American Dream

A study published for the Port of Portland finds that the airport light-rail line that cost $125 million has taken no cars off the road. Instead, it has eaten into the business of for-profit shuttle buses. Good job, light rail! Hate to have any filthy capitalist make a profit when there are losses to be made.

The above link will download a PDF that is 15.5 megabytes in size. The only part relevant here is table 1-4, which says:

Mode              1998  2003
Private vehicle    66%   61%
Rental car         15%   20%
Taxi/limo           4%    4%
Shuttle bus        11%    9%
Transit             1%    6%
Other               3%    -

The light rail opened in 2001, so this presents a clear before- and after- picture. The only question is what "other" was in 1998 and why it was not counted in 2003.

The study, if you want the citation without downloading the 15.5 megabyte file, is:
Leigh Fisher Associates, Terminal Access Study: Portland International Airport (Burlingame, CA: Leigh Fisher, 2005), p. 1-10.

The table cites "Port of Portland, Research and Marketing Department." Since the port paid part of the cost of building light rail (out of airport landing fees), I wonder what the port now thinks about the results of its investment?

And speaking of Joel Kotkin, he also has an op-ed column in the L.A. times about efforts to pump more taxpayer dollars into the "traditional" downtown of Los Angeles.

I repeat several paragraphs below:

So if the hotel subsidy doesn't make economic sense, who benefits from the largesse? The biggest winner from the new public investment stands to be billionaire Phil Anschutz, whose $2.5-billion, 27-acre L.A. Live project — billed as "Times Square West" — is slated to be built adjacent to Staples Center. The refracted prestige of a new Ritz Carlton and luxury condos in the neighborhood would add luster to Anschutz's project, the proposed home of the West Coast headquarters of ESPN and a Grammy Award museum.

For the rest of Los Angeles, however, the payoff is far less obvious. For the last three decades, public investment downtown has been in the form of numerous loans and subsidies to developers, lavish office buildings for state and city workers and, perhaps most expensively, the still largely underused, downtown-centered subway system.

These efforts are the latest chapters in a continuing attempt to reengineer the city's history. Los Angeles was among the first historic downtowns in the nation to lose its economic preeminence to areas to its west, as well as to the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys, according to historian Robert Fogelson. As architect Frank Gehry and others have noted, L.A.'s "true downtown" long ago relocated along the expanse of Wilshire Boulevard.

Nevertheless, there have been numerous publicly backed attempts to reestablish downtown's primacy as a business center. The largest of these was the transformation of the declining residential neighborhood of Bunker Hill into a sea of high-rise structures in the 1980s, under the direction of the Community Redevelopment Agency. The agency also helped finance the first rush of residential and retail development downtown.

I strongly recommend Robert Bruegmann's recent book, Sprawl : A Compact History (published by the University Of Chicago Press, 2005, ISBN 0226076903) to every reader of this blog.

It can be purchased off of Amazon.com at this link.

His recent op-ed in the L.A. Times is almost a condensed version of the book, though it's obviously customized for the Times' Southern California readership.

And almost as a companion volume to Dr. Bruegmann's fine book, I suggest Joel Kotkin's The City : A Global History (published by Modern Library, 2005, ISBN: 0679603360), on Amazon.com here.

Steven Ginsberg, transportation beat reporter for the Washington Post, is blogging these days, and has an interesting account of an instance of transit rage on the Washington, D.C. Metrorail system: Metro Rage.

And his colleague at the Post, Marc Fisher, has been discussing the varied reason(s) why the Metrorail trains are late (no mention of transit rage, however): Bodily Fluids, High Water, Dead Animals: Why Your Train Was Late.

TRENTON, NJ - In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld government's right to take property for private redevelopment, the number of properties eyed for government grabs has nearly tripled nationally.
The Rev. Kevin Brown, whose Long Branch church, home and business are threatened by eminent domain said, "It violates the Tenth Commandment when you think about it: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's home."
"It just annoys me to no end that they just have a knee-jerk reaction that if you use eminent domain you're bad and you must be on the side of the devil," said William Dressel Jr., executive director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.

