Out of Control

USA Today reports that about 80% of transportation ballot intiatives passed nationwide. No surprises here. The littany of transit enhancements and roads/bridges measures are typically popular. Transit is always more popular at the polls than at commute time. The "sell" is always congestion relief but voters rarely connect congestion relief with their own behavior. They see it as other people using it to lighten their auto commute, but never seem to figure out that other people are thinking the same way. Of course, transit advocates wil see this as a mandate for transit-oriented development and downtown subsidies. Voters also seemed to like road imrovements, though I see this as a step backwards in that we are moving further away from user fees. Capacity improvements for either mode funded from general taxation is just a subsidy and further weakens the connection between usage and financing. The link to the original story is below.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-11-04-ballot-usat_x.htm