By NATHANIEL M. HOOD, Strong Towns
We have a cultural misunderstanding about the economic benefits of mobility.
There is no better example than the State of Minnesota’s new $300 million “Corridors of Commerce” program designed to foster “economic growth with transportation investments.” This is a noble goal and it’s worked well in the past, so why not keep it up?
First, we built highways that connected places that were never before directly connected. This was an enormous benefit to rural populations and opened up to more marketplaces. Towns that were once a 5 hour journey apart turned into an easy 1 hour trip. There is no question that this created an economic benefit.
But, we’ve continued building and expanding this roadway system to much diminishing return. The Corridors of Commerce project is just another example of this misapplication of limited transportation dollars.
…
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2013/11/20/the-bypass-of-commerce.html
Biking in Baltimore