Poll: "Leaders in Louisville have been debating how to construct and pay for
new bridges over the Ohio River for decades. Which project do you prefer?"
 

A cn|2 politics poll finds only 14.2% of Louisville voters favor the two-bridge configuration championed by the Ohio River Bridges Project. Furthermore, a whopping 50.3% favor building only an east-end bridge. Credit where it's due - it's a very, very good day over at 8664.

"Neither New Bridge" exceeds expectations as well!

Additional cn|2 coverage of the poll can be found here.

Update: LEO weighs in.

Infrastructurist has a smash hit with this article: Huh?! 4 Cases Of How Tearing Down A Highway Can Relieve Traffic Jams (And Save Your City). Every single transportation blog in the country has linked to the story, including obviously 8664. Must ... keep ... up ... with ... Joneses.

Before and After - Image lifted from the article.

I'd rate this article Must Read: "Louisville: A Tale of Two Cities".

Urbanophile, a highly respected regional blogger, takes on the Ohio River Bridges project. He makes some great points. I refer you to his article and 8664's review of it.

Edit: fixed typeo in title: "Urbanophile siezes up Ohio River Bridges, 8664", heh heh.

Highways to Nowhere: The 7 Most Ridiculous New Roads Being Built In America

At the Infrastructurist, Yonah Freemark blasts the Ohio River Bridges Project, and offers this warning:

At a White House gathering last week, both Barack Obama and Joe Biden warned America’s governors not to squander stimulus funds on ill-conceived infrastructure projects. “Six months from now,” Biden said, “if the verdict on this effort is that we’ve wasted the money, we built things that were unnecessary, or we’ve done things that are legal but make no sense, then, folks, don’t look for any help from the federal government for a long while.”

Nowhere is this warning more pertinent than in building new roads. Misguided road building can encourage sprawl, make communities less livable, and devastate the local environment. We looked at shovel-ready new highway projects across the country that are either getting stimulus money or could potentially get some and found seven that, in Biden’s words, “make no sense.”

Read what he has to say, and also find out which other regional megaprojects make the cut for the worst of the worst.

http://www.8664.org/2009/03/no-tolling-authority-legislation-passed.html

Today's 8664 story is a must read. Rather than reproduce it here, I refer you to the  8664 site.

Update #1

8664 is a Louisville transportation advocacy organization.

Let us be clear, 8664 enthusiastically supports public transit.

And we support a pedestrian and bike-friendly city with better transportation planning.

But as Jackie Green noted in his April 4 letter to the editor, we do not support KTAP's effort to stop the Ohio River Bridges Project. Unlike River Fields, a founding member of KTAP, we feel the East End Bridge has been delayed for too long.

If we've learned anything from the 40-year debate about building a bridge, it should be that we need to prioritize. The "two bridges, one project" idea is flawed and will only delay the entire project. While the idea of doing nothing is appealing to those that oppose the East End bridge, it will only hurt Louisville in the long run.

It is a fact that the majority of citizens in this region support building a bridge across the Ohio River. Likewise, it is clear that the majority of people prefer an eastern bridge to complete the I-265 beltway. So our current priority is to complete this automotive connection so we can move on to other important community issues.

We want to fix Spaghetti Junction. We want to reconnect with the West End. We want to build the most spectacular waterfront park in the country. We want to unite the region around a vibrant downtown. And again, we want to invest in public transit.

But first, we need to build the East End Bridge.

TYLER ALLEN
J.C. STITES
8664

Editor: The following has been accepted for publication in the C-J:

8664 is a distraction.  8664 focuses on a financially unrealistic investment in automotive infrastructure. It steals focus from advancing a regional public transit system as an option to bridges.  It must stop.

On March 31 the Courier-Journal published an article by the leadership of 8664.  The article began with: "For three years we have promoted a positive solution to address the region's transportation and economic needs". This statement is far from the truth.  For three years 8664 has promoted a narrow vision of transportation by cars and trucks only.  There is nothing positive about speeding cars and trucks along surface streets through our riverfront - even if you try to sell those surface roads as "parkways".  More motor vehicles on surface streets only endanger more motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.  The 8664 vision is not positive, nor is it a solution for regional transportation.

the 10 Commandments issue

• Nina Walfoort to speak at quarterly meeting
• World Car Free Day preperations
• TARC News
• Lexington Area Sierra Club
• Car Free Guide to Clifton
• Ohio River Bridges, again
• Underestimating Costs in Public Works Projects: Error or Lie?
• Safe Routes To School is a winning issue
• China passes USA in CO₂ emissions
• Vatican issues 10 commandments for drivers

"the John Henry issue"

• 8664 to speak at quarterly meeting
• Safe Streets Louisville
• Anti Bridge Strategy
• Study: Americans Want 40 Miles Per Gallon Law
• Ethanol Fuels Hunger
• Transit Oriented Development
• Activist Moves Mountain, Literally