Today, I spoke to some of the transportation community’s key stakeholders, including academics and mayors from across the country, at the National Summit on Transportation and Opportunity.

At the summit, I imagined a future built upon our shared goal of connecting communities and people to Ladders of Opportunity.

For decades, highways, airports, railroads and transit systems have often divided communities, damaged local businesses, and cut people off from the opportunities they deserve.

We want America’s transportation system to unite us, not divide us. We want to connect people – and this group of visionaries explored ideas about how to grow our Ladders of Opportunity initiative.

Throughout the day, the group discussed ways to better serve the public by strengthening the connections between multimodal transportation systems and employment, education and other essential services.

The National Summit was a unique forum for local and national leaders to discuss successes, barriers, and forward-looking strategies for continuing to turn our principles into mainstream transportation planning and policy. 

We heard about the countless jobs that transportation projects create in America, as well as the ongoing need to improve and expand workforce programs so that underserved populations can find and keep good jobs.

We also heard the all-too-common plea for more infrastructure investment. The unfortunate truth is that funding is limited, yet more will be needed to keep our nation’s economy strong and our communities healthy. 

That is a message that policymakers at all levels need to hear – as often as it takes.

This event was the capstone of an initiative I started last year, but it is far from the end. We’re establishing policies and building tools and techniques into our everyday practices to ensure that our transportation decisions build true Ladders of Opportunity.

As America’s population continues to grow and its transportation demands change, greater investment in infrastructure is a big part of the puzzle.

But the human element, such as communities and the people who call them home, is perhaps even more important.

I encourage everyone, no matter your role or position, to join this important cause by taking the Connecting People to Opportunity pledge.

Together, we can build a world-class transportation system for the 21st Century.