WSDOT Secretary Roger Millar delivered a keynote speech to the nation’s highway and transportation officials that directly challenged the central focus of transportation investments in nearly every state: Building and expanding freeways.
“We like to talk about traffic congestion as an issue, but it is actually a symptom of a larger problem – and the problem is we don’t provide affordable housing and transportation solutions,” he told the Joint Policy Committee of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (“AASHTO”) last week, according to the AASHTO Journal. “We have a rich list of transportation options for the rich that can afford to live in our cities – the rest are forced to drive. And they drive vehicles that often can’t make the trip.”
Millar’s take should be a wake-up call not only to state DOTs across the nation, but also to thriving urban centers like Seattle. When Seattle fails to provide affordable housing within areas that are well-served by transit, biking and walking options, the city shares responsibility for forcing people to live in lower-cost, car-dependent areas further from workplaces and other services and destinations. The result is that more people who struggle to afford cars are forced to drive further on a highway system we cannot successfully expand.
“Executive housing and Walmart jobs is not a housing solution – that only puts more people on road,” he said. (more…)