I wrote another letter to the AJC this morning. It’s a little on the longish side, so I’m not confident it will get published.

It’s a response to W00t’s most recent column, where he claims busses and trains aren’t a solution for high-density development.

My response:

Jim Wooten’s line of thinking reflects the short-sighted assumptions that brought Atlanta’s transportation system and land-use policies to their current messy state. While the flexibility of cars and busses carry many benefits, Wooten should also understand there are consequences of twisting the cost-benefit formula in their favor.

Big highways exercise a centrifugal force on land-use development. This is why the widening of a limited access highway leads to more development on the outskirts. Widening I-75 to 23 lanes, for example, will have a more dramatic densifying effect in the eastern and western parts of Cobb County than along the I-75/US-41 corridor. Zoning ordinances will not matter.

Honest cost-benefit comparisons would weigh operating expenses with accuracy and fairness. MARTA’s heavy rail system, for example, carries a per passenger-mile cost that is less than half its bus system ($.24 vs $.54 in 2002). Based on real numbers (not wishful thinking in the form of “projections”), case-hardened pragmatism dictates that our region should avoid overdependence on busses and embrace high-density development supported by light and commuter rail systems. That way, low-density developments supported by our existing road system can stay low-density.

For a little extra to chew on, Alex Marshall heralded the 50th anniversary of the interstate highway system in a recent edition of Governing Magazine:

The Interstate system isnÕt all bad. It is comprehensive, even if it is monolithic. ItÕs hard to overstate the importance of those fat lines on a map with their distinctive royal-blue, shield-like symbols. They emit an almost irresistible pull on the driver holding a map on his lap or contemplating a trip on a computer screen. It may be more fun to take some back roads Ñ it might even occasionally be faster. But itÕs mentally so much easier to follow those fat lines.

We shouldnÕt let this obscure the fact that we would have better towns and cities if we had pursued a more balanced transportation policy. Sure the Interstates are heavily used, but thatÕs no surprise given that use of them is free, and there are usually few alternatives.