Talkin’ Infrastructure With Chuck Marohn, Mike McGinn, and Kevin Shephard

Last week, Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns hosted a video panel to discuss a very hot topic: How America’s infrastructure got to be in such bad shape.

This “Friday News Discussion” featured former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Kevin Shepard, a Texas-based professional engineer and principal at the firm Verdunity, and me, representing Streetsblog.

It was especially interesting to hear a former mayor’s take on these issues and what cities can do to resist the pressure to back wasteful megaprojects like Seattle’s disastrous deep-bore tunnel, which McGinn paid a political price for opposing.

If you’re not already plugged into these talks at Strong Towns or some of their other great work, you ought to check it out.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Chicago, Seattle Mayors Spar Over Bike Lanes, Tech Workers

By Angie Schmitt |
Nothing like a little friendly competition between mayors. It seems a feud of sorts has developed between Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn over who can build the best bike lanes. At a speech in December marking the opening of the Dearborn Street protected bike lanes, Emanuel boasted that Chicago was going […]

Can We Spend Our Way Out of Sprawl?

By Angie Schmitt |
Charles Marohn at Strong Towns has posted a pretty epic analysis of 150-plus years of rail and highway expansion in the United States. The upshot of this historical overview: Marohn argues that raising more money for transportation using what he calls “slush funds” — including the federal gas tax — will only prolong the era […]