Jef Nickerson…and so do I.
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Update 12/29/2008: More infrastructure problems?
Video from WTOC-TV Savannah.
Georgia Power still has not determined the cause of this explosion, but there was a similar manhole explosion in downtown Savannah back in August.
I think it is thexy too. But the fear in the enviro camps is that there are all these “shovel ready” projects just aching to get the big Obama funding, but they are terrible environmental projects. Will these projects get funded and underway just to put people back to work? Or will the Administration do its due diligence and make sure that projects are good for the environment as well as for the populace. Because good for the environment is good for the populace.
Anyway, I just hope that in the rush to start a new WPA, that planning doesn’t get lost in the process…
The Mayor points out that the cities have planning processes so that we should be getting any money that may be disbursed directly. Of course on paper that’s true, but once the money starts arriving (if it starts arriving), we’ll have to be diligent in ensuring that the city sticks to it’s planning policies.
What concerns me about the possible infrastructure bailout is that when it is discussed in the media I hear a lot about ‘roads and bridges,’ precious little to nothing about rails. We need to not continue to depend on the auto, this should be painfully obvious at this point. At least Rachel also points to the unsexy things like water-mains, dams, and levees that we must not forget.
Planners have been known to plan in the wrong direction. Like by building new roads instead of expanding transit. Or tearing down old buildings so we can put in parking lots. Or build high schools on superfund sites.