This consensus is, of course, dead wrong.

The reality is that, all across America, we have built too much unproductive infrastructure: roads, bridges, and pipes that don’t generate nearly enough wealth for us to justify their construction or fund their long-term maintenance. While such spending can provide a short-term economic stimulus, it is dwarfed by the long-term, unsupportable liabilities we accrue. In particular, the story of highways in America over the past few decades has largely been the story of our state DOTs and federal transportation authorities “investing” untold trillions in our ability to live farther away from each other and drive more miles just to do the same things we always did: growing mobility without improving access.

We’d be crazy to continue down this path. And we’d be crazy to accede to it—to treat costly new highways as the price we must pay to get a few bike lanes or BRT projects on the site—the reason Strong Towns has long adopted the rallying cry #NoNewRoads.

The good news is we have more allies in our corner than ever. Chief among them this year was Transportation for America, an affiliate of Smart Growth America and an influential voice on federal transportation policy. T4A took the bold step of announcing in 2019 that they would no longer call for increased infrastructure spending. What’s more, they laid out a bold, smart vision for reforming our infrastructure priorities: we should fund maintenance over new construction, put safety before speed, and prioritize access to the things, like jobs, that people most need to get to.

We’re proud to stand alongside them in calling for this change. And we know important ears are listening, from Capitol Hill to state DOTs to cities and towns all over America.

Here are two posts from 2019, one from Transportation for America’s communications director Stephen Davis, and one from Strong Towns president Charles Marohn, putting the call for no additional spending into context. –Daniel Herriges, Senior Editor.