Microsoft campus gets new bridge from stimulus dollars; Critics slam government

March 31, 2009 at 9:12 am

REDMOND, Washington — Should a bridge that would connect two campuses at Microsoft’s headquarters be funded with $11 million from the federal stimulus package?

Critics of using stimulus money for the bridge say it would give the software giant a break on a pet project. They also say it serves as a warning sign of how some stimulus money is not being used to finance new projects but is being diverted to public works already under way.

Supporters argue the bridge is an ideal public-private partnership that will benefit an entire community while fulfilling the stimulus package’s goal of getting people back to work.

An artist's rendering shows how the proposed bridge would be constructed over a busy highway.

“It’s going create just under 400 jobs for 18 months constructing the bridge,” says Redmond Mayor John Marchione. “It’s also connecting our technical sector with our retail and commercial sectors so people can cross the freeway to shop and help traffic flow.”

Marchione applied for federal stimulus money after costs jumped on the project from $25 million to $36 million. Marchione says the increase in costs were due to a rise in construction prices and because the bridge will be built on a diagonal in order to connect Microsoft’s original East campus with a newer West campus that are split by a public highway.

Microsoft is hardly getting the bridge for free. The company is contributing $17.5 million or a little less than half the tab of the $36 million bridge, which would be open for public use.

And even though the bridge goes from a parking lot behind Microsoft’s West campus across a highway to an entrance of Microsoft’s East campus, Marchione says, people other than Microsoft employees would use the overpass.

“We’re not a one-company town,” Marchione says. “Our traffic studies show that Microsoft traffic would be about 42 percent of the bridge, yet Microsoft is paying for about 50 percent of the bridge, so we think we are getting fair value.

“The United States taxpayer is leveraging their dollars, and I think everyone is getting a fair deal.”  But a watchdog group monitoring how stimulus money is being spent says the taxpayer in this case is getting ripped off.  Click here to read the entire CNN article.

Another article on Softpedia.com offers the view point from Microsoft’s General counsel, Brad Smith, and Washington’s Governor Chris Gregoire. 

“In recent days, some have questioned whether this project should have been a recipient of federal stimulus funding. We think this is a very positive example of a public-private partnership, and we are pleased to be contributing roughly 50 percent of the funding to help build this public project that will benefit the entire community. The federal stimulus dollars combine with additional state, local and existing federal dollars to fund the remainder,” revealed Brad Smith, Microsoft general counsel. 

Smith underlined that not only was Microsoft participating in the project with half the funding, but that the company had already spent in excess of $50 million to help local authorities build infrastructure projects. At the same time, the overpass will not benefit Microsoft exclusively. Employees from Honeywell, Siemens, Nintendo and Sears will also get to use the bridge and will contribute to reducing the congestion affecting 148th Avenue NE and 156th Avenue NE. 

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire explained that the overpass was not about Microsoft but “about multiple employers. It’s about thousands of employees and residents. It’s about taking people off the congestion we have in that interchange on [State Route] 520 now, where we literally have a problem in that people have to go 2 miles rather than two-tenths of a mile which that bridge would produce…. Almost 50 percent of that project is privately funded. That’s leveraging dollars. That’s what we’re trying to do, is to use private sector dollars with stimulus dollars and get a bigger bang for the buck.”  Here is a video of Gov. Gregoire discussing the issue (courtesy of Softpedia.com)

Stimulus rules may stymie transportation projects; State recipients worry

March 26, 2009 at 6:10 pm

(Source: Boston Globe)

Mass. officials say public works that would have the biggest impact – and create the most jobs – may be left out

Governor Deval Patrick’s administration has determined that dozens of worthy projects are not eligible for federal stimulus money because the US government has dictated that only certain types of public improvements can be funded, even if they have limited economic potential.

That means the initial round of stimulus spending may generate fewer jobs than Massachusetts officials had expected.

When it approved the stimulus package, Congress restricted the use of about $800 million of transportation funds to projects that have been included on a list of public improvements states put together annually. It often takes years for a project to work its way onto that list.

