Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Highway Expansion

Wisconsin’s Outdated Transportation Priorities Are Alienating Young People

By Tanya Snyder | May 21, 2014 | No Comments

Over-spending on roads is a bad idea for any state DOT. But it’s an especially bad idea if that state needs to retain more young people who don’t want to be shackled to cars. That’s the situation Wisconsin finds itself in, as detailed in a report the WISPIRG Foundation released today called, “Driving Wisconsin’s ‘Brain Drain’: How […]

Earth Day Resolution: Stop Building Projects Like the Zoo Interchange

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 22, 2014 | No Comments

Leading up to Earth Day, the New York Times ran an editorial, “Time Is Running Out,” lamenting the lack of urgency in the United States to prevent a very urgent problem: catastrophic climate change. Today, Brad Plumer at Vox explained why it may be too late to keep average temperatures from rising more than 2 […]

The Fuzzy Math in the Road Lobby’s Memo to Congress

By Tanya Snyder | Mar 25, 2014 | No Comments

Don’t know what to make of the news that U.S. driving rates have dropped for the ninth year in a row? Looking for guidance about whether your state or city should be wantonly expanding roads or investing in transit, biking, and walking? The road lobby thinks you should turn to them for independent, unbiased analysis […]

State DOTs Let Roads Fall Apart While Splurging on Highway Expansion

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 12, 2014 | No Comments

Even though 33 percent of its roads are in “poor” condition, West Virginia spends about 73 percent of its road budget building new roads and adding lanes. Mississippi spends 97 percent of its road money on expansion. Texas, 82 percent. Smart Growth America reports that the 50 states and the District of Columbia, combined, devote 55 […]

Driving Declines Spell Big Trouble for Turnpikes

By Angie Schmitt | Mar 12, 2014 | No Comments

What the New Jersey Turnpike Authority did in 2005 was no different than what almost every other state and regional transportation agency was doing at the time. It predicted that traffic volumes would rise at a healthy clip every year for about 30 years into the future. Then it estimated its revenues based on those […]

Desperate to Keep Highway Money Flowing, Texas Foists Costs Onto Cities

By Angie Schmitt | Aug 21, 2013 | No Comments

Faced with an impending budget crisis, the Texas Department of Transportation has decided not to rethink its $5.2 billion plan for a third outerbelt through undeveloped grasslands around Houston. Instead, the agency has developed a proposal to basically shift a big part of its costs to the state’s major cities. The Houston Business Journal reports that […]

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