Tue
Apr 8 2008
11:48:am
TDOT Still Backwards After All These Years
By: yellowdog  shortURL

Tennessee Dept. of Transportation (TDOT) continues to think backwards. I went to a public meeting Monday about a "Corridor Study" TDOT is doing of the I-81/I-40 corridor. TDOT is trying to determine how to improve the movement of goods and people from Bristol to Memphis. This is especially about freight traffic and whether and/or how to move freight from the interstate to rail.

We learned that they are doing NO analysis of the environmental effects of any of the alternatives. They think that environmental effects will only be considered AFTER they make recommendations about what projects to pursue.

They think in terms of dozens of finite and discrete parts of the 550 mile corridor (i.e., the 15 miles east of the I-81/I-40 split) and not in terms of the entire system.

That is bad enough, but to make decisions about whether to support freight rail improvements and if so, which ones, BEFORE considering the effects of the options on, for instance, air quality is backwards and not in the public's interest.

They also seem entirely unable to consider things like whether anyone can find and afford motor fuel in the future. Or whether the location of "development" (residential, industrial, and commercial) can be influenced by where the roads go.

The TDOT people and the consultants they hire are stuck in old and irrelevant system of transportation planning rules, and it will take public outcry and active engagement at the level of the regional transportation planning organizations (TPOs) to change it. Currently, the TPOs rock along doing what they think local officials want (county commissions, city councils, mayors, etc.)

But in Blount County, nobody on county commission plays a role in or knows anything about what the Knoxville area TPO does. And there are some 15 different and independent TPOs in the path of the I-81/I-40 corridor.

Is it any wonder that The Pavers dictate the plans?

The Knoxville Regional TPO is going to begin a long range planning process in May. Be on the lookout and be ready to participate. Or we will get more of the same.

Topics:

TDOT, oil and the future

Submitted by TMabry on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 09:54.

Greetings:

Certainly, TPOs and the TDOT I-81/I-40 Corridor Study is not my field of expertise. Nevertheless, I too am a citizen facing increasingly higher gas prices making it almost prohibitively expensive just to go the meetings and appointments and court.

That being said, yellowdog's quote caught my eye:

They also seem entirely unable to consider things like whether anyone can find and afford motor fuel in the future. Or whether the location of "development" (residential, industrial, and commercial) can be influenced by where the roads go.

My belief, shared by others who know more about the oil problem than I, is that we as a society need to very seriously consider that dependence on oil is an addiction. U.S. oil production peaked in 1970; global oil production will peak within the next twenty five years. How will we learn to live without something that is inextricably intertwined with our daily lives? Folks, we will eventually run out of oil! Did I hear a 'Duh' from any of you?

That being said, ALL federal, state and local governments and governmental agencies and entities must plan with the inevitable in mind, including TDOT. Alternate means of transportation of people and goods will be necessary while we buy time with existing technologies to plan for a future where oil does not exist. I'm still addicted to oil, too, but welcome the innovations that will make oil a historical fact. In the meantime, our elected and appointed officials need to consider the future of transportation changes.

I am very busy with my job, but transportation is someone's job, and that someone is paid to do the job. For the time being, local roads need to be maintained with an eye to the future, but transportation visionaries are needed to look to the future, not the past.

TFM

Thomas F. Mabry
P. O. Box 52385
Knoxville, TN 37950

Fax 1-888-215-3119
Phone 1-865-671-0598

His son will ride a Camel

Submitted by BeyondLeft on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 10:52.

My father rode a camel, I drive a car, my son flies in a jetliner, his son will ride a camel.
- Saudi Arabian saying

I wonder, if the entire Oil business, is repleat with madness, corruption, death, and violence? Chevron-Texaco is now being sued by the poor AND Cancer-Ridden natives of Ecuador. The picture above is from Ecuador, of the mess left by Chevron-Texaco. How long do these Corporate thugs think that they'll get away with this?

ChevronTexaco faces Ecuador’s courts
Ecuador Court Expert Recommends Chevron Pay $8.3 Billion To $16 Billion

Based on what, I've read, (and 18 years of experience working with the biggest Corporate thugs on the Planet) it appears that the Compressed Air Engine will be the next step to Freedom--which equates to increasing our reliance on Electricity to drive Air Compressors. Bio-Diesel is an effective cross-over fuel, for one can use anything that rots. Ethanol is a huge waste of time, and energy--the main reason it is being trumpetted, is the fact that you still have to use al Qaeda juice with it. Electricity, as a Fuel, be it for home power, driving compressors for filling your Automobiles, or driving Electric Rail; is an easier form of energy to supply. Wind and Solar will be the new forms of production. Fossil-Fuel Combustion Engines will become a thing of the past. The MAJOR Battle that we will have on our hands is taking on Big Oil--they won't roll over and take to defeat easily.

