Thursday, February 23, 2017

Misallocated Infrastructure Spending




LA Times Article this week: 

'This is the worst I have seen': California's roads are in dire shape, says former Caltrans director

  Kempton, 69, who is retiring as executive director of the advocacy group Transportation California, said he is “frustrated and disappointed” that California has failed for decades to agree on a plan to pay for a $136-billion backlog of repairs on state highways and local roads. Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders said they will take another crack at reaching a deal during the next two months, which Kempton said is welcome news. “This is the worst I have seen,” he said of street conditions in California.
Kempton, a former Caltrans director, thinks the seriousness of the issue has sunk in with state leaders and residents to the point where action might finally be taken this year. He said he is encouraged by recent comments by Brown and lawmakers who set an April 6 deadline for reaching a transportation funding deal.

But Kempton said reaching a deal that includes raising taxes and fees will not be easy, even though the situation is dire.“The transportation system is in bad shape,” he said. “We have just underinvested in our transportation infrastructure for decades, and it’s coming home to roost. Particularly after the recent storms, our roads are in very, very bad shape.”

 See if you can identify the blind spot.  Hint: He's seen in the 12 year old photo riding in a new train service. 

7 comments:

Unknown said...

But Kempton said reaching a deal that includes raising taxes and fees will not be easy,

you would think Sacramento would be gung-ho about taxing car owners some more...

Unknown said...

See if you can identify the blind spot.

he obviously missed the memo that it was "Hawaiian shirt Friday" :)

LBD said...

Another Sales pitch for Taxus!

Unknown said...

looks like (finally) some high pressure building in next week for the Tahoe area..should be some epic skiing going on..

Lawyerliz said...

Roads don't build themselves.

Unknown said...

they kind of pay for themselves though..with the commerce they generate

Lawyerliz said...

Yep