2009-02-05 – David Levinson, Transportist

A Political Economy of Access: Infrastructure, Networks, Cities, and Institutions by David M. Levinson and David A. King

I’m quoted in Popular Mechanics today in an article by Erik Sofge Shovel-Ready Projects Show Shortsighted Thinking – Why Shovel-Ready Infrastructure is Wrong (Right Now)

… The programs that would meet the bill’s 90-day restriction are, for the most part, an unappealing mix of projects that were either shelved after being fully designed and engineered, and have since become outmoded or irrelevant, or projects with limited scope and ambition. No one’s building a smart electric grid or revamping a water system on 90 days notice. The best example of a shovel-ready project, and what engineers believe could become the biggest recipient of the transportation-related portion of the bill’s funding, is road resurfacing—important maintenance work, but not a meaningful way to rein in a national infrastructure crisis. “In developing countries, there are roads that are so bad, they create congestion, because drivers are constantly forced to slow down,? says David Levinson, an associate professor in the University of Minnesota’s civil engineering department. “That’s not the case here. If the road’s a little bit rougher, drivers will feel it, but that’s not going to cause you to go any slower. So the economic benefit of those projects is pretty low.?
That might be acceptable to people focused purely on fostering rapid job growth‹but, ironically, such stimulus spending could fall short on that measure, as well. “In the 1930s, when you were literally building with shovels, that might have made sense. That was largely unskilled labor. Today, it’s blue collar, but it’s not unskilled,? Levinson says. “The guy brushing the asphalt back and forth is unskilled, but the guy operating the steamroller isn’t. And there’s an assumption out there that construction workers are interchangeable between residential and highway projects. But a carpenter isn’t a whole lot of help in building a road.?

From Going Underground Blog , I am truly sorry I missed seeing London get a real amount of snow.

After yesterday’s “Arctic” conditions, with London’s worst snowfall in 18 years, looks like we will have an easier journey into work this morning. Most of the London Underground seems to be working and at time of writing (7.20am) only the Circle Line is completely suspended due to a broken down train. There are part suspensions on the District, Bakerloo & Hammersmith & City Lines, so check the Tube’s website before you leave home.

Here’s the view from my study today, with the District Line coming in from Richmond, so err… luckily, I’ll be able to get into town.
Most of the main roads have been cleared of snow, so most of London’s buses are back on the road. However TfL said “Five routes are currently suspended linked to the volume of gritting taking place on local roads and there may be reduced services on some other routes.”
The Congestion Charge, which Mayor Boris Johnson lifted yesterday, is back to normal operation today. You’ll be pleased to hear that the wrong type of snow wasn’t blamed for our transport system not coping. Yesterday The Mayor said:
“There’s no doubt about it, this is the right kind of snow, it’s just the wrong kind of quantities.
“My message to the heavens is: ‘You’ve put on a fantastic display of snow power but that is probably quite enough’.”

I like how in yesterday’s interview above Boris manages some clever avoidance. Johnson says “We’ve actually been quite successful with the Tube network”. The interviewer responds rather quickly with “If this was successful I’d like to see what unsuccessful was like”.