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Budgeting for Transportation Outcomes
Of late, the book The Price of Government has gotten a lot of attention. The thesis of the book is that citizens essentially pay a fixed percentage of their personal income to government (36% for the last 50 years in the U.S.) and government needs to figure out how to spend it most effectively. I…
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Cost of Congestion Study: Another Perspective
Here is why I think this is an important, possibly historic effort. For the first time in many years, leaders of both the business community and transportation agencies are sitting at the same table, in the same room, having a discussion about the issues we face as a region.
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Metro’s Congestion Study
The Portland Business Alliance, Metro, and others got decent ink this morning about a report they purchased on the costs of congestion, and a proposed $6 billion plan to address it. Both the Oregonian and the Tribune reported it as, well, media tend to report on economic studies — go with the press release. Skimming…
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Audio: Bruce Babbitt on Sprawl
On last week’s Smart City radio program, former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt talks about (MP3, 15M) sprawl and the current pattern of mindless roadbuilding. There’s also a segment with local Portland educational thinker Laurel Dukehart about getting high school dropouts back on the path to college.
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Maximizing the Value of Carsharing
Yesterday’s Willamette Week features an article about the cities (including Portland) and state agencies converting the motorpools to use carsharing companies like Flexcar. Clearly this is a good deal for the governments, they are saving real dollars on the vehicle costs. And presumably it’s good business for Flexcar. But why is it good for transportation…