On America's Congested Highways, Every Day is Free Cone Day

Great analogy from Matt Yglesias to explain why congested roads should be tolled:

Build a useful road and you'll find that space on the road at peak times is a valuable commodity. And yet it's also a commodity that's generally either available for free or else available for a price that's unrelated to the demand for space on the road. Naturally an underpriced valuable commodity leads to overconsumption. Traffic jams, in other words.

Every once in a while Ben & Jerry's holds a "Free Cone Day" that invariably leads to long lines. Roadways in dynamic metro areas are basically holding Free Cone Day five days a week. Charge people enough money to eliminate routine congestion and you'll find yourself with fewer traffic jams and an enormous pool of revenue that can be used to maintain your basic infrastructure and upgrade your bus service.

Watch Jonas Eliasson, Director of the Centre for Transport Studies at Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology, explain how congestion pricing can improve traffic patterns - and drivers may not even realize they've been nudged out of their congested routine (if you can't watch the video, read about it here):

Wednesday: Talking Sustainable Development with Matt Yglesias at GGW

On Wednesday, I'll be hosting a live chat at GreaterGreaterWashington.org with Matt Yglesias, Slate Moneybox writer & author of The Rent Is Too Damn High. The book's a quick & entertaining read and a great introduction to why progressives & conservationists should care about loosening restrictions on urban development. Check it out if you can, then leave your questions in advance of Wednesday's chat.

Did Washington Post Downplay Poll's Support for Silver Line?

Polls show DC area residents support train, bus, biking and pedestrian projects much more than they support building new or wider highways. However, the Washington Post editorial board strongly supports new highways and spun a poll this week to mean that our fellow Virginians don't support the Silver Line. As Slate's Matt Yglesias points out, the numbers don't necessarily back up that spin:

But the really weird thing is that it's by no means clear that this is what the poll has found. What it says is that 32 percent of the population says the Silver Line project is "not at all important" while 32 percent deems it either "extremely" or "very" important and a further 32 percent says it's "somewhat" important. The "not important to most Virginians" interpretation is supported by lumping the "somewhat" and "not at all" categories together as "negative" responses. But the straightforward reading of the poll is that the median Virginian thinks the Silver Line project is somewhat important. And it is somewhat important! So why not just say that?

In the face of Republican political games, The New Republic's Alec MacGillis says strong support of the Silver Line can be a winner for Tim Kaine in his U.S. Senate race against George Allen.

Arlington GOP Loves Subsidies For Cars But Not For Bikes

Cars pollute our air, leading to our nation's capital having one of the nation's highest asthma rates, particularly among children. Subsidized space for cars disproportionately benefits those who can afford cars in the first place and probably don't need a handout. And let's not forget that cars hit, in declining level of frequency, people, homes, and Rhodeside Grill.

Bike sharing, on the other hand, leads to zero pollution or childhood asthma, takes up very little space, and is free for the first 30 minutes of each trip (though you do need a credit card to register).

But somehow the Arlington Republican Party thinks cars are more in need of taxpayer support. As Matt Yglesias writes, ‎"It's all just a reminder that sincere devotion to free markets plays almost no role in economic policy debates. It's identity politics all the way down."