(Source: Infrastructurist & Huffingtonpost)

At a White House gathering last week, both Barack Obama and Joe Biden warned America’s governors not to squander stimulus funds on ill-conceived infrastructure projects. “Six months from now,” Biden said, “if the verdict on this effort is that we’ve wasted the money, we built things that were unnecessary, or we’ve done things that are legal but make no sense, then, folks, don’t look for any help from the federal government for a long while.”

Nowhere is this warning more pertinent than in building new roads. The stimulus bill allocates nearly $30 billion in highway funds to the states and requires that put the money to use quickly. That’s a good thing when the money is being spent on smart construction, but it raises the danger that some bad projects will be rushed through, simply because the plans are ready to go (in some cases after being controversially fast-tracked by the Bush administration.) Misguided road building can encourage sprawl, make communities less livable, and devastate the local environment. We looked at shovel-ready new highway projects across the country that are either getting stimulus money or could potentially get some and found seven that, in Biden’s words, “make no sense.”

HuffingtonPost article by the author summarizes these projects as follows:

7. I-295 Loop in Fayetteville, NC – An 8-mile stretch of this freeway is slated to get $63 million for a construction start within the next few months. But it runs through rural land and is a recipe for the worst kind of sprawl. Meanwhile it would deprive the city center of economically valuable military traffic from Fort Bragg. So why are they doing it? Two of the key officials making the state funding list are from Fayetteville.

6. I-69 extension in Indiana – This 142 mile-long highway would cost an estimated $3.5 billion to build. Its effect on the sections south of Bloomington, where it will be built on “new terrain,” would be devastating to rural life in the area, with 400 families affected by the route’s construction and 2,800 acres of farmland paved over. More than 1,000 acres of forests would be cut down. There’s a better alternative that would cost just half as much.

5. Widening I-93 in southern New Hampshire – The plan to expand this overcrowded road from four lanes today to eight along a 20-mile stretch between Salem and Manchester would cost of $750 million. But it ignores what is common knowledge among transportation experts: building more lanes simply creates more traffic. A better alternative: a parallel existing rail line, neglected for years, would offer the area’s commuters a direct shot to downtown Boston.

4. I-66 in Kentucky – This $10 billion project is a disaster. The 420-mile route lies directly between I-64 and I-40, which are only three hours apart. In this rural area, a freeway simply isn’t necessary as there is little traffic on existing roads. And since neighboring states have abandoned work on connecting segments, meaning that the highway would effectively dead-end into local roads at both ends. But the the most dire effects would be on the environment: The road would tear through the Appalachians and the Daniel Boone National Forest.

3. Grand Parkway in Houston, Texas – At 184 miles in length and a projected cost of $5.1 billion, Houston’s fourth outer loop a world-class boondoggle. A 14-mile stretch of the corridor, funded by $181 million of stimulus money, would destroy some local prairie and parkland. The nonprofit group that is pushing the road, is made up major land developers, who see a profitable new frontier for exurban sprawl.

2. Intercounty Connector in the DC suburbs of Maryland – Former governor Parris Glendening thought this highway project would be an environmental disaster. But the 18 mile, $3 billion road seems to be going ahead, to the detriment of Maryland’s ability to fund other transportation projects, like a much-needed new light rail lines in Baltimore. Worst of all, the highway won’t even be much of a help in clearing the traffic on Washington’s infamously congested Beltway–its net effect would be to increase the number of miles traveled by Marylanders in their cars.

1. I-65 Downtown Bridge in Louisville, Kentucky – This $4.1 billion project would create a 24-lane monstrosity along downtown Louisville’s waterfront, eparating the city center from the Ohio river and cutting into a brand new park. Approximately 100 residential properties and 30 businesses would be taken for the project, and the enormous, ugly interchange of the three roads would loom above downtown. A much simpler and cheaper plan would open up the downtown waterfront and allow the for the construction of an attractive boulevard like San Francisco’s Embarcadero. 

Click here to read the detailed analysis on each of these projects.

(Source: USDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics)

Surface transportation trade between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 4.1 percent higher in 2008 than in 2007, reaching $830 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.  The 4.1 percent rate of growth was the smallest year-to-year growth rate since 2003 (Table 1).

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), reported that surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico grew 8.6 percent during the first six months of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.  It declined 0.3 percent in the final six months and 9.4 percent in the October-to-December period compared to 2007. For 2008 data by month, see the BTS December North American Surface Freight press release athttp://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2009/bts010_09/html/bts010_09.html

Total North American surface transportation imports rose 2.7 percent in 2008 from 2007, and exports rose by 5.9 percent during the same period (Table 2). 

In 2008, 86 percent of U.S. merchandise trade by value with Canada and Mexico moved on land.   Total North American surface transportation trade value in 2008 was up 47.5 percent compared to 2003, and up 83.7 percent compared to 1998, a period of 10 years (Table 3). 

Click here to read the entire press release or click here to download the PDF report.  Shown below is the “Read-only” version of the PDF report.

