Instead of doubling down on the unsustainable planning and building practices, the current crisis offers a chance to hit reset, according to this article.
Tony Dutzik writes:
Sports seasons are suspended. Concerts and public gatherings are canceled. Millions of us are cooped up at home trying to stay healthy and stay sane.
But the work of teeing up the next generation of boondoggle highway projects doesn’t stop – not even for a global pandemic.
While some are mobilizing to spend on public health, public transit, or clean energy projects in connection with federal stimulus efforts, others are turning to highway projects, reports Dutzik.
The American Highway Users Alliance and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) recently put out similar requests for emergency relief for state transportation agencies and the reauthorization of the main federal transportation law. AASHTO’s request called for $50 billion in funding to last through the end of fiscal 2021 and a doubling of spending over the next six years in reauthorization of the federal transportation law.
Dtuzik's purpose in the article is to call for a pause on new highway projects and a shift toward maintenance of existing roads and highways. "The global pandemic has forced us all to call 'time out' on all sorts of things that are non-essential. The same principle should apply to activities that are not only not essential, but are actively harmful. Boondoggle highway projects fit the bill."
FULL STORY: Call "time out" on highway boondoggles
Highway Boondoggles Continue as the Pandemic Stresses Budgets at Every Level of Government
U.S. PIRG has released the latest edition of the Highway Boondoggles report, the sixth edition of the report published since 2014.
Interstate 45 Realignment Would Cut Through a Historic Black Neighborhood in Houston
A plan to realign Interstate 45 in Houston has been criticized as a highway boondoggle as well as a failure of racial and social equity, and recent protests have only amplified the latter criticisms of the project.
Road and Highway Construction Plan Expected to Take a $250 Million Hit in Colorado
The Colorado Department of Transportation might be building fewer roads than they had originally planned after the coronavirus recedes. A few projects already underway have been able to speed up.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin
The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals
The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association