The Overhead Wire Daily | April 11th, 2024 | Chicken and Egg

New research from RMIT Centre for Urban Research discusses how Melbourne hasn’t seen an equal increase in transportation investment compared to housing growth. An 88% increase in housing has only gotten a 5% increase in transport services.

I found this general idea and discussion really interesting because it reminded me of the chicken and egg debates we have about land use and transportation. If you build this line, more housing will come. Or if you build this housing, the city will build or bring you new transportation. Both of which are often used as arguments against building anything, housing or transportation.

Of course that’s one of the powerful ideas behind the bus network redesigns that have been happening around the country in that we can readjust service to places that need it, or have grown. At this moment in time, building new high capacity transit infrastructure can be difficult and expensive. But transportation costs are up everywhere and if we defer investments now, we’re making individuals pay for the increases.

In fact, vehicle insurance rates are up 22% and repair costs up 10% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the largest increase since 1976. Not to mention the average cost of a new personal vehicle is $48,000. With those increases, it’s increasingly important that cities invest in transit projects and service and promote sustainable mobility in all forms. Today’s piece in Vox about DC’s transit system show what’s possible on the transit side. Our recent discussions with Aaron Breetwor and Dan Sturges show what’s possible when we think outside of our usual boxes as well.

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