Comments on: Midwest Miscellany

By: John

John — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:42:22 +0000

^I'm predicting they will use my idea to halve the number of stops (every 1/4 or less instead of every 1/8 mile) to speed up service, cut costs, and boost ridership.

By: the urban politician

the urban politician — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:15:55 +0000

I'm interested to find out what this "major new proposed overhaul" of mass transit in the Chicago region is.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:50:50 +0000

Thundermutt, big cities already vote Democratic by large margins. For reelection purposes, pork should go to competitive suburbs instead.

By: Stephen Gross

Stephen Gross — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:30:15 +0000

I read and enjoyed the wsj article. I've noticed that lately wsj has covered much more urban planning. Maybe this is a good sign..?

By: thundermutt

thundermutt — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:24:22 +0000

The cynic (political analyst) in me offers this response to the direct Fed-City link concept:

Of COURSE the administration wants this! Big cities elected the president and are key to his reelection hopes.

Conversely, many statehouses (legislatures and governors) are dominated by rural/suburban coalitions of Republicans and conservative Democrats that require horse-trading to pass budgets.

Though, to be fair, your single citation of the Ohio bypass requires further investigation: was the route in question a safety problem for the town, or an upgrade of a heavily-traveled truck route connecting larger cities, or a supporting piece of a larger economic-development puzzle, or a purely political payback for an influential legislator's support (or a mix of all)?

In Indiana, one could argue with a pretty straight face that money was held back from the "long overdue reconstruction of I-69 in Hamilton County" to provide "upgraded highway infrastructure in a town of 12,000" without ever mentioning that the upgraded infrastructure supports the brand-new Honda factory in Greensburg.

Politics and technocratic sense are often at odds. That doesn't mean either is "wrong" or "bad"; the cost of democratic-republican (small "d" and "r") politics is often some inefficiency.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 01:30:52 +0000

Speaking of high-speed rail, SNCF has just submitted a proposal to the FRA for running major HSR corridors excluding the NEC (I'm not sure why - too difficult to build? Amtrak won't sell?). SNCF's vision looks similar to America 2050's.