Monday, September 15, 2008
Ma Peters: Get Those Bikes Off My Lawn
Yglesias slams Mary Peters with this gem:
That said, I got to work today by . . . riding my bike. And I got to work Friday by . . . riding my bike. Indeed, I commute to work on my bike most every day. And to buy groceries. I use it, in other words, to transport myself from place to place. That sounds a lot like transportation to me.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Gotta Have More Cowbell
or in Ottawa, Rail.
Mr. Galipeau said the city has been fixated on short-term bus solutions for years, when the long-term answer is to build rail to major population centres. "Buses are a Band-Aid solution. I think they're dead-set on buses. I don't think they really believe in light rail," Mr. Galipeau said.
Ike Aftermath
It looks messy out there. As far as I know, all of my friends and family are ok. Next is the cleanup. Does anyone have a report as to how the LRT OCS held up during the storm on the Main Street Line? Does anyone know how the Galveston streetcars held up?
Possible Streetcar Network Funding Idea
As cities look to build streetcars, its easy to come up with an initial amount from businesses but its that last few million that seems to be troublesome. A lot of cities look to TIF funding, but that source of funding has limits and many want to use it for different purposes including affordable housing and basic infrastructure such as water/gas lines and sidewalks.
So here I'm about to toss out another crazy idea that I'll need help from my economist friends to see if it is really possible to do. I'll use the Minneapolis streetcar network plan as an example. We know there is not enough funding to do it all at once. If we use Detroit's recent fundraising success from local businesses as seed money, one corridor exists to fuel the others. The fueling is in real estate transfer taxes off of the increase in value that is created by the new streetcar line. Since infrastructure such as the streetcar has been seen to add value, it's only fair that some of that value be reinvested in other areas that will receive similar infrastructure. So bear with me here as I go through the process.
1. Do an initial study to figure out the streetcar network. Once completed this will serve as the base funding area for engineering. A basic TIFF district for the whole in town streetcar network would serve as a base for the rest of the plan. The district boundaries will stay because they will be used later.
2. The Detroit instance shows that businesses and foundations are interested in their cities future. They have raised 75% of an initial $100 million in Capital Costs for a new line down Woodward. The first line should try to pull in money from outside entities and use that line to feed the others.
3. Before the first line is constructed though, a baseline is set on real estate costs in the area defined by the very small increment TIF district that was initially used for the engineering studies. This baseline would be used to calculate a real estate transfer tax that allows the streetcar network to capture the value of rising real estate values along the line. There should also be a transportation fee for new square footage. I believe that San Francisco for a long time had a fee that went to Muni at 5$ for every new square foot in a building. These linkage fees could be tied to parking reductions so its not as much of a burden on the developer, and leaves money for other endeavours such as affordable housing.
4. After completion of the first line using funding raised locally, the rising coffers funded by the transfer tax and linkage fees from the first investment go into the construction of the second line in the district. Once the second line is complete, the real estate around that line goes to the third line and so on starting off a chain of funding that creates the network. Over a 20 year period, I believe it would be possible to build each line.
I also think that if a plan like this was created, it would create more incentive for the federal government to help out if this were tied to a national strategy. So there is the idea. Funding one line at a time by fueling one line at a time as a primer for the next one.
So here I'm about to toss out another crazy idea that I'll need help from my economist friends to see if it is really possible to do. I'll use the Minneapolis streetcar network plan as an example. We know there is not enough funding to do it all at once. If we use Detroit's recent fundraising success from local businesses as seed money, one corridor exists to fuel the others. The fueling is in real estate transfer taxes off of the increase in value that is created by the new streetcar line. Since infrastructure such as the streetcar has been seen to add value, it's only fair that some of that value be reinvested in other areas that will receive similar infrastructure. So bear with me here as I go through the process.
1. Do an initial study to figure out the streetcar network. Once completed this will serve as the base funding area for engineering. A basic TIFF district for the whole in town streetcar network would serve as a base for the rest of the plan. The district boundaries will stay because they will be used later.