In Massachusetts, many of those projects are simple jobs – paving roads or fixing sidewalks – and usually do not trigger another round of associated development that would employ a larger number of people. The congressional restriction prevents Patrick from using the money for some larger highway and transit upgrades that aren’t on the list but that would spur development of homes, office parks, and retail stores.

Click here to read the entire article.

Streetsblog Interviews John Norquist @ Congress for the New Urbanism – How to Fix National Transportation Policy: Part I

March 26, 2009 at 4:59 pm

(Source: Streetsblog)

How can federal policy encourage walkable street networks instead of highways and sprawl? 

connected_network.jpg

The news coming out of Washington last week jacked up expectations for national transportation policy to new heights. Cabinet members Ray LaHood and Shaun Donovan announced a partnership to connect transportation and housing policy, branded as the “Sustainable Communities Initiative.” The second-in-command at DOT, Vice Admiral Thomas Barrett, told a New York audience that “building communities” is a top priority at his agency.At the moment, however, the scene on the ground shows how far we have to go before the reality catches up to the rhetoric: State DOTs flush with federal stimulus cash are plowing ahead with wasteful, sprawl-inducing highway projects. Ultimately, you can’t end car dependence or create livable places without enlisting the people building those roads — the metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), state DOTs, and other entities that shape local policy. How can the feds affect their decisions?

john_norquist.jpgThe Congress for the New Urbanism has some intriguing answers. During the stimulus debate, CNU proposed a new type of federal road funding that would help to build connected grids — the kind of streets that livable communities are made of. The proposal didn’t make it into the stimulus package before the bill got rushed out the door, but the upcoming federal transportation bill will provide another chance. CNU President John Norquist — a four-term mayor of Milwaukee who first got into politics as an anti-freeway advocate — was down in DC last Thursday to share his ideas with Congress. Streetsblog spoke to him afterward about what’s broken with national transportation policy and how to fix it. Here’s the first part of our interview.

Ben Fried: During the stimulus debate you sent a letter to James Oberstar, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and among other things you said that discussion of national transportation policy often presents a “false dichotomy” between transit funding and road funding. What did you mean? 

John Norquist: Well, maybe “false” is the wrong word for me to have used, but it’s a dichotomy that’s very limited. If the debate is about transit versus roads — and currently the battle lines are drawn at 20 percent funding for transit, 80 percent for roads — it’s a really limited debate. It leaves out the whole discussion of what kind of roads to build. So if you have a city with boulevards and avenues and no freeways, it’s going to be a lot more valuable. You look at Vancouver, they have no freeways whatsoever, and they have a fabulously intense and valuable real estate and job market. And then you look at the places that have invested all the money in the giant road segments and they tend to be degraded. It’s not roads versus transit — it’s good street networks-plus-transit versus mindless building of out-of-scale roads. I mean they’re basically putting rural roads into urbanized areas and it’s counterproductive, it reduces the value of the economy, it destroys jobs, destroys real estate value. For what, so you can drive fast at two in the morning when you’re drunk?
Click here to read the entire interview.

Bobbys mess-up big time: British driver ticketed for 173mph in a vehicle capable of 127mph

March 25, 2009 at 12:49 pm

(Source: Jalopnik & Daily Telegraph; Photo Courtesy: Jalopnik )

Clocked by police driving at 173mph in a 50mph zone, the Brit avoided jail after his defence team said his sports car was incapable of travelling that fast.

Tex O’Reilly, winner of the award for least Britishly-named man ever, was ticketed for 173MPH in a 50MPH zone while driving his Lotus Elise. One problem? The Lotus Elise tops out at a leisurely 127MPH.

The Telegraph article reports that the prosecution failed to disprove the defence claims and accepted O’Reilly’s basis of plea. The builder from Canal Bridge in Willington, Derbys, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on the basis that he had driven at just 105mph.

Handing him a £5,000 fine and two-year driving ban, Judge Andrew Hamilton said: “May I make it absolutely clear that had you been driving at 150mph you would have been going immediately to prison.

