A few things to know this week: February 7, 2020
Happy Friday!
Every week, we round up some of the things we read, listened to, or watched that really caught our attention. Here are just a few things we think you should know this week:
This week's things to know:
Crain's Forum: As outer-ring suburbs grow, they bring demands for road growth — how can we afford it? (Crain’s Detroit)
One of the big “aha” moments I had when I was working nationally at my former firm in the late 2000s was that cities across the country were struggling to find money to maintain their roads—especially local streets. I saw it over and over and over, but only a few places were having meaningful discussions about what to do about it. Most places, especially those who were still growing, shrugged it off and kept building more. Here in Texas, that same mentality is prevalent: build and grow now, and figure out how to maintain it later.
Our work focuses on helping cities quantify their resource gaps and then put together strategies to close the gap. I have to keep reminding our clients and others out there that you can't make meaningful progress until you 1) truly acknowledge the magnitude of the gaps and 2) are ready to make hard choices to change your approach to stop building development that doesn't cash flow. I thought I'd share another article from Michigan, where the conversation about how to pay for mounting street maintenance needs is front and center. – Kevin
Bike-Friendly City in Indiana is Known for Plentiful Roundabouts (Planetizen)
When we talk about inclusive communities that are easy to navigate and safe for residents, the question is often asked: how do we get there? Imagine living in a city with a traffic fatality rate of 2 people per 100,000 —compared to the national average of 12 people per 100,000. This city is also a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community.
Would you be surprised to learn this city has over 120 roundabouts? How about that they, unlike most American cities, do not have a focus on a perceived need to widen roads? What about the fact that, when other cities have taken note and implemented the same approach, they too have seen marked improvements in traffic safety? Check out this piece (with lots of great additional links) on Carmel, Indiana. You're used to us talking about the misguided approach to roadway widening and fixation on volume, but you may want to see an example of a community you can truly relate to paving a new direction. (Pun intended!) This is it. – AJ
Tiny Fate, Texas, Wants to Solve All Our Infrastructure Woes (D Magazine)
I'm a huge fan of Michael Kovacs, Justin Weiss, and Will Rugeley in Fate, TX. Since I gave Michael and Justin a copy of the original Strong Towns book four or five years ago, they've taken a number of steps to introduce the concepts of infrastructure funding gaps and fiscally sustainable development patterns to their council, planning commissioners, residents, and developers. You have to know the area their community is in to fully appreciate what they're up against, but they continue to inspire me with their commitment to not just their city, but to sharing the message with their peers in city management. It was pretty cool to see their efforts featured in the latest issue of D Magazine. – Kevin
It's All Downhill from Here (Strong Towns)
Doing the math on a city's development pattern doesn't have to be complicated. Often, the key information you need to make the point can be found in your city's budget and documents for developments being proposed. Want to see how to write a post that will prompt some thought-provoking conversation in your community? Here's a great example. – Kevin
How Fines and Fees Reform Became a Priority for Cities Across the Country (Route 50)
Cities have increasingly relied on the "3 Fs"—fees, fines, and forfeitures—to cover some of their growing funding gaps. This article explains why this approach hasn't worked (in addition to being heavily regressive), what can be changed, and the positive results from a few places that have revamped their fine programs. – Kevin
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Op-Ed: Los Angeles is building plenty of housing ... for cars (Los Angeles Times)
In this opinion piece, Anthony Dedousis describes some of the unintended consequences of parking minimums, and praises the L.A. Department of City Planning’s recent plan that would eliminate parking minimums downtown. But he suggests the city go further and institute parking maximums downtown—“and why stop with downtown? L.A.’s housing and transportation problems are citywide.” This is certainly not an L.A.-specific issue. What would it take to reduce or eliminate parking minimums in your city? What are your existing parking regulations, and are they conducive to the type of development that you want to encourage in your community? – Ryan
Want to learn more about how fiscal analysis can help you make your city stronger financially?
We created a new sister website showcasing how we use math, maps, and money to help cities communicate your resource gap and explore ways to increase tax revenue and improve service efficiency without necessarily raising taxes.
Hey, friends in local government:
Have thoughts on any of the links above? Think we missed something essential? We’re discussing these topics and more over on our brand-new online community, exclusively for local government employees.* Sign up for the Community Cultivators Network and join the discussion!
* The network is currently only for those wonderful folks out there who work in local government. If you’re not currently working for a city, town, or county, we still love you (and are sure many of you would add value to the community), but we want to keep our commitment to making this a community focused specifically on our friends working in local government. Thanks for understanding!
