Federal Stimulus shortchanges cities

[choo]

This article was in the NYTimes and is about how cities are getting screwed out of $$ in the stimulus. The money is primarily being routed to small rural areas fixing potholes, and not to big cities that house 2/3 of the population and 75% of the GDP. Worse yet, when the money is coming to cities, I don't think it is going to public transit, but rather more highway ramps and bridges. I really don't see why this stimulus isn't being used to fast track things like the Green line extension, or building the orange line at assembly square, or fairmont line upgrades. Well at least 128 will be 5 lines now, and rural ohio has a new on ramp.

Here is a link to the article, and i recommend just clinking the accompanying graphic to get the idea.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/us/09projects.html?_r=1&hp

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

The unfortunate truth about those projects is they were not "shovel ready". Why not? Well the T doesn't really have it's shit together (SHOCKER!) and just kept kicking these projects down the line because they didn't think they would ever get funding. A smart GM would have gotten these projects ready for whenever funding came through but the T hasn't had a smart GM in a long time (I do like Grabauskas but he is just one man).

As for the Feds favoring rural over urban, it is noted in that article that it is up to the states to decide what to use it for and before the stimulus passed more than a few commentators came out saying this would happen.

It's a cultural shift that needs to happen, not just a political one. I personally think it will take another decade before the Fed and Local governments change their ways about cities, only after a cultural shift.

Or maybe that won't happen and we will be like Japan in the 1990s and build giant bridges to nowhere.

 

[mass88]

The unfortunate truth about those projects is they were not "shovel ready". Why not? Well the T doesn't really have it's shit together (SHOCKER!) and just kept kicking these projects down the line because they didn't think they would ever get funding. A smart GM would have gotten these projects ready for whenever funding came through but the T hasn't had a smart GM in a long time (I do like Grabauskas but he is just one man).

As for the Feds favoring rural over urban, it is noted in that article that it is up to the states to decide what to use it for and before the stimulus passed more than a few commentators came out saying this would happen.

It's a cultural shift that needs to happen, not just a political one. I personally think it will take another decade before the Fed and Local governments change their ways about cities, only after a cultural shift.

Or maybe that won't happen and we will be like Japan in the 1990s and build giant bridges to nowhere.

Are you saying that the extension of the Green line will be delayed?

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

You mean more than it has? Not because of this, no. If it is delayed it will be due to random problems that come up. What I'm saying is that this could have been a shovel ready project if the T had it's shit straight.