“However, you were not driving at 150mph, you were driving at 105mph, and for whatever reason the prosecution have accepted that basis of plea, and that puts the case in a different light.”

O’Reilly sold the Lotus to a buyer in Germany for about £9,000 a month after the offence was committed on the A515 between Buxton and Ashbourne on July 12. 

Asked by the judge why the prosecution case had not involved tests of the Lotus in Germany, she added: “The defendant has asserted that the car could not have done that speed. Inquiries have been made as far as they can be and we can’t go further than that.  “It may be because our defendant is fortunate in the circumstances that the car has been moved very quickly from the country.”  But Dominic Shelley, defending, said “slippage” with speeding devices or human error can account for such disparities in recorded and actual speeds.  “They (Lotus Elises) are not built for that speed and the likelihood of one being able to keep control of such a vehicle at that speed is beyond comprehension,” he said.

Click here to read the entire article.

Mr. O’Toole a tool for Big Oil? – Cato Institute scholar O’Toole opines that trains Are For Tourists

March 23, 2009 at 2:06 pm

(Source: NPR;  Photo Courtesy: Hans Splinter@ Flickr)

NPR.org, March 19, 2009 –  When I went to Europe, I loved to ride the trains, especially the French TGV and other high-speed trains. So President Obama’s goal of building high-speed rail in the United States sounded good at first.

Randal O'Toole is a Cato Institute Senior Fellow working on urban growth, public land and transportation issues. Courtesy of the Cato Institute

But when I looked at the details, I discovered that — while high-speed rail may be good for tourists — it isn’t working very well in Europe or Japan.

Japan and France have each spent as much per capita on high-speed rail as we spent on our Interstate Highway System. The average American travels 4,000 miles and ships 2,000 ton-miles per year on the interstates. Yet the average resident of Japan travels only 400 miles per year on bullet trains, while the average resident of France goes less than 300 miles per year on the TGV — and these rail lines carry virtually no freight.

Click here to read the entire “Opinion” of Mr. O’ Toole.  

Throughout the world and throughout history, passenger trains have been used mainly by a wealthy elite and have never given the average people of any nation as much mobility as our interstate highways.

NOTE: TransportGooru disagrees with the author at many levels, especially on the above quoted paragraph lifted directly from Mr. O’Toole’s article.  Mr. O’ Toole forgets the very fact that Railways are in deed the lifeline for many countries in the developing world.  Heck, nearly half of the world’s population now resides in India (Population: 1.4 Billion and China (Population: 1.6 Billion) are two good examples of how emerging economies help their citizens move around the country without having to own a private automobile. If anything, remote regions such as China’s Tibet and India’s Kashmir valley are now connected to the mainland by trains, making it easy for people who make less than $1 per day to move across the country.  Hope Mr. O’ Toole would realize that railways have in deed given the average people of India and China as much mobility as the American people enjoy from their interstate highways.

Dictionary.com Reference:    [tool]  Show IPA ,

Tool – a person manipulated by another for the latter’s own ends; cat’s-paw.

Another reason to quit living in the suburbs – Virginia is taking aim at one of the most enduring symbols of suburbia: the cul-de-sac.

March 23, 2009 at 10:38 am

(Source: Washington Post)

Targeting Cul-de-Sacs, Rules Now Require Through Streets in New Subdivisions

Virginia is taking aim at one of the most enduring symbols of suburbia: the cul-de-sac.

 The state has decided that all new subdivisions must have through streets linking them with neighboring subdivisions, schools and shopping areas. State officials say the new regulations will improve safety and accessibility and save money: No more single entrances and exits onto clogged secondary roads. Quicker responses by emergency vehicles. Lower road maintenance costs for governments.

Although cul-de-sacs will remain part of the suburban landscape for years to come, the Virginia regulations attack what the cul-de-sac has come to represent: quasi-private standalone developments around the country that are missing only a fence and a sign that says “Keep Out.”

Homeowners choose cul-de-sacs because, they say, they offer safety, security and a sense of community.

