Old Building, New Leaf

I just heard that the federal building in Memphis will be getting a $3 million GREEN upgrade.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, federal facilities around the country are getting more than $4 billion in energy efficient renovations and improvements.

I don't know exactly what's involved, but these types of projects are good for institutionalizing, literally, a new way of doing things. More deets as I get them.

Shovel Ready?

When Congress and President Obama began planning for the largest infrastructure improvement initiative since the Depression, they wanted "shovel ready" projects that would be ready to go within 60 to 90 days of funding.

That only makes sense, seeing as the reason behind the initiative was to stimulate the economy. They don't want project that aren't going to even strat until 12 to 18 months from now.

But at least one commentator is urging caution:

"I fear that 'shovel ready' means boondoggles like the E- 470 beltway, a six-lane, 46-mile arc through empty high-desert grasslands dotted with new subdivisions east of Denver. Cars cruise the wide-open toll road at 80 miles per hour.

Touted as essential to the metro area’s growth, this land developers’ delight hasn’t lightened loads on more centrally located highways. It’s just rearranged growth patterns, scattering splotches of development over an unimaginably large landscape. New residents depend on long beltway commutes by car," writes Bloomberg architecture critic James Russell for Bloomberg.com.

"We can’t do better now, the lobbying legions say, we need to start the bulldozers fast. Translation: No bridge to nowhere will be left behind."

So what projects should be funded? Russell talks about aligning roads and rails and adding express bus lanes and bikeways to reduce car dependency. He talks about adding planted buffers in streets to make pedestrian crossings safer and soak up storm water.

"Dollars spent that get Americans out of cars will ease traffic, save money, reduce pollution, slow global warming and make us less vulnerable to volatile oil oligarchs.

Road projects do little more than rearrange the traffic jams. Look for freeway spectaculars among the proposals, like the 23-lane extravaganza touted for Atlanta’s suburbs. Mark them “D” -- for delusional."

Here in Memphis, not all the possible projects have been publicized so there may be some road projects in there. However, some of the plans submitted to the city for the funds — they still would have to be submitted to the federal government — include a Wolf River Greenway near the Pyramid, the Bioworks Foundation's research park, and streetscape improvements in Midtown.

Transportation Odds and Ends

— From BusinessWeek: The 65 mpg Ford that won't be sold in the U.S. and why. It looks cute, but you won't see it on American roadways, so don't fall in love.

— From Next American City: Amtrak can't handle rising ridership. (It sounds a little bit like the MATA situation here in Memphis.)

— More about bag-check fees and crowded overhead bins from USAToday.

Potential Energy Potentially ... Someday

I've been meaning to post this for a few days now, a story in the NYTimes about wind energy and how the nation's aging power grid makes it difficult to use that power efficiently ... or at all.

From the story:

"Wind advocates say that just two of the windiest states, North Dakota and South Dakota, could in principle generate half the nation’s electricity from turbines. But the way the national grid is configured, half the country would have to move to the Dakotas in order to use the power."

And this:

"The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not."

In fact, electric generation is growing four times faster than transmission. I won't go into the technicalities of why the grid system is incapable of moving the energy (the story explains it well) and who needs to do something about it (cough, Washington), but I will say that with all the interest in alternative energy and promises about energy independence, the reality of the situation is somewhat frustrating.

And solar power runs into a similar problem.

On a smaller scale, MLGW will tell you that it's simply not cost effective to install solar panels on your house. And that going off the grid or selling power back to them simply isn't realistic.

Having looked at a $300 photovoltaic kit that would produce enough energy to power a (that's right, ONE) toaster — not to mention the $24,000 estimate ($22,000 after tax incentives) that Sharp gave me for a residential system — I can see what they mean.

Well, I'm sure we'll all enjoy North Dakota.

Gas Tax Down

A few days ago, I wrote about local projects taking a hit after a cut in federal clean air funds.

In a related story, the LATimes reported this week that "the principal source of funding for highway projects will soon hit a big financial pothole. The federal highway trust fund could be in the red by $3.2 billion or more next year."

The fund is backed by the federal gasoline tax but the tax is levied by the gallon, not the price, of gas. And with U.S. motorists buying less fuel, that means fewer dollars for transportation projects.

Good thing we aren't relying on aging infrastructure.

From the LATimes: "In the long run, lawmakers must figure out whether the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal gasoline tax, which helped bring in money when fuel-hungry SUVs were hot, is still a viable way to fund transportation projects amid heightened concern about gasoline prices, U.S. dependence on foreign oil and global warming."

By the way, this is not me urging you to drive more. Just so we're clear.

An infrastructured America ...

is a successful, strong America?

Former Indianapolis mayor Bill Hudnut spoke to the local chapter of the Urban Land Institute yesterday about ... of all things ... infrastructure.

"People think infrastructure is a dull subject, but it's not," said Hudnut. "We're facing a silent crisis that is really starting to make a lot of noise."

ULI's Infrastructure 2008: A Competitive Advantage report compared America's infrastructure with countries around the world and found that while some countries, such as India and China were growing and developing their infrastructure, the United States, along with Canada and Australia, are coasting.

And before you argue that China and India are building new infrastructure (so it's not a fair comparison), the UK, Germany, and Spain are retooling and revamping their current infrastructure.

Hudnut pointed to the fact that the country has NO high speed trains, countless levies and bridges that need to be improved, and only one of the world's largest ports.

"Revamping our infrastructure in the global economy will largely determine how successful America will be," he said.

In Memphis, our youngest rail bridge — and we have a lot of rail coming through — was built in 1916. Trains have to slow to 10 mph to cross the bridges, creating a national choke point for rail.

Our vehicle bridges are a little bit newer, built in 1949 and 1979.

There is a plan for a third bridge, but it will be 2012 at the earliest before construction can get started, IF there is funding.

"While we're looking for at the third bridge, we need to be planning for the fourth," said one of the local panelists, Metropolitan Planning Organization administrator Martha Lott.

The problem seems to be that we see these big dollar signs on projects that are needed but not at a critical point (yet) so we put them off. And then we they get critical — or worse, like last year's bridge collapse in Minneapolis — that's when we invest.