The Federal Highway Administration this week issued proposed new rules to make states do a better job of collecting travel time data and monitoring highway performance.

The Hill provides some background. Also from the Transportation Department:

Advertisement

Through this effort, there will be more consistency in how states measure congestion, especially on heavily traveled highways during peak hours. Reducing highway congestion improves productivity and contributes to the nation’s economy, especially for the freight industry. The added benefits of reducing congestion include reducing greenhouse gas emissions and better air quality. Critical to the overall success of our transportation system, these measures can also help inform decision making beyond highways, not just for roadway construction and operational improvements, but to prioritize actions to achieve positive results in overall system performance. With what we stand to learn from measuring congestion through reliability data, the public sector can make more informed planning and investment decisions for alternatives such as pedestrian and bike facilities, transit, rail, ferry, and marine highway projects. The proposed regulation also invites comment on the potential to establish a performance measure to address reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 

Alternative transportation? Pollution? Reliable data? What have these guys been smoking?

The Arkansas Highway Department knows all it needs to know about measuring traffic. If you observe a few minutes of congestion at rush hour,  you widen freeways. Then  when that brings more traffic, you widen then some more. And then you widen them some more. Emissions? Smells like money.

Advertisement

God help us if an SUV-driver commuting from Cabot to Little Rock should spend an extra three minutes at rush hour on the Interstate 30 freeway fleeing Little Rock. Just ask City Director Lance Hines, who’s looking out for Little Rock residents’ issues on such matters. He can explain how a monumental swath of concrete through the heart of a redeveloping downtown is really GOOD for us.

By the way, the city Board is scheduled to hear Tuesday afternoon from Nelson/Nygaard, a planning fired contracted to look at the I-30 widening project downtown in the context of urban planing.

Advertisement

Arkansas Times: Your voice in the fight

Are you tired of watered-down news and biased reporting? The Arkansas Times has been fighting for truth and justice for 50 years. As an alternative newspaper in Little Rock, we are tough, determined, and unafraid to take on powerful forces. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, we are making a difference. But we can't do it without you. Join the 3,400 paid subscribers who support our great journalism and help us hire more writers. Sign up for a subscription today or make a donation of as little as $1 and help keep the Arkansas Times feisty for years to come.

Previous article Departed Youth Services leader had tax lien. So what else is new? Next article Noon rally today for Little Rock schools