Fwd: Washington St. Zig-Zag Fiasco

[Anne Goldbach]

From: 'Meg Ward' via Newtonville Discussion <newtonvill...@googlegroups.com>
Date: August 6, 2025 at 11:51:00 AM EDT

Subject: Washington St. Zig-Zag Fiasco
Reply-To: Meg Ward <meggy...@yahoo.com

I think we can all agree that reducing speed is a good idea. There are MANY solutions for addressing that other than implementing a road diet and a bike path!

Like many others, it seems that our city fears to lead with its own ideas and convictions. This article is worth the read:

"Rather than follow the latest planning fads, American cities should improve safety, increase mobility, and protect the environment by relieving congestion, not increasing it."

https://www.cato.org/commentary/congestion-kills-so-why-are-politicians-making-it-worse

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[John Dundon]

It is worth noting that the Cato Institute is a think tank funded by the Koch Brothers  - a very right wing based organization. Not necessarily an impartial source!

Best Regards,

John Dundon

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[Lynne LeBlanc]

That is an excellent point, Meg and Anne (no matter the source) and I've wondered the same thing. We do not get our food and goods magically, so making it more difficult to transport people (elderly, kids, disabled) and our necessities seems backward and lacks foresight.

I was in NYC this weekend and used Citi bikes to get around. I know bike lanes are a great thing. But the likes of Washington Street and Hammond Pond conveniences only bikers and leave everyone else out. 

Not to beat a dead horse, but autos pay a majority of road taxes. And as I noted previously, killing roads kills the golden goose, which seems less than prudent - however one feels about autos.

Lynne

On Wed, Aug 6, 2025 at 12:47 PM Anne Goldbach <agoldb...@gmail.com> wrote:

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Lynne LeBlanc
43 Brookdale Rd.
Newton, MA 02460
617.510.8032 (c)
LynneL...@gmail.com

[Damien Croteau-Chonka]

Unfortunately, that linked article doesn't actually suggest any concrete solutions to "relieve congestion". 

If the policy goal is indeed to have fewer cars driving on a road at a given time, some of those drivers must then be taking the bus or riding a bike.

[Damien Croteau-Chonka]

Indeed, it's worth thinking deeply about how we pay for our roads and their use:

https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-topics/cities-communities/car-economy-costs-64-billion-year-mass

"The report finds that the public costs of the vehicle economy total about $14,000 per family in Massachusetts, regardless of whether these households own a vehicle. Even carless families, which are more likely to have lower incomes, help subsidize the Commonwealth’s vehicle economy given that user fees and gas taxes cover just one third of state budgetary costs, which total $5.7 billion."

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/01/massachusetts-car-economy-costs-64-billion-study-finds/

"Using publicly available data, the authors put the annual public tab at $35.7 billion, which amounts to about $14,000 for every household in the state. Those that do own vehicles pony up an additional $12,000 on average in direct costs." 

https://www.hks.harvard.edu/publications/64-billion-massachusetts-vehicle-economy

"Individual families may track the personal costs of car ownership to their budgets, but they rarely consider the total cost of operating and maintaining the vehicle economy because the vast majority of roads and parking areas are provided free at the point of use."

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