“Cul-de-sacs are the safest places in America to live,” said Mike Toalson, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Virginia, which opposes the new rules. “The first lots sold are often on the cul-de-sacs because they are safe.” As for developments with single entrances and exits, Toalson said, such configurations ensure that all traffic is local, neighbors watch out for each other and speeds are kept down. “Crooks look for multiple exits.”

Click here to read the entire article. 

Americans still driving around too much? Not really, says USDOT: Decline In American Driving Still Evident

March 21, 2009 at 3:33 pm

(Source:  FHWA Press Release)

Into Second Year, National Trend Tops 122 Billion Miles

New estimates released today show the decline in American driving continued in January 2009 with 7 billion fewer vehicle-miles traveled (VMT), or 3.1 percent less, compared to the same month a year earlier. This is the first “back-to-back” decline for January since 1981-1982.

The decline now exceeds 122 billion VMT, compared to the same 14-month period – December 2006 to January 2008 – a year earlier. A recent end-of-the-year data calibration adjusted the November 2007 data, revealing that the trend did not begin in November 2007, as originally reported, but rather in December 2007.

As it has since the trend began, the decline in rural driving in January 2009 outpaced urban driving.

Click here to read the entire press release.  Shown below is the USDOT’s report on Traffic Volume Trends Report for January 2009.

HUD and USDOT Announce Joint Sustainable Communities Initiative

March 20, 2009 at 12:18 pm

 (Source: The Transport Politic)

HUD and DOT will encourage communities to combine federally-mandated metropolitan area housing and transportation plans 

During the campaign, now-President Barack Obama argued that the federal government could contribute to the planning and development of neighborhoods around the country through a livable communities initiative, arguing that “Our communities will better serve all of their residents if we are able to leave our cars to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives.” Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan testified today on the issue in front of the House Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing (part of the Appropriations Committee).

Both Secretaries argued that transportation and housing had to be planned together in order to handle the rising costs of both for most American households. Each pointed out that providing housing near public transportation allows for lower transportation costs and argued that transportation and housing in the United States should be organized in order to address climate change concerns.

HUD and DOT will establish a Sustainable Communities Initiative, which will encourage transit-oriented development. The initiative will encouraged integrated planning with HUD and DOT working together on neighborhood projects by encouraging metropolitan areas to consolidate their current government-mandated five-year housing plans and four-year transportation plans, both of which are used to determine federal formula appropriations to communities. The program will also consider transportation costs when determining the level of affordability in communities and develop “livability measures” to benchmark improvements that can be made to communities through federal funding. Finally, HUD and DOT programs and research will be “harmonized.”

Click here to read the entire article.  Click here to read a related article on tihs subject from the TransportGooru archives.

Brookings scholar articulates the connections between housing and transportation and the need for integrated planning

March 20, 2009 at 10:12 am

(Source: Brookings Institute)

Brookings Senior Fellow Robert Puentes tells a House Appropriations panel this week that “how and where we build in the future carries far-reaching implications for the health of our environment, our energy security, and our economic recovery and will continue to impact our metropolitan areas’ success and our ability to compete globally.”

Unfortunately, the U.S. track record here is not good.  Puentes’ research shows that between 1980 and 2000, the growth of the largest 99 metro areas in the continental U.S. consumed 16 million acres of rural land, or about one acre for every new household.5Indicative of this outward sprawl is the fact that more than 70 percent of the 100 largest metros’ recent population growth over the same period of time occurred outside of principal cities—the largest and most established cities within each metro in terms of population and employment.

Click here to read or download Mr. Puentes’ testimony to the House Appropriations panel.  Shown below is the read-only version of the PDF document.

