Month: November 2020
-
The real $3.4 billion hole in the I-5 bridge project
The Oregon and Washington transportation departments understated the funding gap for a revived I-5 Columbia River Bridge by more than $1 billion Correcting for an arithmetic error increases the gap between identified revenues and potential costs from $2.3 billion to $3.4 billion. ODOT & WSDOT also used too low an inflation factor for escalating project…
-
Black Friday, Cyber-Monday and the myth of gridlock Tuesday
Far from increasing traffic congestion, more on-line shopping reduces it, by reducing personal shopping trips Delivery trucks generate 30 times less travel than people traveling to stores to make the same purchases The more deliveries they make, the more efficient delivery services become The day after a nation celebrates its socially distanced “Zoom Thanksgiving” we’ll…
-
The Week Observed, November 30, 2020
What City Observatory did this week Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Gridlock Tuesday? The day after a nation celebrates its socially distanced “Zoom Thanksgiving” we’ll look to see how the pandemic affects the traditional “Black Friday” shopping spree. It seems likely that more retail sales than ever will gravitate to on-line shopping. That’s got many self-styled…
-
More cynical greenwashing from the highway industry
There’s no shortage of cynical greenwashing to sell climate-killing highway widening projects GeorgiaDOT and AASHTO have a new PR gimmick to promote the same old product AASHTO—the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials—was touting one of their innovative environmental programs, something called “Planning and Environmental Linkages.” Its currently being deployed by the Georgia…
-
The Week Observed, November 13, 2020
What City Observatory did this week 1. Seven reasons you should be optimistic about cities in a post-pandemic world. There’s widespread pessimism about the future of cities. With the pandemic-induced advent of work-at-home, many people reason that soon there won’t be any reason to go into the office, or have offices, or even cities. We…
-
Why—and where—Metro’s $5 billion transportation bond measure failed
Portland voters resoundingly defeated a proposed multi-billion dollar payroll tax to pay for transportation projects The two areas slated for the biggest benefits voted against the measure: The Southwest Corridor and East Portland both opposed the measure A generous electorate didn’t want to spend billions on transportation A few months back, we laid out the…
-
Covid & Cities: Reasons for optimism
There are several compelling reasons—the seven “C’s”—to believe cities will thrive and prosper in a post-pandemic world: Competition: Zooming it in works when everyone has to do it, but if you work remotely while others are in the office, you are at a competitive disadvantage in contributing to and advancing in your work, especially if…
-
The Week Observed, November 6, 2020
What City Observatory did this week 1. Achieving equitable transportation: Reallocate road space and price car travel. New York has recorded a kind of “Miracle on 14th Street.” By largely banning through car traffic, its speeded bus travel times 15 to 25 percent, with virtually no effect on traffic on adjacent streets. Buses now run…
-
Systemic racism and automobile insurance
Does geographic rating of car insurance amount to 21st Century redlining? Car insurance rates vary more based on who your neighbors are than on your driving record The premium penalty for living in a Black neighborhood is twice as large as for being an aggressive driver. States should ban using small geographies, like zip codes,…
-
Achieving equitable mobility: Reallocate road space, price driving
Reallocating street space to buses is inherently equitable Charging a very high price to cars for using scarce road space promotes equity Just a year ago, New York took the bold step of of restricting traffic on 14th Street in Manhattan to buses and a relative handful of local deliveries. The improvement in local travel…