An examination of the proposed plan for the West Bay Parkway in Florida reveals many holes, a wasteful project, and the need for more accountability in transportation planning.
Kevin DeGood provides an installment in the "White Elephant Watch" series, which highlights unnecessary transportation infrastructure projects—in this case, the West Bay Parkway in Bay County, Florida. "The project has an estimated cost of $566 million," writes DeGood. Yet, "[g]iven its location, the proposed parkway will not serve as an effective alternative route for travelers on U.S. Route 98. Moreover, alternative investments in things such as public transportation would provide far greater congestion relief at a much lower cost."
The article breaks down each of these points. For instance, DeGood debunks the claim by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) that "the West Bay Parkway will reduce congestion along U.S. 98 by siphoning off substantial traffic in the future" by citing the target roadway level of service (LOS):
"As mentioned, approximately half of the proposed parkway would consist of widening CR 388 from a two-lane highway to a four-lane divided highway. If this corridor were actually an attractive or realistic alternative to U.S. 98 for area drivers, then traffic modeling would show serious congestion problems along CR 388 in future years without the widening. However, when FDOT projected out to 2035, it found that “CR 388 was not among the roads listed as failing to meet the LOS standard,” meaning that even with travel demand assumptions—pegged at 4.78 percent annually—that outstrip population growth, CR 388 still performed perfectly well without the parkway expansion. In short, CR 388 is not an effective alternative to U.S. 98 for what little through traffic the area generates—nor does it produce much local traffic."
Other exceptions DeGood takes with the proposed plan include overly ambitious population growth targets and a lack of feasibility for the tolling option for financing the project.
All in all, according to the article, the project is a perfect example of the types of products yielded by a funding system—from federal down to the state level—that requires no accountability in transportation planning.
FULL STORY: White Elephant Watch: Vol. 2

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

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

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

US Senate Reverses California EV Mandate
The state planned to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a goal some carmakers deemed impossible to meet.

Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency
The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.

Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law
Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions