Contributor
Robert Goodspeed, Planetizen Contributor
Biography provided by participant
Robert Goodspeed is a Research Analyst at the Boston Metropolitan Area Planning Council. He graduated with a Masters in Community Planning from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2008, and from the University of Michigan in 2004 with a B.A. in history. His honors thesis was about an urban renewal project in postwar Detroit and graduate thesis on the use of the Internet to engage citizens in urban planning.
He is the founder of community-based news websites in Ann Arbor, Washington, D.C., and College Park, Maryland. He is originally from Maine, where the largest city has a population of about 64,000 people.
May 5, 2009 10:29 PM
To respond directly to the question, yes, more fuel taxes should be spent on alternative transportation than are spent currently. However the bigger issue here isn't re-hashing the tired debate about whether bicyclists and pedestrians deserve some small share of fuel taxes, but looking at the who and the how of surface transportation spending. The question correctly points out the key actors currently are frequently state transportation departments. With the planned interstate highway system completed, our biggest transportation problems are at the metropolitan scale. The next surface transportation bill should ensure funds are directed to Metropolitan Planning Organizations and local…
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