Tag Archives: Transportation

Roger Baker :
TRANSPORTATION | Is widening I-35 Austin’s biggest
boondoggle ever?

It costs too much and does too little. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | January 14, 2021 AUSTIN — I think I can make the case that widening I-35 through Central Austin is the biggest boondoggle ever, because … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Roger Baker :
METRO | Is TxDOT near the end of the road?

I compare TxDOT to a drunk who has run up a big bar tab and, knowing that he can’t pay, orders another round and prays for a miracle. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | June 16, 2016 “…income … Continue reading

Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Johnny Hazard :
The Mexico City area has been hit by a
major ozone crisis

One reason: Mexico City’s 10 million people simply won’t give up their cars. By Johnny Hazard | The Rag Blog | March 20, 2015 Leer este artículo en español MEXICO CITY — After a couple of days of unusually cold, … Continue reading

Posted in Rag Bloggers, RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Roger Baker :
METRO | Is cheaper driving here to stay?

Gasoline may stay cheap until we burn through the current market glut in perhaps a year. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | September 14, 2015 [This article was written as a companion piece to Roger Baker’s Rag Blog … Continue reading

Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Roger Baker :
America: You’ve got three more years to drive normally!, Part 2

The estimate of three years of easily affordable driving depends primarily on how long the current fracking boom, which is holding down the global oil price, can be sustained. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | October 1, 2014 … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Roger Baker :
America: You’ve got three more years to
drive normally!

Three more years? That’s pretty scary! Surely there must be a mistake in that headline. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | September 10, 2014 First in a series Is it possible that average Americans could have a hard … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

METRO PODCAST | Thorne Dreyer : Community activists Bill Oakey & Roger Baker on Austin transportation politics

Affordability blogger Oakey joins The Rag Blog’s Baker in a lively discussion of the city’s proposed billion dollar transportation bond election and other community issues. Interview by Thorne Dreyer | The Rag Blog | August 7, 2014 [Also read Roger … Continue reading

Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

METRO | Roger Baker : Is Austin’s ‘Strategic Mobility Plan’ smart planning or a billion dollar boondoggle?

What most voters probably don’t know about Austin’s upcoming big bucks transportation bond package. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | August 6, 2014 [Roger Baker joined Austin community activist Bill Oakey and host Thorne Dreyer on Rag Radio, … Continue reading

Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

METRO | Mariann G. Wizard : Fragmented planning in Southeast Austin? Or worse?

I can almost visualize oversized, faux luxurious, slapdash-built ‘mixed-use’ towers, perhaps rising already in blueprint form. By Mariann G. Wizard | The Rag Blog | June 16, 2014 SOUTHEAST AUSTIN — More and more the City of Austin’s planning processes … Continue reading

Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

METRO | Roger Baker : The proposed Austin light rail plan as I see it…

…which clearly isn’t the way Mayor Leffingwell sees it, since he cut me off during the CAMPO meeting. By Roger Baker | The Rag Blog | May 15, 2014 AUSTIN — I make it my regular habit, as a hobby … Continue reading

Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Roger Baker :
Can Austin survive the current Texas drought? / 2

We look at the water-blind politics of Central Texas growth planning, and the developer-friendly role of regional transportation planning group CAMPO. Water use chart from stateimpact.npr. In the graphic above, one can see a dramatic shift to municipal use as … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Glenn Gaven : The Sad Saga of Austin’s $10 Million Concrete Path

Austin City Councilman Chris Riley on his trusty steed. Image from chrisforaustin.com. Taken for a ride: The sad saga of the$10 million concrete path It is no coincidence that this segment of concrete treasure will run along part of Austin … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment