Not every modern transit project takes longer than one from a century ago, of course, and there are plenty of acceptable explanations for those that do. Construction technology is better today, but there are far more people, buildings, and interests to navigate. At their best, planning processes and environmental reviews both protect and involve the public in the projects that will affect the place they call home.
That doesn't mean we can't do much better. Elkind suggests exempting transit projects from excessive environmental review since they are, by nature, beneficial to the environment. As we , California is in the midst of updating its environmental law to do just that, with the latest update released . The change will expedite the review process for projects that take cars off the road, such as BRT in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, the federal government wants to speed up the planning-to-completion timeline for transit,Cheap True Religion Jeans, too. In a ,Infant True Religion, DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx urged lawmakers (multiple times) to help reduce delay for major infrastructure projects. Some means to achieving this end conducting concurrent rather than sequential review, for instance, and eliminating duplicative processes in the Grow America act that Foxx recently sent to Congress.
Such calls are a step in the right direction (if ), but local planners don't need to wait for state or federal governments to reduce project delay. By harnessing and borrowing the concept of from the tech industry, local planners and officials can implement and improve small projects on the fly from better bus queues to smarter street designs. The mindset can shift from years to months, days,True Religion Job Application, or even hours.
As Elkind points out, transit projects are not uniquely vulnerable to delay, but the limited funding available to them, and the wide social benefits they provide, makes efficiency and urgency a true necessity. Clearly, there are avenues of improvement open to all levels of government. It's up to officials to recognize them, as quickly as possible.