http://la.streetsblog.org/2008/12/03/how-to-build-a-better-infrastructure-plan/ Covering Los Angeles's livable streets movement Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:06:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://la.streetsblog.org/2008/12/03/how-to-build-a-better-infrastructure-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-3226 Dana Gabbard Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:01:43 +0000 http://la.streetsblog.org/?p=1454#comment-3226 'setting strict criteria ... a real assessment of economic benefits and costs that consider environmental, energy, and social impacts". That sounds great but like any analysis how you measure these things and prioritize isn't always all that easy. This is a political process and to make it less so means taking on some sacred cows. Not impossible but we should not fool ourselves about how rough this fight will be. I think the idea of targting the states and metropolitan planning organizations for accountability is an excellent idea - far too often they are overly compliant by fudging the numbers to make sure the project lists match the local politicians' wish lists... ‘setting strict criteria … a real assessment of economic benefits and costs that consider environmental, energy, and social impacts”. That sounds great but like any analysis how you measure these things and prioritize isn’t always all that easy. This is a political process and to make it less so means taking on some sacred cows. Not impossible but we should not fool ourselves about how rough this fight will be. I think the idea of targting the states and metropolitan planning organizations for accountability is an excellent idea – far too often they are overly compliant by fudging the numbers to make sure the project lists match the local politicians’ wish lists…

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