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December 10, 2005
City Assembly Resists Change, Democracy
by Brian Yanity, insurgent49

      The eight members of the Anchorage Assembly who re-wrote the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) are in deep contempt for the democratic process, and the aspirations of the founders of this Republic. The vast majority of public comments submitted during the LRTP process were in favor of increased spending on mass transit and trails, which is the opposite of what is favored by the Assembly’s majority. For example, a needed new interchange at the city’s most congested intersection at Lake Otis and Tudor has now been delayed for seven years, for no reason whatsoever. In contrast, the new road projects that were proposed at the Monday-night session have no purpose other than to feed the cannibalistic construction companies, and were added without any public input whatsoever. This is municipal tyranny.

     The eight Assembly members who championed these projects are completely beholden to the realtors and private developers, and are opposed to an efficient transportation system for future generations. Why else would they hold a rare Monday night meeting, hours before the Tuesday deadline, to overhaul three years of community-based planning efforts? By its very definition, a long-range transportation plan is something that is not made up in one evening, but an ongoing public process. The mayor’s modest congestion relief program was needed for the both safety and greater efficiency of our transportation system, to ensure a viable future Anchorage.

     The greedy real estate and road construction lobbies control these eight elected officials, who in return are expected to provide them with lucrative municipal contracts, tax cuts, cheap land, minimal regulation and, thus, higher short-term profits. Campaign donations to the majority of Anchorage Assembly members must have a high return on investment. As mere instruments of power and privilege, these eight assembly members are obviously only concerned with the needs of Anchorage’s richest citizens and corporations.

     Before deciding to settle in the great city of Anchorage, I lived in a wide variety of places: Portland, Las Vegas, New York City, and Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. And I know from experience that the only thing building more roads does is fuel more traffic, and thus more congestion. The only proven means of reducing traffic congestion in the long term is a mass transit system. Electric-powered mass transit, such as light rail or an electric streetcar system, is cleanest, quietest, and most energy efficient form of land transportation. 

     The conceptual mass transit system shown in the illustration below could almost certainly be built for a lower cost than Don Young’s Way. Connecting the airport, Spenard/midtown, downtown, Fairview, and the U-Med district, such as system would relieve traffic congestion where it is most needed, and create a viable transit-oriented development corridor. In the decades ahead, Anchorage will not be able be able to maintain its quality of life without mass transit. Construction and operation of an extensive mass transit system would also create many jobs.

     The Greek philosopher Heraclitus (535-475 B.C.) said that there is only one constant in the world, and that is change. Anchorage, and the world around our great city, is changing. The age of cheap oil is coming to an end, and a greater diversity of transportation options is needed. In order to improve our city’s overall energy efficiency, private automobile travel must be reduced.

     Quality of life is more important than building more roads and freeways, and the economic and social center of Alaskan society deserves a world-class mass transit system. The fact that “95% of people get around in their cars”, as claimed by one prominent Assembly member, may be the past and present reality, but that will undoubtedly change in the years ahead. As its name suggests, a long-range transportation plan is meant to reflect the future reality, not the present abomination of strip-malls and automobile-dependency.

     Mass transit is the future. Get used to it.






Brian Yanity is a graduate student at UAA, where he is president of the Palestine Club and the Sustainable Energy Society. Brian resides in an undisclosed location in Southcentral Alaska. He can be reached at byanity@insurgent49.com.
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in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership.