Because being there is what's most important, WPC's Center for Transportation researches and analyzes the best practices for relieving traffic congestion by recapturing a vision of a system based on freedom of movement.
The Congressional Budget Office has released a summary cost estimate of the recently agreed upon federal transportation bill. Here is the report in full:
Cost estimate for the bill as posted on the website of the House Committee on Rules on June 28, 2012.
Renewing your car tabs in King County will be $20 more beginning today. The new tax was approved by the King County Council to further subsidize Metro buses.
In this KOMO article, the author summarizes Metro officials’ reasoning behind the new tax:
The emotional rhetoric around public transit can sometimes border on the absurd.
In this recent Seattle Times article on eliminating the ride free area in downtown Seattle, Whitney Knox, a caseworker for Catholic Housing Services testified that "the free-ride zone is not a privilege but a right, and it should be something Seattle people should be proud of having."
Officials with the Port of Seattle, King County Council, and the Seattle Mariners’ front office have raised several transportation-related issues in south downtown Seattle (SODO) as city officials fast track an agreement for a new sports arena.
Their concerns are about traffic congestion, freight mobility and parking. On the other hand, city officials downplay the significance of the transportation issues in SODO and continue to move forward on an agreement that would prematurely bind city taxpayers to the financial arrangements.
City officials are moving forward with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on building the arena at the SODO location, prior to any analysis being completed. By contrast, the Mariners were required to complete a year-long site review to build Safeco Field in SODO.
Seattle Port officials and the Mariners’ front office have raised transportation concerns over locating a new basketball arena in south downtown Seattle (SODO).
Former State Senator Jim Horn, Spokesman for the Eastside Transportation Association, (ETA) announced today that they have instructed their attorneys to appeal to the State Supreme Court a recent ruling in March by Kittitas County Superior Court that dismissed ETA’s suit to prohibit the State from transferring the two center lanes of the
"Cities exist because of economic opportunities," insisted Wendell Cox, the keynote speaker at our annual Transportation Lunch on May 3. "Cities are justified only by economics. The purpose of urban areas is to improve the affluence of their residents." He went on to explain how 'smart growth' policies, like those used in the Puget Sound region, increase traffic congestion, the cost of living, and poverty.
The Puget Sound region, already with some of the worst traffic congestion in the country, is making things worse by spending disproportionately on transit, which has minimal effect on getting people out of their cars.
Yet another reason why high-speed rail and Amtrak should not receive public subsidies...with BoltBus, a private intercity charter bus company, Washington's public subsidies to Amtrak create an unlevel playing field and place private companies that provide the same service at a competitive disadvantage.
Bob Pishue is director of WPC’s Center for Transportation. Prior to joining Washington Policy Center in 2013, Bob interned at the Washington Research Council where he produced policy briefs on initiatives and referenda. His last role was the IT and HR Manager for a Bellevue-based retailer. A Washington resident throughout his life, Bob grew up in Everett and graduated from Central Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Bob serves on his church’s annual audit committee and is also an avid golfer. He lives in Kirkland.
"Cities are justified only by economics. The purpose of urban areas is to improve the affluence of their residents." He went on to explain how 'smart growth' policies, like those used in the Puget Sound region, increase traffic congestion, the cost of living, and poverty.