For those of you, who are looking for a quick buck, the entertainment and waiter/waitress industry is doing really well in Houston, nowadays. The Wild Parties are really big down there, since they just had over $120 Billion pumped into their economy. Next time you fill up, just think of all the happy people in Houston, who are very grateful for your dollars.

viva Evo Morales

Our dependence on oil is

Submitted by phinney on Fri, 04/11/2008 - 14:18.

Our dependence on oil is like our dependence of food. We have to have it. It isn’t a bad thing; it just depends on where we get the oil. There is no “Energy Independence” dilemma here in the U.S. because we have more than enough oil under our grounds to sustain us. The anti-capitalist environmentalist liberals won’t let us go in and get it. So, we stand back and blame OPEC and Bush and his rich oil buddies. Makes sense to me.

Lester

You just don't get it

Submitted by BeyondLeft on Fri, 04/11/2008 - 15:48.

I love to hear folks griping at the pump nowadays. I always make it a point to ask them if they voted for the Oil Man. What did you expect when you put an Oil Man in the Whitehouse? See that little Houstonian behind the spinning numbers on the pump? He's so happy to see you--keep feeding him--he loves you. This country's spent NOTHING on infrastructure in over 30 years, and we complain about Car Fuel? It's maddening. Iran is 2nd to China in building Passenger Rail throughout their country. Venezuela is not far behind them in Rail construction. Makes sense to me, why we should hate them, just for that alone. $5,000 a second in Iraq, should be spent here on building a National Rail system. The Airline Industry here is about GONE. The US Airline industry depends completely on the price of al Qaeda juice, and that dependence will be their downfall. How's the Big Business Man gonna travel, unless we have rail? Airfare has gone up 20% in the last 3 months. Yes, it IS al Qaeda juice, because ALL of the funding for the Middle Eastern terrorists is DIRECTLY paid for by you and me at the fuel pump. And don't give me that Canadian Oil crap, because Canadian Oil is used here for heating houses. The MAJORITY of our Automobile fuel comes from the Middle Eastern SWEET crude. If we drilled ALL of Alaska, right now, we'd have enough fuel to run our country for a whopping 6 months! China & India's growing dependence on Oil will raise the value even more. We actually DO pump Oil outta Alaska, and we sell it all to Japan and China, and we don't keep a drop of it. So the drill more in Alaska argument is moot, for Big Oil will just sell more to Japan, and we'll not see a drop. We WILL overcome this God Awful mess, and Big Oil WILL pay for their crimes against our Nation and the World, with interest. Environmental Liberals don't want another Ecuador in their own backyards. Corporate Fascism is not new to the World, it's just that it took a long time for a Texo-Corporate thug to ascend the throne here.

viva Evo Morales

Just think how nice these roads will be....

Submitted by seejaneride on Thu, 04/10/2008 - 22:05.

SeeJaneRide
...when we're back to horse and buggy?! You'll have to bring your own poop-scoop but the ride will be smoother than the dusty, muddy roads of our ancestors. Bottom line: If Brazil can be energy independent, the U.S. can, too. The problem in our country is that Big Oil has had a comfy (and highly profitable) seat in the Executive & Legislative branches of our government. They need to be sent packing so this country can move forward with innovations in alternative fuels.

Here is a link to an

Submitted by yellowdog on Wed, 04/16/2008 - 10:39.

Here is a link to an interesting analysis by Michael Klare, a thoughtful observer of Oil and the rest of us:

(link...)

Capitalisto Grande

Submitted by BeyondLeft on Fri, 04/11/2008 - 10:32.

"They need to be sent packing so this country can move forward with innovations in alternative fuels."

How much ya wanna bet, that they'll want to be the sole suppliers of Alternative Energy? Exxon-Mobil owns almost ALL of the Hydrogen Energy patents. BP bought out the country's largest Solar Panel company. Do you want the Oil companies to own Alternative Energy as well? This is a very serious question, because IMOP if they gain control of supplying the Alternatives then we'll ALL be sucked into yet another era of Fascist thuggery.

viva Evo Morales

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