(Source:  Streetsblog;  Photo Courtesy: Transportation Alternatives)

There’s a speeding epidemic on New York City streets, but does NYPD know how big the problem is?  The Times recently launched a couple of new blogs devoted to neighborhood coverage, and today the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill outlet, The Local, posted an interesting Q&A with officers at the 88th Precinct. Here’s a revealing answer from Captain Vanessa Kight about traffic enforcement:

Q: Can you please let us know what the 88th is doing to keep the streets safe from criminal drivers? We regularly see drivers flying through our streets (perhaps especially along Washington Park, right along the park, where there is no stop light for two blocks). Running red lights is also common. I live on Clinton between Myrtle/Willoughby and it seems that that block is a continual double-park fest. I’ve lived here since 2000 and cannot recall ever seeing a police officer issuing a traffic violation — I don’t doubt that it happens from time to time, but clearly it doesn’t happen enough to deter dangerous behavior from drivers.

A: We’ve never heard that we don’t give enough summonses. I do have a summons officer and will send him over to Clinton and Willoughby if that’s an issue. But so far this year, we’ve already issued 1,200 violations in the precinct for hazardous driving, including running red lights, speeding, talking on a cell phone and backing up unsafely. That’s in addition to many summonses for less hazardous moving violations. We’ve also issued 2,400 parking violations so far this year.

Citing the number of summonses handed out is typical of how NYPD measures traffic enforcement, and it doesn’t come close to telling the whole story. Consider that nearly 40 percent of New York City motorists were clocked speeding in Transportation Alternatives’ report Terminal Velocity [PDF]. Or that drivers burn through red lights in the city more than a million times every day, according to a 2001 study conducted by the city comptroller [PDF]. It stands to reason that those 1,200 citations issued in the 88th comprise only a very small fraction of all hazardous driving violations committed in the precinct this year.

Click here to read the entire article. 

(Source:  AASHTO)

Enactment of the FY 2010 budget resolution “will be the starting point as the House considers the new surface transportation authorization bill,” Kansas Secretary of Transportation Deb Miller testified today before the House Budget Committee.

(Source:  Autobloggreen)

This week, Congress and President Obama have approved a bill that includes a June 30th deadline for the EPA to decide whether or not to allow California the right to enact its own greenhouse gas rules. Earlier this year, President Obama directed the EPA to reconsider California’s request for a waiver that would allow it to regulate gases like carbon dioxide, which is widely seen as a way for the state to set its own fuel efficiency requirements

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source:  Transportation for America)

Before and after of a completed street. Tell Congress to support complete streets.

Did you know that almost half of all the trips we take each day are under three miles? So why aren’t more of us walking or biking for some of these shorter trips each day? Frankly, most of our streets just aren’t designed for safe and comfortable use by everyone — and almost all of us are pedestrians at some point during each day.

Complete streets are safe and accessible for everyone that needs to use them — cars, transit users, bicyclists, pedestrians, young, old, disabled, and everyone else.

Over the last two days, Complete Streets bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate.

Introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin in the Senate, and Rep. Doris Matsui in the House, these bills need our support — and more congressional sponsors. (Sen. Tom Carper and Rep. Ellen Tauscher, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and Rep. David Wu are the current co-sponsors.)

Complete streets make it possible for children to walk and bike to school safely, give seniors more security traveling to appointments, and provide everyone with safer, greener and more convenient ways of getting around without their cars.

Click here to read the entire article. 

(Source: AASHTO)

(Source: Autbloggreen) 

The Autoblogger says “2008 saw the biggest drop ever in CO₂ emissions from new vehicles sold in the UK, with a year over year reduction of 4.2 percent. Wtih a fleetwide average of just 158 g/km, cars amount to just 11.5 percent of total UK carbon dioxide emissions. The combination of rapid escalation in fuel prices in 2008 and congestion charges in cities like London undoubtedly pushed many car buyers to some of the low emissions specials like the VW Polo BlueMotion, Smart ForTwo CDi and Ford Fiesta ecoNetic.”

(Source: LiveLeek via  Gizmodo)

Pilot And Stewardess Smoke Hashish During Flight and record their feat.

 Gotta love our funny friend Jesus Diaz@ Gizmodo for this lovely Note he added to his post on Gizmodo:

Note to self:  Never ever book an Aeroflot flight. And with that I really mean “become a pilot and join Aeroflot.” 

No cats were harmed in the making of this video. (This link will take you to another video that shocked a lot of us Gizmodo fans when it became public).

(Source: Federal Computer Week)

The Transportation Department has established a special team to oversee the $48 billion it is slated to receive under the economic stimulus law, said Calvin Scovel, DOT’s inspector general. 

The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery team would make sure that the department provides accountability and transparency for the massive amount of additional funding authorized by the law, Scovel said in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee’s Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee today. 

However, dealing with that large infusion of money, which must be distributed quickly and with the limited staff resources available, will force the department to limit its focus on its mission of transportation safety, Scovel said.

DOT must balance the quick distribution of funds to create jobs with significant oversight of that money and the $70 billion the department spends annually on safety and mobility projects, he said. The stimulus funds would flow through existing DOT program spending, most of which is channeled to the states in the form of grants, he added.