Charlotte, NC - Folks might think that all the money for the Charlotte Area Transit System comes from the half-cent sales tax that voters approved in 1998. Yet that's not true. That tax will generate $62.7 million in 2006-07, but that's less than 60 percent of the CATS budget.
A sizable chunk,$18.4 million per year, comes from general city funds. State law requires the city to make an "effort" payment, essentially to keep spending as much on transit as it did before CATS was created - totaling more than $80 million per year, all inside the lockbox.
For years now, city officials and the Arts & Science Council have been trying to figure out how to pay for about $150 million in art. The City Council turned to the idea of raising the rental-car tax that goes directly into the transit fund. Then, Charlotte reduces the amount of general tax money it puts into transit. Even though the city plans to use that newly freed-up money on arts, they could spend it on anything.
Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess has been one of the strongest supporters of the arts projects, but the transit-funding switcheroo got her attention. "If Charlotte can't get approval for another rail corridor soon," she asked "should some transit money be shifted to roads?"

A number of states, have proposed leasing major toll roads to private companies. By doing so, they can raise billions of dollars needed to make road improvements elsewhere. Some samples of private road projects:
*Chicago Skyway. Chicago, one of the few cities that owns a toll road, has agreed to lease this 7.8-mile highway, running from downtown to the Indiana border, for $1.8 billion.
*Trans-Texas Corridor. A Spanish company has proposed building a $7.2 billion privately run toll road from San Antonio to the Oklahoma border. This would be the first phase in a Texas-size plan of Gov. Rick Perry to pump $180 billion of public and private money into upgrading the state's roads and rails.
*Tappan Zee Bridge . New York Gov. George Pataki has proposed a private lease to finance repairing or replacing this bridge, which spans the Hudson River above New York City.
*New Jersey Turnpike. The Legislature is considering selling a 49% interest in this north-south corridor.
*Garden State Parkway. Also in New Jersey, same terms as the Turnpike's are being considered.

Minnesota, MN - "We don't know what our lives would be like if we hadn't moved here," said Mrs. Aasen. "Our social life is here." Like many suburban families, the Aasens prize how quiet and child-friendly their lollipop-shaped street is. In Minnesota and across the nation, concerns about traffic congestion and increased road maintenance costs are causing a growing backlash against these icons of suburban life. Local governments have passed zoning ordinances to limit cul-de-sacs. "All things being equal, we try to minimize them when we can," said Bryan Schafer, the city's community development director. "But the market likes them, and people like living on them. Developers like them because they can get more for them."
The Metropolitan Council, which oversees development in the Twin Cities, also isn't a fan of the dead-end development. John Kari, a Met Council planning analyst, said the agency isn't "necessarily against cul-de-sacs" he believes there's a social advantage to minimizing cul-de-sacs. "You may get to know the neighbors in your cul-de-sacs, but you don't get to know your broader neighborhood," Kari said. HOWEVER, a 2004 National Association of Realtors survey showed that one-quarter of buyers were willing to spend more for a home on a cul-de-sac. Another poll, done by a California-based market research firm, showed buyers preferred them to regular, gridded streets by a margin of almost 2-1.
"We're here to serve the public and market, and planners have to bear that in mind," said Noonan, president of Toll Brothers, Inc. "Planners are of a philosophical mind-set that's out of step with the market." Noonan objects to planners acting as social engineers trying to impose their world view on the market at large. "They say cul-de-sacs don't build good neighborhoods," said Noonan. "I live on a cul-de-sac. It's private, we feel comfortable with our kids playing in both the front and back yards, and we have strong relationships with our neighbors. It's a wonderful environment."

Though I am not certain that I agree with this L.A. Times story that the California Interstates are the worst in the nation.

Do they carry heavy traffic? Sure.

Is it possible to find rough surfaces on Interstates in California? Sure.


The roughest I've driven in California was probably I-80 between Lake Tahoe and Sacramento. But have the L.A. Times reporters driven Pennsylvania's Schuylkill Expressway (I-76, sometimes called, with justification, the "Sure-kill Expressway")?

