Sewage issues in Ottawa are bringing attention to the significant infrastructure problems associated with sprawl.
"The genesis of the infrastructure mess plaguing cities is not very complicated. Municipal politicians and planners allowed cities to get too big, to sprawl, creating long distances to extend infrastructure from the core.
In Ottawa, roads, electrical lines and water mains cover huge swaths of geography to serve a spread out, density-poor population.
So when the city gets lots of snow as it did last winter, the snow-plowing budget goes through the roof. When the roads get too long, the hotpatching budget for filling potholes gets larger and larger. When the cost of asphalt increases, so too does the hotpatching bill. Then the long roads need rebuilding or repaving.
In recent weeks, infrastructure anxieties in Ottawa have focused on our inadequate sewer systems, which after heavy rains end up fouling our beaches and the river from which residents in parts of Eastern Ontario and West Quebec get their drinking water."
FULL STORY: Finally, we're talking sewage

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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