When Public Transit's Cash Cow Runs Dry

re: When Public Transit's Cash Cow Runs Dry

PWang — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:32:47 GMT

The root of the problem is how we use land. Think of it as something like our recent massive financial bailout, but it's been something we've been doing gradually over time... Land has been cheap in the US and Texas. So it has been really easy for people to "flip the dirt" to make some money off of farmland, or fallow land (Katy Prairie). The landowners are incentivized to sell. As we know, mortgage brokers have been highly incentivized to make loans for a long time. Contractors and engineering companies are incentivized to collect the proceeds from those loans and build something... as cheaply as possible, using standard cookie-cutter plans and big-box construction techniques that minimize expensive artsy-farsty architectural input. So, dirt-flippers, loan officers, and contractors get paid in cash, and then they RUN. On to the next project. But they leave a collection of ugly, sprawling properties at the feet of City, County, and State governments, who have to provide mobility and access somehow, even though this style of development is hard to serve, due to low density. Whether you are building roads, monorail, light rail, heavy rail, bus lines, or bike paths... LOW POPULATION AND DESTINATION DENSITIES WILL DESTROY THE JUSTIFICATION FOR YOUR PROJECT. Combine that with the suburbanist allergy toward living a cooperative lifestyle (principally I mean carpooling), and you have far too many single-occupant vehicles way overusing the facilities. Some call carpooling "collectivism", I call it being a good and helpful neighbor. Who's right? Depends on whether you have a blue or red mentality. And that is why we are running out of money for roads. Sprawl and too many cars that aren't needed to transport the folks.

re: When Public Transit's Cash Cow Runs Dry

Royko — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:10:28 GMT

PWang,

A week or so ago, the History channel presented a program touching on the state of our public transit systems. The biggest problem is maintenance of the corrosion (including stray current). Most of the systems are suffering from the costs inherent in operating these systems.

Americans living in single-family residences is what we aspired to achieve until the "smart growth" new urbanist lobby influenced elected officials to divert transportation resources from raods and bridges to boondoggle urban rail.

The last couple of generations of Americans have been indoctrinated to accept Socialist concepts, and seemingly many public school graduates have trouble thinking for themselves. They tend to rely upon the unelected and seemingly unaccountable bureaucrats to "do the right thing" yet we are continually reminded of the fact that these agencies consistantly fail to properly serve the people.

re: When Public Transit's Cash Cow Runs Dry

JamesL — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:18:59 GMT

Rokyo, I'm afraid you have things a bit backwards. "Boondoggle urban rail" was the way people got around until the highway and motor vehicle lobby bought the trolley companies and replaced them with buses. Perhaps a policy class at your prestigious private school examined the degree to which Americans "chose" to flee the cities versus that to which they were forced to by bureaucratic decisions to subsidize roads and mortgages for the type of development described above by PWang.

And here you go again condescending based on people's educational opportunities. Apparently they don't teach social graces - or what most of us call "manners" - at the institution that seems to have nurtured your prejudices.

Regards,

James

re: When Public Transit's Cash Cow Runs Dry

JamesL — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:32:28 GMT

And awfully well documented for a myth.

Actually, I like your style. Information that conflicts with your view becomes "myth" or receives a undesirable label like "socialist."