Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Does Highway Spending Really Pay Off?"
Virginia Postrel, writing in the New York Times, cites a Brookings Institution researcher who has found that each dollar spent on highways returns only 8 cents in congestion reduction. That's not much of a payoff, she says.
Wendell Cox responds that "spending money on soundwalls and transit doesn't reduce traffic congestion." In other words, just because it is called "highway money" doesn't mean that it is spent on anything that will reduce congestion.
Many regions have made a concerted effort to spend their highway funds on things that won't reduce congestion. "Transportation solutions aimed solely at reducing congestion are inappropriate," says Metro, Portland's regional planning agency. Given this bias, it is not surprising that transportation spending has been ineffective at reducing congestion.
Virginia Postrel, writing in the New York Times, cites a Brookings Institution researcher who has found that each dollar spent on highways returns only 8 cents in congestion reduction. That's not much of a payoff, she says.
Wendell Cox responds that "spending money on soundwalls and transit doesn't reduce traffic congestion." In other words, just because it is called "highway money" doesn't mean that it is spent on anything that will reduce congestion.
Many regions have made a concerted effort to spend their highway funds on things that won't reduce congestion. "Transportation solutions aimed solely at reducing congestion are inappropriate," says Metro, Portland's regional planning agency. Given this bias, it is not surprising that transportation spending has been ineffective at reducing congestion.
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