And California, in spite of the comments in the article, is also home to some of the more innovative examples of highway finance in the U.S., such as the following:

The TCA Toll Roads in Orange County (73, 241, 133 and 261)

The Ca. 91 (Riverside Freeway) Express Lanes, also in Orange County

The I-15 (Escondido Freeway) FasTrak High-occupancy vehicle/Toll lanes in San Diego County

Ca. 125, the South Bay Expressway, also in San Diego County (under construction, opening in 2007)

And as I mentioned here recently, Bob Poole, Director of Transportation, Reason Foundation, had this to say about the I-710 South Pasadena "gap" in an L.A. Times (! - do they read their own paper?) op-ed:
The light at the end is a tunnel
Digging the 710 underground is a feasible first step toward relieving freeway congestion.

How do we fix the interstates? With shortfalls in state and federal revenue, the nation's 47,000-mile interstate highway system is deteriorating. The Federal Highway Administration says it needs $10 billion each year just to keep traffic congestion and crumbling pavement from getting worse. Feeling the pinch from the rising costs of maintaining and upgrading highways, officials in North Carolina and other states are seeking new ways to pay for transportation. Here are some of the funding options at play in other states or up for discussion in North Carolina:

TOLLS: North Carolina law allows tolls on new roads and bridges but not on existing highways. There is a proposal to charge a toll on Interstate 95, but opponents worry that this would discourage tourism.
CONGESTION PRICING OR VALUE PRICING: Some states, such as California, Texas, Minnesota and Maryland, allow drivers to pay extra to use express lanes and avoid congested roads.
TAXING BY MILEAGE: Oregon has a pilot program in which volunteers are charged by the number of miles they travel rather than by the gallons of gas they buy.
HIGHER HIGHWAY USE TAXES: NC Go!, which represents the highway construction industry and other groups, has called for raising the North Carolina levy of 3 percent on the sale of cars. Other states impose taxes of 5 percent or more.
LOCAL OPTION FUNDING: Local governments want the General Assembly to grant them permission to create taxes and tolls to meet their local transportation needs.
BOND ISSUES: NC Go! is pushing for a $1 billion bond issue to jump-start transportation and transit improvements and repair.
PRIVATIZATION: Indiana recently handed over a toll road to private investors for $3.8 billion, and Virginia is leasing its Pocahontas Parkway to an Australian company. Other states also are considering selling or leasing roads to private firms.

Then you might enjoy this little quiz. To get the answers, clink on the hot linked title above. Have fun!

1. What president signed the first interstate highway system into legislation?

2. Which of these things also happened in 1956 (the 50 year anniversary) :
a.) Elvis Presley enters the music charts for the first time, with "Heartbreak Hotel," and appears on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
b.) "The Price is Right" game show premieres.
c.) Mel Gibson, Bill Maher, Joe Montana, Tom Hanks and Larry Bird are born.
d.) All of the above.

3. What's the longest interstate highway in the United States?
a.) I-80, from San Francisco to Teaneck, N.J.
b.) I-90, from Boston to Seattle.
c.) I-40, from Barstow, Calif. to Wilmington, N.C.
d.) I-10, from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Fla.

4. What's the shortest three-digit interstate route?
a.) I-878, New York
b.) I-395, Maryland
c.) I-980, California
d.) I-315, Montana

5. Which interstate traverses the most states?
a.) I-90
b.) I-80
c.) I-70
d.) I-95

6. Which state capital is one of five that aren't served directly by the interstate system?
a.) Raleigh, N.C.
b.) Dover, Del.
c.) Charleston, W.Va.
d.) Louisville, Ky.

