Highway Expansion
Basics
Put Your (Transportation) Money Where Your Mouth Is, Gov. McDonnell
On Earth Day last Friday, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell issued a “transportation challenge” to the people of his state: to “try a form of transportation other than driving alone once every two weeks.” The language he used would please any reformer:
April 26, 2011
Scott Walker’s “Broke” Wisconsin Breaking the Bank for Highways
This article was written by Steve Hiniker, executive director of 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin, and was reprinted with permission of that organization. It originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
April 22, 2011
The Columbia River Crossing: A Highway Boondoggle in Disguise
The Columbia River Crossing is a mega-project by any standard. A bridge replacement, a highway widening, and light rail project wrapped into one, the CRC is a proposal to span the distance between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. With a $3.2 billion price tag -- by conservative estimates -- it would be the largest public works project the region has ever undertaken.
April 14, 2011
A State DOT’s Unshakable Highway Fixation
The South Carolina Department of Transportation is sometimes still familiarly known as the "highway department." That was, in fact, the agency's proper title until 1977, when it was changed by order of the general assembly to the Department of Highways and Public Transportation.
February 10, 2011
In Charleston, an Affordable, Effective Alternative to Highway Expansion
Roads like Charleston's Savannah Highway are a common sight across America: a suburban arterial marked by high-speeds, dangerous pedestrian crossings and depressing aesthetics. A five-lane strip of asphalt surrounded by used car dealerships and motels, it's heavy on parking and curb cuts, light on crosswalks and trees. Like many streets of this type, Savannah Highway gets congested, particularly in a few key bottlenecks.
February 9, 2011
SGA: Transportation Funding Pays Big Dividends Only If Invested Wisely
In just the last month, several reports have quantified, in various ways, how investing in transportation infrastructure pays off in jobs and economic health. Now Smart Growth America is out with new research showing that it's not enough to plunk down a bunch of money and expect miracles. You've got to do it right.
February 7, 2011
Twin Cities Rein in Highway Expansions, Tame Runaway Transpo Spending
The Twin Cities region is reassessing the role of highways in its transportation system.
January 12, 2011
Mica Is Against “Paving Over America,” For “Cars in Shoulder Lanes”
I know I said I wasn't going to post during my vacation, but I thought you'd be interested in this new report from the FHWA, and, perhaps more notably, the Republican reaction to it. The agency just submitted a report to Congress on the use of highway shoulder lanes as traffic lanes. (It's not online, or we'd link to it.) Update: here it is. [PDF]
December 23, 2010
Will Georgia’s Next Governor ‘Unclog Atlanta’?
This is the final installment of our series on high-stakes governor's races. We hope you'll be watching along with us tonight as the results come in for the races we've followed in Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Texas, Maryland, Colorado, and Tennessee. Now, we turn to Georgia.
November 2, 2010
Texas Gov Rick Perry Could Get Four More Years to Build Mega-Highways
This is the fourth installment of Streetsblog Capitol Hill’s series on key governor’s races. Earlier we brought you stories about a candidate who likes bikes but isn’t sure about transit in Tennessee, the choice between light rail and bus rapid transit in Maryland, and how bike paranoia is cutting the GOP off at the knees in Colorado. Here we turn to Texas.
October 27, 2010