“Pie-in-the-sky”
Thursday, February 14th, 2008The “realistic” approach to Missoula’s “transportation infrastructure” woes, as “envisioned” by one member of the less “progressive” sector of Missoula’s “business community:” (quotations are “fun” aren’t they?)
MBIA Members! I am forwarding a message from the Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce regarding two transportation planning meetings this week on Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon. Of some 300 people attending prior meetings there was very little presence of the business community/MBIA/Realtors or other “working” people. The “brainstorming” that occurred at the earlier meetings resulted in an extremely heavy bias for Light Rail, Bus, Paths and Bike Trails. This meeting will be to choose between the top three alternatives suggested at the last workshops. Many business people feel this is a very misguided and “Pie in the Sky” approach to transportation/land use planning. WE NEED TO TURN OUT AS MANY BUSINESS PEOPLE AS WE CAN or this plan, which will be used to guide future transportation planning for our community, will be very slanted toward bike/ped/bus/light rail interests and will be slanted away from growth issues relating to both commercial and residential development. Make no mistake. OPG is spending a lot of money for this study and it surely will be used for future planning!
Please try to attend and be prepared to be critical if you see this planning effort being misdirected.
Thank You!
Jim Leiter
Community Affairs Director
MBIA
Very interesting. I wonder what they would consider as non “pie-in-the-sky” transportation solutions. Since they call bike/ped/bus/rail “pie-in-the-sky,” the only alternative would be road/highway oriented solutions. I really wish I could attend these meetings (as I am in Denver currently), and I hope some of you “pie-in-the-sky” folks do. Lets not forget that the national trends are moving away from car only/highway investment, a fact it seems Jim Leiter, the author of the MBIA email, seems to have no knowledge about. Jim Leiter’s concept of “realistic” transportation infrastructure would repeat the mistakes of Los Angeles, Denver and other sprawl-o-lific cities of the late 20th century. I should remind Jim that Los Angeles and Denver are currently spending billions to re-engineer their failed highway transportation systems towards more transit/bike/ped. If Jim wants to do the same with Missoula’s infrastructure, he sure wont be doing it with my tax dollars.
Given the additional expense related to car focused infrastructure, in both engineering costs and socio-economic costs, I am surprised that a businessman would think it was the only realistic option. Business people, being focused on the bottom line, should naturally conclude that transit, not additional highway infrastructure, is the least expensive option for both government and the traveling public. Less private money spent on gasoline = more private money spent at local businesses. Less public money spent on expensive highway infrastructure = more public money spent upon improving business districts, and recreation opportunities; investments that make the community a more desirable place to live and visit (the simple economic concept of opportunity cost).
Speaking of the bottom line, Missoula simply does not have the public or private funds to build a highway focused transportation system, particularly in a $3/gallon + environment. The only “pie-in-the-sky” reality I see is one where Missoula bankrupts itself on massive concrete thoroughfares, bypasses to nowhere, and clogged Reserve Street IIs that only push Missoula’s air quality into further non-compliance. Perhaps a medical analogy would help, one that I am sure a non-pedestrian Jim Leiter will understand (walking/exercise = pie-in-the-sky, remember). When a human’s arteries get clogged the best solution is not to widen the circulatory system, but to reduce congestion through a change of lifestyle. Transit and bike/ped, like quaker oatmeal and exercise, is the best solution to reduce Missoula’s high transportation cholesterol.
- Benjamin