"Lord Randal's" Latest Wisdom

[Gilbert B Norman]

"In advocating for a gas tax increase, the group is supporting wealth transfers from downstate Illinois to Chicago".

"Moreover, in the past 30 years, not a single bridge has collapsed in Illinois, or anywhere else, because it was structurally deficient"

http://www.newgeography.com/content/006 ... is-slowing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fair Use:

Such diversions should not be necessary. In the long run, spending on transit infrastructure is a waste because ridership is declining. In the short run, instead of repairing worn-out transit infrastructure, both Chicago and the Twin Cities should replace the trains that use such infrastructure with buses. That would eliminate the need for huge infrastructure spending on transit and could actually lead to improved transit service because buses are so much more flexible than trains.

[Tadman]

There's no question that transit needs have been horribly neglected in the last decade. Witness the dumpster fire that is NJT or Metra. NJT has serious crew and equipment deficiencies, and hasn't been able to run the ACL at all recently. Metra has something like 70% of the fleet in bad shape. Woof...

[ExCon90]

"In advocating for a gas tax increase, the group is supporting wealth transfers from downstate Illinois to Chicago".

"Moreover, in the past 30 years, not a single bridge has collapsed in Illinois, or anywhere else, because it was structurally deficient"

http://www.newgeography.com/content/006 ... is-slowing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fair Use:

Such diversions should not be necessary. In the long run, spending on transit infrastructure is a waste because ridership is declining. In the short run, instead of repairing worn-out transit infrastructure, both Chicago and the Twin Cities should replace the trains that use such infrastructure with buses. That would eliminate the need for huge infrastructure spending on transit and could actually lead to improved transit service because buses are so much more flexible than trains.

... I fain would lie down ...

[Backshophoss]

Another "Koch Bros" follower,that needs help,a "lost"soul to boot

[Milwaukee_F40C]

I happen to read Robert Poole and Randal O'Toole stuff with interest. They are contrarians against central planning everything. The arguments O'Toole made against fuel tax hikes and public projects at this time are sound. And my employment happens to benefit any time municipalities build things. I don't care, I'm a fan of considering the no build option.

Buses really are more flexible and cost effective than most trendy light rail style transit has been lately. Chicago only has heavy rail infrastructure though which is not really convertible to buses without the same kind of costs that dedicated rail right of ways have. So that part of the article is a bit bizarre. Rail starts to be more viable and makes a small dent in traffic at the point that subways and suburban commuter trains can be filled.

[Gilbert B Norman]

... I fain would lie down ...

Lest our youngsters around here wonder....

https://youtu.be/haoAMpGXSrc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jonnhrr]

It is true that a gas tax increase hurts people in places where there is no alternative to driving.

Maybe a better choice is a congestion charge for anyone entering the downtown areas by auto. Then at least the people affected have an alternative.

[Tadman]

A parking tax might be easier than a congestion charge. Most people downtown park in a garage with a monthly pass. The public parking system has 9,000 parking spots and I assume there are probably 3-4x that in private hands. Assuming 50,000 parking spaces at $5/week, that's $13m for transit. Right now downtown monthly parking passes are about 250, so that's a new price of 270 or 3000/year to 3240/year. Not a big diff, certainly not enough to change behavior.

[ExCon90]

It's probably a given that anything designed to change behavior is going to be fiercely contested by those whose behavior it is intended to change. In the end, the whole thing will probably be decided by the political situation at that particular time and place.