The rules of modern politics - with a transportation spin

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

I've written many times about three main themes that seem to be running through transportation circles in the Bay Area; but believe me it also extends beyond the bay. These themes are a nationwide themes that seem to repeat and resonate with the political seasons. They are;

1. The critical need just to maintain local roads and other infrastructure
2. The need to channel money to maintain existing (not to mention new) auto-oriented infrastructure at the expense of non-auto (rail, transit, bike way, and walkways), also known as complete streets.
3. The third rail in transportation politics, the sanctity of freezing gas tax rates at 1990 levels.

The New York Times this week captured all three, in highlighting New Jersey's governor Chris Christies refusal to move ahead with a much needed tunnel linking Manhattan with New Jersey, even though the independent auditing agency the Government Accountability Office issued a 29 page report criticizing the governor's actions.

The  story first broke in October of 2010 during Governor Christies first few months in office. The tunnel would help a system that hasn't seen any new tunnels built for over 100 years.

Not only is there a need nationwide to maintain existing infrastructure; our current transportation infrastructure is inadequate to serve the needs of a growing population that continues to move to urban areas. The newly planed tunnel would have relieved congestion on the only two tunnels that connect Manhattan to New Jersey.

The need to channel money to maintain existing (not to mention new) auto-oriented infrastructure at the expense of non-auto is evident both in New Jersey and here at home (I am currently researching a post on this very issue in San Jose).

With the combination of increased average gas mileage on American cars and a freeze on federal and state gas excise taxes, the inflation adjusted amount of tax revenue apportioned to the Highway Trust Fund as been reduced dramatically and there is a unwillingness by motorists to match the expected costs to maintain existing roadways with gas taxes. From an article in yesterday's Charlotte Observer:

That's the last thing a public that's paying $4 for a gallon of gasoline wants to hear, and elected officials, from members of Congress to President Barack Obama, aren't likely in an election year to propose that motorists pay higher gasoline taxes or tolls. But many transportation experts and officials agree that if Americans want to drive on good roads, they're going to have to pay more for them, or do without.

Most of the 46,000-mile interstate system has been toll-free for its 56-year history. But pavement and bridges on the system's oldest sections are reaching the ends of their life spans and need to be replaced. A 2009 report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recommended an annual investment in U.S. highways and bridges of $166 billion. Charlotte Observer 4-17-2012

Until Americans understand the real cost of auto mobility there is a genuine sense of denial on the amount of funding required to keep the system going. Until then we're just kickin' the can down the road.

Additional Links:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/tunnel-of-idiocy/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/opinion/krugman-cannibalize-the-future.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/opinion/gov-chris-christie-and-the-tunnel-project.html