We Will Oppose Every New And Expanded Highway
Might as well put it out there, now.
We will oppose every new and expanded highway.
I know it’s popular to think that ‘infrastructure’ can be a short-term stimulus to the economy, but I’m not convinced - partly because it’s a nonsensical belief. But there seems to be a good amount of thinking that what worked in the 1950s will work today - that we, as a nation, can just head out ‘to the cornfields’ and start laying down some asphalt. However, for better or worse, today we have people who know and care about the environment. And places are more populated — that is, there are just more people who could resist, and more people aware enough to resist.
The message to Obama on new and expanded highways? Expect resistance.
You’re going to improve the ability of cars and trucks to pollute the air my kids and I breathe? I don’t think so.
Obama should know that we will oppose every new and expanded highway project — no matter how many ‘jobs’ it means - we’d rather dig and fill ditches than do ourselves and our children even more harm by building more and bigger highways. We’re about to flood the inboxes of editors everywhere with ‘induced demand‘ educationals. If we absolutely need to have something to build, then we can build some sidewalks. Or better, we can tear down more highways - ‘urban revitalization’ and all that.
One of the knocks against mass transit spending is that it won’t see the light of day for ten or twenty years, except in places like Phoenix/Tempe that have actually planned for the future. Obama and the highway lobby may be thinking that new and bigger highways are an easy way to ‘get things moving again’. We should let them know that there is a political cost to new and bigger highways - even ‘eco-friendly’ highways like the new and improved, higher-capacity Doyle Drive highway. An ‘eco-friendly’ highway is like ‘clean coal’ - it doesn’t exist.
Obama can spend our money on any number of things — all he has to do is find some reason - any reason - to shove it under the ‘get things going again’ umbrella. But new and expanded highways should not be an option for him and his crew. If he chooses to do this - and our reps support him in his efforts - we need to make them feel it however we can.
Leave comment (1)[p.s. The Forums are open for participation.]
December 21st, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Ah-men to that. Wider roads are death to communities and the planet.
Great blog by the way!
One note speaking as a bike and ped advocate in the San Jose area. I have been recently
layed up with an injury to the point where I could not walk beyond 1000 feet or so.
That type of incapacity gives you a new apprecation for transit as a necessary part of our transportation mix.
It was the same type of experience as when I went on a walk with a blind person to “see”
what challenges blind and sight impaired people face getting around.
Lots of roads here in the South Bay were we could run trollys right up the center taking
out one to two car lanes.