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Mr. Tyson’s Neighborhood

State Chip Mill Committee 
Releases Report

Big Industry Wants Different Rules
for Electricity in Missouri

Outings

Genetic Engineering in the News

We Defend Clean Air Suit

State Assembly Legislation
Overshadowed by Races

Thomas Moran - new chapter
political chair

New Opportunities for Roadless Areas

Smart Growth - Congestion Pricing

Archives

Smart Growth, Congestion Pricing 

Recommended to Highway Commission by Ginger Harris 

On December 3, Ozark Chapter Transportation Chair Ron McLinden spoke to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. He reminded them of the statement he had made 21 months earlier about smart growth, and asked Commissioners to carefully consider an upcoming report of MoDOT’s Smart Growth Task Force that is expected to reach them early in 2000. Ron identified one of the Commission’s most fundamental unwritten policies as appearing to be at odds with smart growth. “That policy,” he said, “is that you will do your level best to build roadway capacity to meet the demands of all of the traffic that presents itself on the state road system.” “The broadly held expectation that you will continue this policy means that local jurisdictions have less incentive to guide their own development so as to limit road needs. It means that less costly distant land is developed, since state roads can be counted on to make it more valuable. It means that households make their own location choices with fast, free commutes in mind, and in anticipation of future resale values buoyed by the growth that depends on the expectation that you will continue to add capacity — in an unending feedback loop. In summary, that expectation leads to urban growth patterns that are less smart than they might otherwise be.”

Ron also asked the Commission to consider “congestion pricing” as part of its request to the legislature for authority to operate toll roads. The idea is to charge a toll for each motorist entering an urban freeway during morning and evening rush hours. “Scarce goods like freeway capacity shouldn’t be free,” he said. “Market mechanisms like time–of–day tolls should be used to see that those scarce resources are used most efficiently. By doing so you should be able to avoid or at least postpone adding freeway lanes that would be fully utilized only a few hours each week. We’d further suggest that congestion pricing revenues be used to help fund public transit in the same corridor in order to further reduce traffic.” 

Ron closed by reiterating that “smart growth” policies should be part of the Commission’s plan for the state. “If you can avoid adding highway capacity by supporting local development practices that reduce total travel demand, and through selective use of market incentives like congestion pricing, then by all means you should do so. And in fact I think one measure of your credibility will be the degree to which you do just that.” Ron’s presentation appeared to have been well received. At the close of his statement Melissa Blakley of the Thomas Hart Benton Group ExCom presented a Sierra Club Wilderness calendar to each Commission member.