Research update 9/30/07

Macquarie Bank estimates
A global financial-services company based in Australia, estimates global infrastructure demand for transportation, energy, water, and communications will cost $30 trillion through 2030.

Kensington Investment Group
Infrastructure is the backbone of the global economy.
Aaron Visse, co-manager of the Kensington Investment Group

Report on insurance premium rates
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners ranks Hawaii at #17, at $11 higher than the national average.

Proposed tolls for I-80 divisive
What has folks riled up all along the Interstate 80 corridor is the expected addition of tolls to the highway, a fight that pits some of Pennsylvania's most remote regions against its biggest cities.
Mark Scolforo, The Morning Call, 9/29/07

Rendell: Show me the money and I'll pull plan for I-80 tolls
State officials believe they can raise an average of $900 million a year over a decade for road and bridge repairs and a mass-transit bailout through a combination of I-80 tolls and borrowing.
John L. Micek, Morning Call, 9/27/07

Deeper CTA cuts in '08, officials warn
Agency insiders say 'doomsday' scenario is just the beginning
Jon Hilkevitch and David Mendell, Chicago Tribune, 9/27/07

San Diego joins opposition of toll road extension
More than 12 cities or counties disapprove of its route, which cuts through San Onofre park and wetlands
David Reyes, LATimes, 9/27/07

Illinois Governor sees support for casinos
The legislation would create three new casinos to fund a roughly $13 billion infrastructure program.
Chicago Tribune, 9/26/07

New Jersey still has priciest car insurance
The numbers have been crunched and New Jersey remains atop its perch.
Peter Mucha, Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/25/07

More on light rail transit crime
Portlanders are beginning to wonder as the transit part of the city is suffering a crime wave.
The Antiplanner, 9/24/07

New Jersey seeks ways to tighten jitney regulations
Those who make a living driving the jitneys say it's chaos. Drivers have formed collectives to help find order and make a profit.
N. Clark Judd, Jersey Journal, 9/24/07

NYC's vroom boom
NY city's car fleet nears 30K
David Seifman, New York Post, 9/21/07

Senator questions safety of US bridges
A Senate committee chairwoman challenges the president's transportation chief for saying the country does not face a safety crisis despite recent deadly bridge collapse in Minneapolis.
Boston Globe, 9/21/07

Republican files bill to nix MA turnpike authority
House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R) sees the move as a way to show that Gov. Deval Patrick is unwilling to slash waste in the face of a $19 billion transportation deficit.
Casey Ross, Boston Herald, 9/21/07

Toll roads money winds its way south
NW Indiana elected officials swallow the hard truth that much of the $3.8 billion from the Indiana Toll Road lease is already winding its way southward, paying for major highway projects around the state.
Northwest Indiana Times, 9/21/96

Go green, live closer to work
Forty percent of the planet-heating gases that Californians emit come from transportation, and with booming population and sprawling suburbs, greenhouse emissions will continue to soar.
Margot Roosevelt, LA Times, 9/21/07

Gravy Train
Portland gets closer to benefiting from Rep. Earl Blumenauer and receiving $75 million in federal funding for the eastside extension of the streetcar.
Willamette West, wweek.com, 9/21/07

Justices debate Ohio traffic cameras
Can cities assess civil penalties such as fines for violations that are criminal offenses?
Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch, 9/20/07

Virginia commuters weigh fees for Beltway's HOT lanes
VA transportation officials announce five years of express-lane construction will begin as they try to ease traffic on one of the region's most clogged corridors. Some commuters express mixed feelings
Anita Kumar, Washington Post, 9/20/07

Drivers test paying by mile instead of gas tax
Beginning early next year, drivers in six states will begin testing a new way to pay for roads and transit: Commuters will be charged for the miles they drive rather than paying taxes on gasoline purchased.
Larry Copeland, USA Today, 9/20/07

Cha-ching!
Local tolls may be going up to pay for highway projects; Spaulding Turnpike is a New Hampshire priority
Adam D. Krauss, Foster's Daily Democrat, 9/20/07

Congestion getting worse
We've used up the capacity that had been bequeathed to us by a previous generation, and we haven't replaced it. Too many people, too many trips over too short of a time period on a system that is too small.
Guy Tridgell, Daily Southtown, 9/19/07

CA seen as model for traffic relief in US
While California is home to five cities that are among the country's 13 most congested, the state should be lauded for many reasons, including a willingness to finance traffic upgrades
Gary Richards, San Jose Mercury News, 9/19/0

SF studying congestion pricing to ease traffic, promote transit
Drivers would pay to travel on San Francisco's most traffic-choked corridors - roadways such as the Embarcadero, Van Ness Avenue, Broadway and Harrison Street - under a plan getting serious consideration from city transportation officials in their continuing quest to get more people out of their cars.
Rachel Gordon, SF Chronicle, 9/19/07

California Authorities may get ok to bond against HOT funds
Three agencies in California would gain the authority to bond against revenue from high-occupany toll lanes under terms of a a bill approved by the Legislatrue
Rich Saskal, Bond Buyer, 9/19/07

Illinois senate votes to meet transportation needs with more casinos
The Illinois Senate approves a long-delayed construction package for transportation needs by massive gambling expansion.
R. Long, Chicago Tribune 9/19/07

Traffic congestion is a no-brainer
Media, politicians and many others fret over the traffic congestion, and quickly wheel out favorite solutions - politicized pork projects, including rail transit and carpool lanes
Peter Gordon's Blog, 9/18/07

L.A. has worst traffic; drivers lose 72 hrs a year
The Los Angeles metropolitan area led the nation in traffic jams in 2005, with rush-hour drivers spending an extra 72 hours a year on average stuck in traffic
Joan Gralla, Yahoo News, 9/18/07

Nashville rail misses ridership goal by half
A year after the launch of the city's first commuter rail, the ridership goal that was considered a measure of success for the train's first year hasn't been met.
Kate Howard, Tennessean.com, 9/15/07

Moving the American Economy
National Strategy to Reduce Congestion
USDOT 9/12/0707

Playing the global infrastructure boom
As the nation's and the world's bridges, roads, and airports age, public private partnerships may be the most viable way of saving them
Poor's Equity Research, Business Week, 9/11/07

Finalizing plans for Norfolk's light rail
$128 million authorized in federal rail funding for the project. An additional $33 million would come from the city, $32 million from the state and $39 million from other federal sources.
Messina, Virginian-Pilot, 9/11/07

Whither congestion pricing
In the backrooms in Albany and hearing rooms in New York the fate of congestion pricing in New York city is being debated.
Carolyn Konheim, The Brooklyn Rail, 9/11/07

Wheels to wealth
Pilot study initiative to explore transportation needs of low income population in the Portland tri-county area
Sreya Sarkar, Cascade Policy Institute, Sep 2007,

Bay Area's first open-road tolling at new Benicia-Martinez Bridge,
For the first time in the Bay Area, motorists will be able to pay their tolls without taking their feet off the gas.
Michael Cabanatuan, SF chronicle, 8/24/07