2. The Detroit instance shows that businesses and foundations are interested in their cities future. They have raised 75% of an initial $100 million in Capital Costs for a new line down Woodward. The first line should try to pull in money from outside entities and use that line to feed the others.
3. Before the first line is constructed though, a baseline is set on real estate costs in the area defined by the very small increment TIF district that was initially used for the engineering studies. This baseline would be used to calculate a real estate transfer tax that allows the streetcar network to capture the value of rising real estate values along the line. There should also be a transportation fee for new square footage. I believe that San Francisco for a long time had a fee that went to Muni at 5$ for every new square foot in a building. These linkage fees could be tied to parking reductions so its not as much of a burden on the developer, and leaves money for other endeavours such as affordable housing.
4. After completion of the first line using funding raised locally, the rising coffers funded by the transfer tax and linkage fees from the first investment go into the construction of the second line in the district. Once the second line is complete, the real estate around that line goes to the third line and so on starting off a chain of funding that creates the network. Over a 20 year period, I believe it would be possible to build each line.
I also think that if a plan like this was created, it would create more incentive for the federal government to help out if this were tied to a national strategy. So there is the idea. Funding one line at a time by fueling one line at a time as a primer for the next one.
More Information Please
Short snippets like this drive me crazy. What is the $19.6 million dollars for? Is it all for engineering the light rail line? Is some of it for ROW preservation? If only for engineering why so much or so little? Is this the reason newspapers are dying a slow painful death?
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Innovative Financing in Detroit
Detroit business leaders have raised 75% of the construction cost for a new light rail line on Woodward through private donors, advertising, and foundation support. Perhaps this is a model that could be followed in other cities looking to build new transit lines.
A Good Question on Green
Richard asks the question everyone should ask: If you drive everywhere are you still green? (Even in a Prius) What do you all think?
When is the Time Ever Right for Everyone?
Recently my college cross country coach left to take the head coaching job at Virginia. He had turned the program around and we went from a bunch of jokers to All-Americans and now hold the World Record in the Distance Medley Relay. It must have been a hard decision to leave all the guys who trusted he would be there for them, especially the new kids who came to Texas because of him. It seems like at any time you're going to let someone down when you make a decision that is for the greater good either for the team or personally. This was a deeply personal decision that I completely understand and respect.
This is related to decisions we make in the United States to invest in future infrastructure. Just as my old coach decided it was a good decision for his future to take a head coaching job, it is a good decision to build high speed rail for the future. My point in the comparison is that there will never be a good time to make such a decision for some people. There will always be concern trolls that say well it's a good idea but we have other obligations. Decisions aren't easy. I learned long ago with the help of my parents that at some point you have to make them. And putting them off sometimes makes things worse in the long run.
Comments like this from assembly candidate Danny Gilmore will always be made: "I am in favor of high speed rail, but I don’t think this is the time for high speed rail" For him and others who oppose the project, there will never be a good time, which is why we need to make this decision now, to support investment that will help us in the long run, because as I said, putting off a decision now, will create more problems in the future. As some of you might have found out in college, procrastination is always the strategy of last resort. As Robert always says, the Cost of doing nothing is not zero.
This is related to decisions we make in the United States to invest in future infrastructure. Just as my old coach decided it was a good decision for his future to take a head coaching job, it is a good decision to build high speed rail for the future. My point in the comparison is that there will never be a good time to make such a decision for some people. There will always be concern trolls that say well it's a good idea but we have other obligations. Decisions aren't easy. I learned long ago with the help of my parents that at some point you have to make them. And putting them off sometimes makes things worse in the long run.
Comments like this from assembly candidate Danny Gilmore will always be made: "I am in favor of high speed rail, but I don’t think this is the time for high speed rail" For him and others who oppose the project, there will never be a good time, which is why we need to make this decision now, to support investment that will help us in the long run, because as I said, putting off a decision now, will create more problems in the future. As some of you might have found out in college, procrastination is always the strategy of last resort. As Robert always says, the Cost of doing nothing is not zero.
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