[RTC List] Comments for General Plan on info-tech

[Josh Koenig]

Hey Pat/List,

With the caveat that I am not a lawyer, or certified to parse  
govspeak, I have done a fair amount of translation to/from  
bureaucrateeze. So here's my best shot.

The gist of this proposal is that these two paragraphs should be  
included in the General Plan:

> "Information technology solutions or which make travel by non-single  
> occupant vehicle modes more convenient, desirable, or efficient, and  
> which would reduce peak-hour automobile travel demand, shall be  
> considered as mobility management solutions that may, singly or with  
> a suite of other solutions, substitute for projects which would  
> increase roadway capacity."


Meaning: the county's plan should tell them to look at technology  
which will alleviate traffic by making alternatives to solo-driving  
more attractive/viable, instead of simply building more roads.

> "Consider information technology solutions such as telework and  
> teleconference programs and facilities that allow for the  
> substitution of vehicle travel as mobility management solutions that  
> may, singly or with a suite of other solutions, substitute for  
> projects which would increase roadway capacity."


Meaning: the county's plan should also tell them to look at telework  
technologies which will reduce overall demand for road travel as  
alternatives to building more roads.

The rest of the proposal includes some rationales for this change, and  
a few examples of how such technologies are beginning to be used  
elsewhere, but that's the meat. The plan should explicitly endorse the  
consideration of these alternatives.

IMHO the strongest argument here is that the General Plan has a 20- 
year lifespan. Even if you're skeptical about "telepresence centers"  
or "electronic ridematching," over the coming two decades the variety  
and viability of technologies which can potentially increase  
productivity and quality-of-life while simultaneously reducing  
automobile traffic is going to increase. Putting this language in now  
lays a foundation for paying attention to these opportunities in the  
coming years.

Transportation funds are a huge part of how our Public money is spent.  
For instance, the proposed Indianola interchange on Hwy 101 between  
Eureka and Arcata could pay for a redundant fiber-optic link to  
Redding twice over. This seems like a decent opportunity to try and  
herd our transit planners towards more innovative solutions in the  
future.

It's not just about driving technology either; it's also about  
effectively managing traffic. Nobody likes rush hour in Eureka, but  
expanding road capacity historically has *at best* a temporary impact  
on congestion -- at least this is what study after study has told us  
since Robert Moses first noticed the effect in New York City in 1942.  
It makes a lot of sense to me to encourage the county to think outside  
the box, and I'm happy to add my name to the document.

Cheers
-josh

------------------------------------------
Josh Koenig, Partner
http://www.chapterthreellc.com
AOL IM: chap3josh
1-888-822-4273