Interesting N&R letter to the editor from Greensboro’s Beth Kizhnerman on state highway funding. Letter in full is below; emphasis mine:

Members of Transit Alliance of the Piedmont advocate for public transit to strengthen our communities. The N.C. Department of Transportation is seeking comment on the draft State Transportation Improvement Program, which defines priority projects for the next 10 years. The regional public information session will be 4-7 p.m. March 26 at NCDOT offices on Yanceyville Street in Greensboro.

Money for non-highway projects accounts for just 2 percent of proposed transportation spending. This share has decreased from previous years at a time the state should look toward innovative non-highway solutions. We maintain that the new formula developed to “rank” projects is flawed and biased toward road building rather than a long-term vision for mobility for all. Projects in the current draft do not necessarily reflect local priorities, since vehicle miles traveled are declining, yet we continue to spend on more roads.

Beth Kizhnerman
Greensboro

Ms. Kizhnerman does not cite her sources when stating “vehicle miles traveled are declining.” All I know is our buddy the Antiplanner —citing federal Department of Transportation statistics — says driving reached record levels in 2014. Moreover, Antiplanner adds — the market for automobiles still isn’t saturated, considering the fact that car ownership rates among African-Americans and Latinos is still relatively low. So whether it’s a (ever-so-slowly) improving economy or the self-driven (pun intended) desire to get off the bus and enjoy the freedom of the automobile, I submit that miles traveled will continue to increase, thus justifying funding for roads.

That said –allow me to share a recent experience —while traveling to Winston-Salem recently, the I-40 bypass gradually narrowed from four lanes to two lanes to one lane due to road construction. Finally I came upon the road workers — seven guys standing around a pothole about the size of a basketball.