When Todd Chase said at the recent meeting that you can get any data you want to support your belief, he was absolutely wrong. The FHWA knows considerably more than Mr. Chase with his intuition, Craig Carter with his laser pointer, YHR with her feeling, and of course, Ed Braddy with his ideology. They not only know more, they know it because the data has been pulled from over 11 million miles of road to make their inferences. So countering their conclusions requires either a data set of epic proportions or a serious study to show error, which of course, Todd Chase does not have. Reduced severity in accidents IS a measurement of calming. Though roads are owned by different governments, county wide, we only pay enough in gas taxes for approximately 20% of the network we have. If you include the use of law enforcement, whose collective budgets total over $100 million dollars annually, and partitioned their time directed used to police traffic, then this 20% figure falls precipitously. You can see for yourselves how ideological the Mayor can get while sending accusations of the same sort in sporadic directions. On the one hand, unscientific surveys matter when deciding to four lane the short section of 8th Avenue because the public majority wants it. On the other, a scientific poll finds that 51% want BRT and yet, suddenly the majority opinion doesnt matter. This is due to a slick form of calibrated bullshitting frequently used by highly sophisticated crackpots. If we set policy because of what surveys say, then why is the Mayor not pushing for BRT? It must be because he understands something to a higher degree about the world which remains hidden from your view. Ill show you just how much in the next paragraph. Below are three images. The latter two are Eds charts (Responsive Housing Market vs Prescriptive Housing Market) from the American Thinker on housing prices, the top graphic is one which shows the most recent housing prices in the Houston area. He has claimed on more than one occasion that smart growth is the main causal variable to the housing bubble and increased housing prices in general. Why? Because it suits his ideology. The price differential between Houstons 2009 average home price and 2014 is the same differential between the truth and how Ed sees the world. The arrows are my addition to Eds chart. And no, Houston has not become the smart growth mecca of the United States since Ed wrote his essay.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 23:48:38 +0000
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