Quote:
Originally Posted by TakeFive
Won't be no stinkin' toll roads in Phoenix. But in 1986 voters passed a metro wide 1/2 percent sales tax for 20 years for transportation and have re-upped it twice. Lots of peeps down here to pay that tax at their favorite Walmart. Freeways running free.
Denver Metro chose to pay for transit. So Wizened are you now saying that was a mistake?
Anybody recall the political rant I had recently about needing to pass a significantly increased Highway Trust Fund Bill? Raise the fricken gas tax and move on. Hasn't been raised since 1993. Colorado needs to do the same. President been pushing for this for 3 years. But the Yahoo's south of the Mason-Dixon Line where growth and economies are good figure they can handle their own problems better. In case nobody had thought about it Top Grower Texas is building lots of new freeway lanes, some of them are tolled, some are not.
So far as foreign investors interest in infrastructure investments it's much like the foreign all-cash buyers in new buildings near Union Station. They take a very long investment view. That would be in contrast to voters and the politicians who love to exploit voter emotions as apposed to being rational. It would also be in contrast to domestic investors to date.
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A. Let's say that I build a dam to provide water for irrigation, for industry, and for city use. The dam will backup water to a certain elevation (when full). Investors own the land above that elevation where excess water would go over a spillway.
Let's also say that when the dam was being designed, that various groups- some with pull and others without any say, argued strongly over how high the dam should be, how the geology around the proposed dam might affect leakage, where the dam should actually be constructed, and, whether the dam should be concrete, or concrete plus earth fill.
Let's also say that powerful interests got their way.
B. Sometime later, the dam began to leak at a higher rate than anticipated by the group whose design was built, due to known geological concerns that had pointed out by powerless groups. The question then arose about whether the dam was repairable.
A common way to reduce leakage is to reduce the storage capacity, as pressure at the dam is related to the depth of water at the dam.
So, this was done, but, then the problem became that the water storable was insufficient to provide for the needs downstream. The dam was built in a geologically questionable location so expansion of water capacity (the height of the hydrostatic head) was not possible.
You ask me whether Fastraks is a waste of money. My reply to you is that capacity constraints that easily could have been prepared for, will force big buck repairs. Fixing the Union Station Complex to permit fast through put could well involve elevated or buried subway lines at the cost of billions of current dollars. Moving the freight lines to a new north south double track line east of DIA to Colorado Springs would cost many billions. Shunting the freight line traffic over 200 miles of new track way out in eastern Colorado and double tracking the entire line more billions.
We have painted ourselves into a corner despite repeated well thought out warnings.
So, obviously, I have mixed feelings about it. And, yes I am glad that the glass is half full rather than empty, while disappointed at the missed opportunity to have built something as good as any steel rail system in the world for the same amount of money.
Excellence of design saves huge bucks long term.
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Just took me awhile to get my hearty chuckle of the day but patience paid.
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