Selling Streetcar Snake Oil

Snake oil salesman, new urbanist acolyte, and City Councilor, Isaac Benton was trying to clear up the "apparent misunderstanding" of the 19th Century Streetcar project. His Letter to the Editor (Subscription Required) found in today's Journal demonstrates rather than dismisses the idea that his "study" is a scam.

The first thing you will notice is that Councilor Benton engages in a bit of revisionist history that would make Lennon proud, claiming "on Nov. 6, after much debate and public comment, on a 6-3 vote we approved the proposal to fund the streetcar project..." The "much debate and public comment" Councilor Benton is referring to is a series of presentations made by Transportation Director Payne intended to sell the trolley not to solicit public input.

The other thing to remember is that there was a hotly contested national election taking place the day after the council took up the question of the Transportation Infrastructure Tax extension. Railroading a $270 MILLION project through the City Council the day before that particular election was a great strategy for proponents, but hardly provided for large public participation, much less debate. (Talk about politics.)

Benton makes clear that his opinion is that the 19th Century Streetcar is inevitable which makes any "taskforce" created to "study" the issue suspect to say the very least.

"[R]oad building will not by itself take us though the 21st century without other multimodal options. We have an aging and more-transit-dependent population, global warming, air pollution, diminishing fossil fuel supplies and limited river crossings to contend with."

The simple fact is a 19th Century Streetcar will not make any discernible difference in any of the talking point justifications listed above. Streetcars operate on electricity. Electricity is generated largely by burning fossil fuels. All we're doing is moving pollution, and energy use.

"Multimodal options" sounds good, but this study is designed to support just ONE mode... rail. Not having a 19th Century Streetcar does not take away options like buses, bikes, cars, or good old fashioned shoe leather. Further, adding a 19th Century Streetcar does not help the majority of those aging in our city, and being able to get to Atrisco Plaza from Nob Hill doesn't count as a river crossing, because there's already a river crossing in place.

We've said it before... Albuquerque is primarily a suburban city, which is why forms of mass transit struggle here. The only areas of town that are even close to being dense enough to make mass transit work as a means of reducing traffic is the Central Nob Hill to Downtown corridor. What possible justification is there to spend $270 MILLION on a 19th Century Streetcar for that single corridor? Transportation money would be better spent on bikeways, trails, roads, and upon improving our bus system.

It's about the efficient use of our tax dollars. It's about efficient mass-transportation. It's about time proponents of the trolley stop pursuing it as the only solution to our transportation problem. With this "Letter to the Editor," Councilor Benton has gone from selling streetcar snake oil to selling a product that is most often transported with a shovel.

Taking Another Train

"Streetcar Tax Is Repealed!"
(Exclamation Point Added)

So declares the headline in today's Yellow Pages (Albuquerque Journal - Subscription Required). Finally, the Council has listened to us... or so it seems.

What really happened last night is the council co-opted Councilor Winter's repeal and stuck it into Councilor Benton's "study." Yes, the Transportation Infrastructure Tax is repealed, but it will be back because the "study" proposed by trolley proponent Benton is really a 19th Century Streetcar marketing group co-chaired by none other than the less than neutral councilor himself.

Understand that government generally studies things that it doesn't want to do or things that it's trying to sell you. Such is the case with Councilor Benton's "task force." It's make up is heavily weighted towards supporters of mass transit in general and 19th Century Streetcars in particular.

The "task force" (a.k.a. Marketing Group) includes Council District representatives, Business and Community Development representatives, and Support Organization representatives. Council District representatives will be chosen to support the views of the councilor doing the choosing (At least 6 for and 3 against). The Businesses and Community Development Groups listed are not just directly impacted; they see themselves as beneficiaries of a $300 MILLION trolley. The Support Organizations which includes Rails, Inc. (Gee we wonder if they support a rail system?), all lean heavily and often publicly toward mass transit by rail.

Councilor Winter wisely voted against this "repeal" recognizing it for what it really is... a sham. Proving that politics makes strange bedfellows, joining Councilor Winter in opposition were Councilors Mayer, O'Malley, and Loy.

The simple truth is this... proponents of the 19th Century Streetcar including Almighty Marty himself, have not given up, they've simply taken another train.

Tricks for Trolleys

If you happened to be perusing the Metro Section of today's Journal you will note that the administration has had to admit that the Transportation Infrastructure Tax is still in place. (Something we told you about last week.) So, what happened? Wasn't the repeal tabled?

The answer is yes, it was tabled. And yes, unless Councilor Winter's bill (which he plans to be re-introduced on Wednesday) passes, the Transportation Infrastructure Tax will remain in place. According to the Journal Council President Debbie O'Malley indicated that they were "behind a rock and a hard place. ... I don't think we have any choice except to repeal it." (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required). In addition, Mayor Chavez is now pushing for a repeal stating, "it rightly ought to be repealed."

(Sidebar)
Hey Marty, we're with you on this one! But, forgive us if we're not quite buying it. First, you try with the aid of your accomplices on the council, to railroad us by ramming it through council the day before a hotly contested national election. Second, our Eyes on the Inside tell us you agreed to accept a repeal only after Councilors Heinrich and Benton let you know that the issue was too hot for them and they were pulling their support. Third, one of your biggest supporters Councilor Sally Mayer, manages to get the repeal tabled in the council's finance committee last week. What's the saying? "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me THREE TIMES..."
(End Sidebar)

The fact is that Mayor Chavez is bound and determined to have a trolley and he'll use any trick that he can think of to make sure it will happen. It's legacy building writ large and payed for by our tax dollars. One thing that the Mayor didn't count on is organized and determined opposition to his plan.

Our Eyes tell us that SWAT (Stop Wasting Albuquerque's Taxes) sent out an action alert to a huge number of members, and civic leaders over the weekend. That email ended with the following appeal:

"We ask you to email all of the city councilors and the mayor and reiterate your objection to this project without an unbiased, comprehensive study and the direct consent of the voters. Let them know in clear terms that responsible voter-taxpayers passed the original tax, that we haven't approved a street car system, and that we demand the this issue be decided by voters at the municipal election this fall."

Apparently, their efforts generated enough heat to have Mayor Chavez in damage control mode on Monday, claiming that he sent a letter last week to the council asking for a repeal, and for the Council to feel "boxed in." If the Mayor truly wanted to have the Transportation Infrastructure Tax repealed he could have done it with a phone call to Councilor Mayer (a.k.a. The Mayer) and to Councilor (Remember I Held a $500 a Head Fundraiser To Pay Off Your Campaign Debts) Harris, and at the very least gotten it through committee.

The bottom line... Tricks for Trolleys. This isn't the first one and if history is any indication, it won't be the last one.