The People Have Spoken
The dichotomy could not be more stark. On Monday, George Will opined on the need for more roads and chastised the “scolds” who say otherwise. One day later, the people of Seattle clearly stated, in a non-binding resolution over the future of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, that they do not want a new highway built over, under or anywhere near their precious waterfront. The result was a stinging rebuke for the politicians who have stubbornly supported rebuilding the elevated highway or digging a tunnel. How did public figures like Will and the elected officials of Seattle and Washington State get so out of touch with the people who deal with the mistakes of our misguided transportation priorities. Let’s hear first from Will (thanks to a post in the informative Bottleneck Blog in the LA Times):
There must be new highways and new lanes on some old ones. But there also must be new ways -- made possible by new technologies -- of using lanes.
The usual scolds -- environmentalists, urban "planners," enthusiasts for public transit (less than 5 percent of the workforce uses it) -- argue that more highways encourage more driving ("induced demand") and hence are self-defeating. But as Ted Balaker and Sam Staley respond in their new book on congestion, "The Road More Traveled," among the 10 largest metropolitan areas, Los Angeles has the least pavement per person; Dallas has twice as much per person and half as much congestion. Furthermore, when new schools are built because old ones have become congested and then the new ones fill up with children from families attracted by new schools, who argues that building the new ones was a mistake?
The politicians are no better. Mayor Greg Nickels of Seattle for months has pushed various versions of a tunnel, despite repeatedly assurances that the state would not foot the bill for a tunnel. Washington Governor Christine Gregoire and her power hungry bureaucrats have steadfastly championed a new elevated structure, despite unequivocal opposition from Seattle city officials and residents. In the midst of this infighting, no resources were devoted to exploring a third option of tearing down the viaduct and reclaiming the waterfront. Now that the residents of Seattle have spoken, neither body of government is prepared to move forward with this desired alternative. Only King County, led by its progressive and increasingly visionary president Ron Sims, seemed to listen to the sentiments of the people and has been studying the improvements throughout the city required to absorb traffic displaced from the destruction of the viaduct. Sims will now have a seat at the table and stands to benefit greatly from his prescience.
As I wrote last week, the so-called “congestion crisis” will test the will power of public officials across the country. The “build more roads” bandwagon, which Will hopped on this week, is very tempting, especially when libertarians like Balaker and Staley push anti-government half-truths about transportation issues. Years ago, Los Angeles realized the fallacy of building more roads and has embarked on some of the most innovative and ambitious alternative transportation projects in the country, including the smart toll roads that have captured Will’s fancy. In addition, Los Angeles is finally experiencing a revival of its urban core. None of this would have occurred if the region was simultaneously pursuing a schizophrenic road building strategy as well. Los Angeles is simply farther along the growth curve than the Dallas metro area. If the good folks in Dallas think they can build their way out of congestion, more power to them. In a fight like that, my money is always on congestion.
The “build more roads” advocates will stoop to almost any low to defend their position, even, as we’ve just read, comparing road construction to public education. Public schools provide an unquestioned social good. Road construction is one of many policy options for creating an efficient transportation infrastructure. Big difference. What’s truly sad about this comparison is that Will obviously has a narrow suburban perspective on the state of public education. Otherwise, he would note that the construction of new schools in the suburbs has been matched by public school closings in urban areas across the country. We can only wish road construction was experiencing a similar phenomenon, for we’d be reclaiming urban spaces left and right. No, Will’s head is so far in the sand that he doesn’t even realize the irony of his analogy: our national fixation with building more roads has lead directly to the wasteful rash of construction of new schools to replace the abandoned ones left in our cities.
Fortunately, George Will does not get to decide what happens in Seattle. The Governor, Mayor, and legislators do. Maybe, as they head back to the drawing board, they’ll start listening to the voters. Otherwise, this once innocuous issue will be the end of a few political careers.