement of James McGovern follows:]