Research update 10/17/07

Reports

Beyond the Automobile?
There is growing international consensus that the world needs a successor to the motor car.
Sir Peter Hall, UC Berkeley, Spring 2007

Restoring Regional Equity to the Federal Highway Trust Fund
Among the many flaws in the federal highway and transit program are the pervasive regional inequities in the way that federal highway spending is distributed among the 50 states
Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D., Heritage Foundation, 10/9/07

Review of Congressional Earmarks within Department of Transportation Programs
1,150% increase in earmarks from 167 ($789 Million) to 2,094 ($3.27 billion), 1996 to 2005
DOT Report # AV-2007-066, Office of the Inspector General, 9/07/07

Tolling and Public-Private Partnerships in Texas
Before Metrorail is extended to Dulles International Airport, Metro board members should find out the true cost of deferred maintenance on the existing 103-mile system.
Robert W. Poole, Jr., Reason Foundation, May 2007

The Effects of Federal Transit Subsidy Policy on Investment Decisions
The Case of San Francisco's Geary Corridor. Federal transit subsidy policy provides financial incentives for local decision-makers to select capital-intensive investment option that may not be efficient or effective.
Jianling Li and Martin Wachs, Jul 19, 2003

HOT Lanes, Frequently Asked Questions
What they are, how the work, and the benefits.
Leonard Gilroy, Amy Pelletier, Reason Foundation, 2007

Videos

GRIDLOCK: Hell on Wheels
Drew Carey examines the costs and consequences of traffic jams and explores several solutions that can get our roads moving.
Reason Fdn., Oct 15, 2007

Urban Legend - Gridlock & Asphalt
Ted Balaker debunks the myth that "we can't build our way out of congestion." our roads moving.
Reason Fdn., Oct 15, 2007

Marty Stone, with Cliff Slater, on HOT Lanes
Tampa Expressway comparison to O'ahu
interviewby Malia Zimmerman, OLELO

Articles

L.A. gets $150 million to synchronize traffic lights
The state bond money will fund an effort that could cut drive times by 16% when completed in June 2011, city officials say
Duke Helfand, L.A. Times, October 17, 2007

Transportation secretary praises Bay Area congestion-relief plan
Bridge tolls, parking meters and traffic signals to combat congestion
Rachel Gordon, SF Chronicle, Oct 17, 07

Safety Board accuses Metro of neglect in January derailment
Failure to keep up with basic maintenance and refusal to take safety steps recommended for years by internal and external reviews were the likely causes of a Metro derailment
Lena H. Sun, Washington , October 17, 2007

Transportation group finds more bridges would solve traffic congestion
A study commissioned by Get Moving BC found Portland Oregon, with about half the population of the Lower Mainland, has 75% more bridge capacity.
Jim Goddard, News 1130 Vancouver BC, Oct 15, 2007

6 years, 14 miles, 1 smooth ride
Biggest road project in Iowa history will be remembered not just for the sleek, modern look of new bridges and wider traffic corridor, but also because construction went more smoothly than anyone expected.
William Petroski, DesMoines Register, Oct 14, 2007

BART gets rusty
Aging system lacks billions for infrastructure
Dennis Cuff, Contra Costa Times, Sep 28, 2007

Metro's hidden maintenance bills
Metro budget director Richard Harcum that the transit agency's annual maintenance budget was only 1 percent of the total value of the infrastructure, instead of the 3 percent needed to keep the system in shape. How long maintenance has been seriously underfunded is anybody's guess.
Washington DC Examiner, Oct 14, 2007

Reject Proposition 1
Proposition 1, the increase in sales tax and car tabs to pay for light rail and roads, should be defeated. It costs too much, it lasts too long and it does too little.
Seattle Times editorial, 10/14/07

Who should pay for highways?
Most say: Someone else
Cynthia Seawell, Idaho Statesman, Oct 13, 07

Engineers step up recruiting efforts
Engineers, needed to rebuild the nation's roads, bridges and sewers, could be hard to find unless more students start going into the field.
Lori Kurtzman, USA Today, Oct 11, 07

Washington State audit proposes adding tolls, lanes
$1.7 million transportation audit contains 20 recommendations, shows that DOT needs to focus on congestion as a primary goal.
Andrew Garber, Seattle Times, Oct 11, 07

Tolling the open road
Massachusetts considers charging by the mile for highway drivers
Noah Berman, Boston Globe, 10/7/07

Panel sees problems in ethanol production
Greater cultivation of crops to produce ethanol could harm water quality and leave some regions of the country with water shortages. Corn, the most widely grown fuel crop in the United States, might cause more damage per unit of energy than other plants, especially switchgrass and native grasses.
Cornelia Dean, NY Times, Oct 11, 07

Climate change bill may be a pipe dream
Cochran estimates that in order to avoid 'the tipping point,' where the damage to Earth's atmosphere may be irreversible, humans need to cut 80 percent of current levels of greenhouse gases by 2050 -- a goal that would be difficult to achieve even if major emitters like the United States started tomorrow.
Daniel W. Reilly, Sep 26, 2007, The Politico

Strike uncovers the real potential of telecommuting
For perhaps the first time it was demonstrated that telecommuting really is a valid alternative to more traditional forms of working and commuting
Trans Scan, Vol. 8, No. 2, June 2007

Capital Transit Project Rules would fund High Occupancy Toll Lanes
The FTA has issued a notice of proposed rule making for the New and Small Starts program that provides funding for major fixed guideway capital projects such as Light Rail, Heavy Rail, and Bus Rapid Transit. The proposed rules are alarming on a number of levels
The Overhead Wire, Sep 10, 2007

Traffic congestion costs Baltimore-DC region $3 billion per year
Roadway congestion in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. region costs Maryland more than $3 billion per year
MD Chamber of Commerce News & Events, Sep 2007