7. How many interstate bridges are there?
a.) 14
b.) 37,586
c.) 55,512
d.) 103,309

8. Name three songs about roads. (There are more than 500.)

9. How many interstate miles traverse North Carolina?
a.) Not nearly enough
b.) 548 miles
c.) 1,084 miles
d.) 2,397 miles
e.) Way too many

10. When was I-40 completed?
a.) 1970
b.) 1980
c.) 1990
d.) 2000

11. Regarding the numbering of interstates, is it "odd numbers go north-south" or "odd numbers go east-west"?

12. How do states decide how to number interstate exits?
a.) They pick the numbers out of a hat
b.) Consecutively, starting at the most westerly or southerly point
c.) They alternate even and odd numbers
d.) By mile markers starting at the most westerly or southerly point
e.) Both a and c
f.) Both b and d

13. What is generally considered the greatest contributing factor to the increased safety of interstates?
a.) The use of interchanges
b.) The use of truck lanes
c.) The "stay-awake" bumps
d.) The increasing number of billboards

East Coast Bonus Question:
14. Which North Carolina county has the most interstate miles?
a.) Forsyth
b.) Mecklenburg
c.) Wake
d.) Johnston

Cultivating Waste
Massive federal farming entitlements hurt at home.

Monday, July 10, 2006; Page A16

HEART SURGEON Jimmy Frank Howell owns a piece of land that hasn't produced crops in years. The federal government has paid him $490,709 in rice subsidies since 1996. Michael T. Sullivan's family, corn farmers, sold most of their crop last year above a government-set minimum price. He got $292,054 in federal agricultural payments anyway.

We've known for a long time that America's bloated food subsidy programs rile foreign governments, complicate trade talks, distort agricultural prices and disproportionately benefit large agribusinesses. As if that weren't enough, the results of a nine-month Post investigation published last week vividly detail the scandalous waste of America's vast farm subsidy system.

(click the link above for the rest of the editorial)

See also this post from 03 July 2006.

People are often incredulous when I tell them Houston is a livable city because it has no zoning and that its residents love it. Now Houstonians are making the same claim on the web and in a new movie, Hot Town Cool City. The movie is by a Houstonian, Maureen McNamara, who decided to tell about some of the great places in the city. A teaser -- actually some excerpts -- tells about three such places: a movie theater made from a former church; an art museum; and a watermelon stand.

The Hot Town Cool City web site also encourages Houstonians to tell about their favorite experiences and locations in the city. In this same vein, the Houston: It's Worth It web site has so far received roughly 2,000 comments from people telling why they think Houston is the best, if not the only, city to live in within the United States.

Houston doesn't have any mountains. At times it is hot and humid. No amount of planning can change these things. Yet the Houston area remains one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States because it is affordable and friendly. "Houston is great because it welcomes you with open arms," says one comment on the It's Worth It site. "No one in Houston says 'There's no room for you.'" That is more than can be said for Portland, Boulder, Madison, and numerous other so-called "progressive" cities around the country.

This ran on the op-ed page of the Baltimore Sun today. Given that Baltimore City has lost large numbers of jobs and residents, in spite of using condemnation powers for several high-profile development projects, one would hope that they might reconsider such adventures.

Eminently Troubling

As city officials step up their use of condemnation powers, some property owners are fighting back

By Lorraine Mirabella
Sun reporter
Originally published July 9, 2006

Amid the three- and four-story, crumbling brick buildings on West Lexington Street, shoppers sift through racks of clothing on the sidewalk, hunt for bargains in bins of 88-cent paper towels at the Lot Store's closing sale and tote their purchases past mostly vacant, boarded or gated storefronts.

A handbag and hat merchant moves buckets to catch rainwater dripping through his collapsed ceiling. Around the corner from the shuttered Greyhound bus station on West Fayette, the owner's son presides over an empty counter at Paul's Luncheonette.

This forlorn stretch encompassing the Lexington Street pedestrian mall is the latest battleground between a city aggressively pursuing redevelopment and a resistant property owner, in this case the $2 billion Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

After years of fruitless negotiations, the foundation, owner of more than half the land in the stalled "superblock" project on downtown's west side, has been warned to either sell its properties to the city or face their seizure.

Although taking on an adversary as influential and powerful as the Weinberg Foundation is unusual, seizing property for redevelopment is not. Baltimore has used its power of condemnation for the past four decades to shape renewal projects from Charles Center to the Inner Harbor.

Now, officials are moving with increased energy.

[Click title above for the full story.]