Summaries for: Transportation

Highway politics hit aggregate industry hard
By Christopher HopkinsSenior Vice President for Aggregates and Mining, The Saint Consulting Group The U.S. aggregate mining industry is hurting, our highways are crumbling, and Congress is making both problems worse. The recession certainly has caused great pain within the aggregate industry, due in large part to the crash of both the housing market and ...
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US Air Force testing coal-powered airplanes
By Christopher Hopkins Senior Vice President for Aggregates and Mining, The Saint Consulting Group As the United States fights to free itself from the burden of foreign oil dependency, a new use for coal is being tested by the United States military.  Accelergy, a Houston based company, has developed a fuel that is liquefied clean coal. This ...
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America’s deteriorating infrastructure: roads in dire need of repair
By Christopher Hopkins Senior Vice President for Aggregates and Mining, The Saint Consulting Group It has now been eight months since the expiration of the Federal Highway Trust Fund. While there have been short-term extensions put in place to maintain some of the road funding to the states, it has not been sufficient to keep ...
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Don’t let your project become the third rail in land use politics
By Owen Eagan,Senior Vice President for Transportation, The Saint Consulting GroupRecently, the issue of transportation gained political undertones in Hawaii as the governor’s race started to unfold there (See “Honolulu rail project: political football or policy football?” http://bit.ly/aZeYY7).  Now, transportation has taken center stage in the Texas GOP primary race for governor, even becoming the ...
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Honolulu rail project: political football or policy football?
By Owen Eagan, Senior Vice President, Transportation, The Saint Consulting Group Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii has asked Mayor Mufi Hannemann of Honolulu to revise plans for the city’s proposed $5.3 billion rail project in light of financial issues.  Specifically, she suggests building a portion of the elevated project at street level to save costs and has ...
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Washinton state eminent domain case reminds of the Kelo Test
By Owen Eagan Senior Vice President, Transportation, The Saint Consulting Group In 2005, the US Supreme Court found in Kelo v. City of New London that local governments could seize private property by eminent domain for economic development purposes. So, if you’re a politician and you’re confronted with a decision as to whether to take private land ...
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Clear language in ballot initiatives is crucial for voters – get it right!
By Owen Eagan,Senior Vice President, Transportation, The Saint Consulting GroupWhat is the most important piece of information for voters on ballot initiatives?  Is it knowing who the sponsors are?  Is it knowing who the endorsers are?  Is it knowing if there are any tax or cost implications?  Is it knowing whether the issue is related ...
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Ways to kill a real estate project – how opponents try to derail development, Part 2
By Patrick Fox, President, The Saint Consulting Group The Saint Consulting Group often does seminars for trade associations, client real estate departments and other groups. A popular topic is “How to Kill a Real Estate Project”. By learning the techniques that opposition groups utilize to derail a project, developers can learn how to avoid common mistakes and ...
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Addiction to foreign oil translates into pocketbook and values issues
By Owen Eagan, Senior Vice President, Transportation, The Saint Consulting Group As land use political consultants, our job is to educate residents on the merits of our client’s projects and turn their support into political action.  In order to do that, we need to both persuade and motivate people to vote.  In the world of politics, there ...
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Efficient transport produces benefits; now let’s get the message out
By Owen Eagan, Senior Vice President, Transporation, The Saint Consulting A new report published by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) has found that transportation efficiencies can significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase savings for consumers.  The report, entitled Moving Cooler, was commissioned by a diverse group of stakeholders representing transportation experts, industry, federal agencies, and ...
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