Highways to nowhere: A (somewhat biased) review of seven most ridiculous new roads built with stimulus money

March 18, 2009 at 4:40 pm

(Source: Infrastructurist & Huffingtonpost)

At a White House gathering last week, both Barack Obama and Joe Biden warned America’s governors not to squander stimulus funds on ill-conceived infrastructure projects. “Six months from now,” Biden said, “if the verdict on this effort is that we’ve wasted the money, we built things that were unnecessary, or we’ve done things that are legal but make no sense, then, folks, don’t look for any help from the federal government for a long while.”grand_parkway_east1

Nowhere is this warning more pertinent than in building new roads. The stimulus bill allocates nearly $30 billion in highway funds to the states and requires that put the money to use quickly. That’s a good thing when the money is being spent on smart construction, but it raises the danger that some bad projects will be rushed through, simply because the plans are ready to go (in some cases after being controversially fast-tracked by the Bush administration.) Misguided road building can encourage sprawl, make communities less livable, and devastate the local environment. We looked at shovel-ready new highway projects across the country that are either getting stimulus money or could potentially get some and found seven that, in Biden’s words, “make no sense.”

HuffingtonPost article by the author summarizes these projects as follows:

7. I-295 Loop in Fayetteville, NC – An 8-mile stretch of this freeway is slated to get $63 million for a construction start within the next few months. But it runs through rural land and is a recipe for the worst kind of sprawl. Meanwhile it would deprive the city center of economically valuable military traffic from Fort Bragg. So why are they doing it? Two of the key officials making the state funding list are from Fayetteville.

6. I-69 extension in Indiana – This 142 mile-long highway would cost an estimated $3.5 billion to build. Its effect on the sections south of Bloomington, where it will be built on “new terrain,” would be devastating to rural life in the area, with 400 families affected by the route’s construction and 2,800 acres of farmland paved over. More than 1,000 acres of forests would be cut down. There’s a better alternative that would cost just half as much.

5. Widening I-93 in southern New Hampshire – The plan to expand this overcrowded road from four lanes today to eight along a 20-mile stretch between Salem and Manchester would cost of $750 million. But it ignores what is common knowledge among transportation experts: building more lanes simply creates more traffic. A better alternative: a parallel existing rail line, neglected for years, would offer the area’s commuters a direct shot to downtown Boston.

4. I-66 in Kentucky – This $10 billion project is a disaster. The 420-mile route lies directly between I-64 and I-40, which are only three hours apart. In this rural area, a freeway simply isn’t necessary as there is little traffic on existing roads. And since neighboring states have abandoned work on connecting segments, meaning that the highway would effectively dead-end into local roads at both ends. But the the most dire effects would be on the environment: The road would tear through the Appalachians and the Daniel Boone National Forest.

3. Grand Parkway in Houston, Texas – At 184 miles in length and a projected cost of $5.1 billion, Houston’s fourth outer loop a world-class boondoggle. A 14-mile stretch of the corridor, funded by $181 million of stimulus money, would destroy some local prairie and parkland. The nonprofit group that is pushing the road, is made up major land developers, who see a profitable new frontier for exurban sprawl.

2. Intercounty Connector in the DC suburbs of Maryland – Former governor Parris Glendening thought this highway project would be an environmental disaster. But the 18 mile, $3 billion road seems to be going ahead, to the detriment of Maryland’s ability to fund other transportation projects, like a much-needed new light rail lines in Baltimore. Worst of all, the highway won’t even be much of a help in clearing the traffic on Washington’s infamously congested Beltway–its net effect would be to increase the number of miles traveled by Marylanders in their cars.

1. I-65 Downtown Bridge in Louisville, Kentucky – This $4.1 billion project would create a 24-lane monstrosity along downtown Louisville’s waterfront, eparating the city center from the Ohio river and cutting into a brand new park. Approximately 100 residential properties and 30 businesses would be taken for the project, and the enormous, ugly interchange of the three roads would loom above downtown. A much simpler and cheaper plan would open up the downtown waterfront and allow the for the construction of an attractive boulevard like San Francisco’s Embarcadero. 

Click here to read the detailed analysis on each of these projects.

Note:  Transportgooru doesn’t fully agree with the author on the reasons cited for labeling these projects as wasteful spending, especially the Maryland ICC interconnector.  As always, everyone has the right to their opinion and so do the author and many of his readers who do not accept his views.