Recent Streetsblog SF posts about Highway Expansion

When $1 Billion Doesn’t Buy What it Used To — And When it Does

By Elana Schor | Oct 8, 2009 | No Comments

Since Washington’s economic recovery debate first began last fall, advocates for greater infrastructure investment have invoked one phrase more often than almost any other: "Every $1 billion spent on transportation creates 47,500 jobs." How many transportation jobs could this $1 billion create? (Photo: Infosthetics) Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) used that […]

Advocates Question Public Benefit of Caldecott Tunnel Fourth Bore

By Matthew Roth | Oct 2, 2009 | 19 Comments

Photo: pbo31 California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced bids for the fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel earlier this week, claiming that the new $420 million tunnel on State Route 24 through the Oakland hills will reduce congestion for the 160,000 motorists who use it daily and that it will create 6,000 new jobs. "This project […]

Report: Feds Subsidize Parking Six Times as Much as Transit

By Elana Schor | Sep 29, 2009 | 6 Comments

(Image: Subsidyscope) "Subsidy" is a word used quite often in transportation policy-making circles, whether by road acolytes who claim (falsely) that highways are not federally subsidized because of the gas tax or by transit boosters who lament Washington’s unceasing focus on paying for more local asphalt. But the subsidy debate often overlooks the government tax […]

Obama Administration Touts Nation’s First All-Electronic Toll Road in N.C.

By Elana Schor | Aug 13, 2009 | No Comments

The U.S. DOT dispatched Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez to North Carolina yesterday to kick off construction of the $1 billion Triangle Expressway, the state’s first toll road and the nation’s first to use per-mile electronic tolling. The scene at yesterday’s N.C. toll road groundbreaking. (Photo: WRAL) The highway was financed by a package of […]

Californians Put Environment on Back Burner But Still Support Transit

By Michael Rhodes | Jul 30, 2009 | No Comments

Protesters recently mourned the "death of transit," and poll results suggest they’re not alone. Are politicians listening? Photo: Matthew Roth According to a new survey, the economic benefits of walking, biking and taking transit may ultimately be their strongest selling point for Californians – at least during a recession. The poll, conducted by the non-partisan […]

Know Your Road Lobbyists: The American Highway Users Alliance

By Elana Schor | Jul 20, 2009 | 1 Comment

For a 77-year-old nonprofit group with substantial Washington clout, the American Highway Users Alliance keeps a pretty low profile. Its members are not listed on its website, but interested parties are asked a few questions: "Are you outraged by the deaths of 120 people each day on our roads? Are you pro-environment AND pro-highway?" Average […]

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