TRANSPORTATION - Miscellaneous - Independence Institute

DC Congestion the Worst 0
- September 28, 2011
The Texas Transportation Institute has published its 2011 urban mobility report, and this year it is based on real measurements of actual congestion rather than formulas. According to the report, in 2010 the nation’s worst congestion was in Washington, DC, where the average commuter wastes 74 hours a year sitting in traffic compared with only […]
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What Is Middle Class?0
- September 27, 2011
A couple of weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Proctor & Gamble was no longer marketing to the middle class but instead has a two-tier marketing strategy (if you don’t have a subscription, you can get the gist of the article here). This has led to all kinds of discussion by the chattering […]
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High-Speed Rail Is Still Dead (and Let’s Keep It That Way)0
- September 23, 2011
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted to spend a token $100 million on high-speed rail after its own transportation subcommittee had zeroed out funding for the program. The purpose, said a rail advocate with US PIRG, is “to keep things on life support until Congress comes to its senses.” The only way Congress will “come to […]
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Here We Go Again 0
- September 22, 2011
Density is good. That’s the message from Ryan Avent, a writer for The Economist, whose new ebook, The Gated City, received a boost from a promotional op ed in the New York Times. Density, according to Avent, makes people wealthier, happier, and more productive. The data he uses to support these ideas, however, are suspect. […]
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Sorry Smart Growthers, Baby Boomers Aren’t Interested 0
- September 21, 2011
One of the articles of faith among smart-growth advocates is that retiring baby boomers will want to move into downtown or suburban high-density, mixed-use developments. In 2009, “Chris” Nelson himself came to Damascus, a very low-density suburb of Portland, to tell residents how wonderful it would be if they rezoned their city for high-density housing. […]
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Another LRT Exceeds Minimalist Expectations 0
- September 19, 2011
Norfolk Virginia finally opened its light-rail line, and ridership “exceeds expectations” at 5,600 riders a day. Considering they run 212 trains a weekday, that’s just over 26 passengers per train. How many 40-passenger buses would have been needed to handle all that traffic? Of course, the rail line exceeded expectations in many other ways as […]
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