When I saw this article on the cover of Parade Magazine (How Can We Save Our Roads), I let out a big sigh and expected to see some new Highways of the 21st Century article, but it wasn't as bad as I feared. At least the photo shows bike facilities. And it included this:
Try Innovative Design
Smaller budgets for infrastructure are stimulating innovative solutions across the country.
Pennsylvania’s Smart Transportation initiative calls on engineers to re-examine all of their assumptions. “The old style was that if we had a road that was congested, we’d project the traffic out 25 years and add lanes,” says Allen D. Biehler, the state’s transportation secretary. “Well, guess what? We don’t have enough money for that anymore.”
When Pennsylvania couldn’t afford a long-planned, $465 million freeway north of Philadelphia, Biehler brainstormed with communities along the 8.4-mile route and found a cheaper alternative: a parkway bordered with trees and bike trails. Work on the $200 million project began in November.
Smaller budgets for infrastructure are stimulating innovative solutions across the country.
Pennsylvania’s Smart Transportation initiative calls on engineers to re-examine all of their assumptions. “The old style was that if we had a road that was congested, we’d project the traffic out 25 years and add lanes,” says Allen D. Biehler, the state’s transportation secretary. “Well, guess what? We don’t have enough money for that anymore.”
When Pennsylvania couldn’t afford a long-planned, $465 million freeway north of Philadelphia, Biehler brainstormed with communities along the 8.4-mile route and found a cheaper alternative: a parkway bordered with trees and bike trails. Work on the $200 million project began in November.
So they may the road narrower and added a bike trail? That would never fly here. If we can't afford something, the bike trail gets cut first.
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