Category: Transportation
-
The Quest for Smarter Parking
City Hall is trying to bring order and reason to the administration of downtown Richmond’s 24,000 parking spaces. The job could take years.
-
The Walkability Premium
The scholars over at New Geography just won’t give up trying to make the case that most Americans prefer to live in single-family detached houses in the suburbs. Citing data from the 2010 American Community Survey, Wendell Cox wrote that 79.2% of the new households in 51 major metro areas moved into precisely such housing…
-
The Truth Trickles Out… Henrico Home Sales Still Booming
by James A. Bacon Well, well, well. How about that. Home prices are still booming in the Richmond region, according to the latest Richmond Association of Realtors (RAR) data. In Henrico County, where citizens will vote on a 4% meals tax in November, the median sales price increased 11% in the third quarter of 2013.…
-
At Last, a Transportation Plan from Cuccinelli
by James A. Bacon Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli has unveiled his long-awaited transportation plan. It’s a mixed bag — it has some good ideas and some not-so-good ideas. But at least he has a plan. As far as I can tell, his rival Terry McAuliffe has articulated no transportation-related ideas beyond, “Build,…
-
Let’s Get Creative with Bus Stops!
Discussion continues in the comments section of this blog on the subject of Arlington County’s $1 million bus stops. I have not inquired into the precise reasons for this travesty, but I would suggest what part of the solution is — more competition. Designing and erecting a bus shelter is not like raising the Burj…
-
Grappling with the Sharing Economy
When historians look back upon the cultural history of the United States, they may well conclude that the greatest contribution of the Millennial Generation was its embrace of the sharing economy. Previous generations of Americans assumed as a bedrock principle that it made sense to own their major personal assets: cars and houses. Young people…
-
Building a Culture of Cycling
Arlington County has set the goal of becoming the most bicycle-friendly community on the East Coast, and it has devoted serious resources to make it happen. The task takes more than building bike lanes and painting sharrows — it takes changing the culture of transportation, as explained in this video produced by the county. The…
-
The Case for Higher Speed Rail
by James A. Bacon Yes, it is possible to be a conservative and support high-speed rail in the United States. Indeed, in a paper prepared for the American Public Transportation Association, “High-Speed Rail: A Conservative Appraisal,” conservatives William S. Lind and Glen D. Bottoms have outlined a practical, disciplined approach to build a better passenger rail system. …
-
Developing Transportation ROI Metrics: Easier Said than Done
Calling for a “consumer-based transportation model,” House Speaker William J. Howell intends to submit a bill in the upcoming session of the General Assembly to base project funding decisions upon “specific, quantifiable and measurable metrics.” The hope is that money will start flowing to projects not on the basis of politics and ideology but on the amount…
-
Testing the Limits
With 22 projects in the pipeline, Tony Kinn and his team are garnering national recognition for their work on public-private partnerships. They’re just getting started.
-
Pocahontas Parkway Sparks Regional Feud
By Peter Galuszka The Pocahontas Parkway east of Richmond has proved one of the biggest disasters Virginia has ever conjured up in recent years. Now it is provoking regional feuds over transportation policy power. The Richmond Metropolitan Authority which oversees the city’s Downtown Expressway, part of the Powhite Parkway, some parking lots and the Diamond…
-
The Ladies of Pageland Lane
In Prince William County populist conservatives and liberal smart-growthers have found common ground in fighting Northern Virginia’s proposed Bi-County Parkway.
-
McDonnell Team to Spend $289,000 in Taxpayer Money to Sway Taxpayers on Bi-County Parkway
by James A. Bacon The McDonnell administration has agreed to pay a Washington, D.C., communications consultancy $289,000 to help win public support for the proposed Bi-County Parkway in Northern Virginia. The details are laid out in a Scope of Services agreement obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Del. Robert Marshall, R-Manassas. The…
-
So Much to Blog about, So Little Time II
More great stories that I don’t have time do justice to… Curb Appeal D.C. Streets Blog Summary: Alan Durning tackles the political challenge of how to persuade people to embrace performance (market-based) pricing for parking on streets where they are accustomed to parking for free. Plow the revenue from variable-price parking meters into a highly…
-
Air Cargo Case for Bi-County Parkway Crashes and Burns. Will McDonnell Pivot to New Justification?
by James A. Bacon Cognitive Dissonance, anyone? There is an interesting juxtaposition of articles in The Washington Post today…. The local section carried an article about George Mason University President Angel Cabrera expressing support of the Bi-County Parkway, while the business section ran an article about a new report emanating from The Center for Regional analysis at GMU,…