I suppose Denver’s Regional Transit District general manager Cal Marsella has a right to call me a “paid political operative” in the opening paragraph of his reply to my proposal that RTD cancel its FasTracks rail plan. After all, I opened my article by noting that Marsella gets paid more than $290,000 a year.
Of course, that is many times more than I have been paid in my best year, and I was nice enough to not even mention his $10,000 “auto allowance” or his 12.5% bonus. Yet he calls my article “sour grapes invective” that is filled with “distortions, manipulations and factually inaccurate statements.” In fact, it is his article that is filled with distortions and manipulations.
My article admitted that, when FasTracks was on the ballot in 2004, “no one could have predicted that rising steel, concrete and energy prices would drive up the cost of FasTracks.” But, I said, opponents knew in 2004 that megaprojects like this always go overbudget, yet at the time Marsella swore up and down that he would build the project on budget.
Marsella’s response? “No one accurately predicted the record increases in construction materials costs.” So he agrees with me on that point while implying that I somehow distorted the facts. In doing so, he is the one who distorted my statements.
Then Marsella says, “O’Toole makes the amazing claim that previous light-rail lines in Denver exceeded their budgets.” Again, he distorted my statement, which says, “both the Southeast and Southwest lines cost far more than RTD’s original estimates.” He deliberately confuses “original estimates” with “budgets.”
Whenever such problem arises never forget to take appropriate suggestions from the doctor. generic viagra from india Liver injury and acute liver failures are also caused by smoking cigarettes. female viagra pill For many sufferers of long-term levitra best prices illnesses such as chronic arthritis, taking medication to help alleviate the symptoms is a capsule daily that’s inserted vaginally with regard to primary Fifteen days. While your heart is actively pumping blood, your blood pressure numbers buy viagra can be key to avoiding the serious consequences of neglect. If a builder estimates he can build you a house for $100,000, then after spending the $100,000 comes back and says it will cost $200,000, and you agree, the new budget is $200,000. If the final cost is $198,000, he can say, “I built it under budget.”
That’s what RTD did. At the time RTD decided to build rail instead of bus-rapid transit or some other form of transportation, the original estimates for both the SW (Santa Fe) and SE (T-REX) lines were much lower than their final cost turned out to be. As U.S. DOT researcher Don Pickrell observed, when you underestimate capital costs, you bias the analysis in favor of alternatives whose capital costs are high.
As I explained in my article, after all of the other alternatives were discarded and construction began, RTD upwardly revised its budget. Sure, the final cost was on budget, but as I noted, it was well above the cost estimate. So we are both right — but Marsella is distorting things when he implies that I am wrong.
Here is a humorous statement: “O’Toole’s claim that light rail increases pollution is so absurd that no response is even warranted.” Based on RTD’s own data, Denver light rail uses more energy per passenger mile than its buses, which use more energy than the average SUV. Based on the mix of electric power used in Colorado, light rail produces more greenhouse gases per passenger mile than its buses, which emit more than the average SUV. My article didn’t say anything about other pollution, but based on data RTD prepared for its FasTracks plan, light rail generates more nitrogen oxides, per passenger mile, than the average automobile. Marsella never challenges these numbers — he just implies they are wrong.
Marsella makes a big deal of the fact that I don’t live in Colorado, as if that has anything to do with whether FasTracks is a good idea. Marsella himself is a carpetbagger, hailing from Florida before he went to work for RTD. Since part of FasTracks is to be paid for with federal money, I have as much right as anyone to see whether its advocates are telling the truth.
I suppose it is appropriate that Marsella gets paid a lot more than the Antiplanner. After all, he gets paid to sell an expensive and indefensible plan to voters, while I only get paid to tell the truth. And, to tell the truth, you would have to pay me a lot more than I get paid now to persuade me to distort the facts and manipulate the data the way Marsella has done.
Antiplanner wrote:
> Of course, that is many times more than I have been paid in my best year, and I was nice enough to not even mention
> his $10,000 “auto allowance” or his 12.5% bonus.
I wonder why the heads of urban mass transit agencies so often get a private motor vehicles paid for by the
taxpayers and transit patrons (and usually a free parking space at work to go with it?)? Shouldn’t they, of all
people, be required to ride the transit system that they are supposed to be in charge of?
> My article admitted that, when FasTracks was on the ballot in 2004, “no one could have predicted that rising steel,
> concrete and energy prices would drive up the cost of FasTracks.†But, I said, opponents knew in 2004 that
> megaprojects like this always go overbudget, yet at the time Marsella swore up and down that he would build the
> project on budget.
If Marsella had been honest, he would have added a disclaimer for the cost of materials.
> Then Marsella says, “O’Toole makes the amazing claim that previous light-rail lines in Denver exceeded their
> budgets.†Again, he distorted my statement, which says, “both the Southeast and Southwest lines cost far more
> than RTD’s original estimates.†He deliberately confuses “original estimates†with “budgets.â€Â
That seems to happen over and over and over again when the project being built is rail transit.
> If a builder estimates he can build you a house for $100,000, then after spending the $100,000 comes back and
> says it will cost $200,000, and you agree, the new budget is $200,000. If the final cost is $198,000, he can
> say, “I built it under budget.â€Â
>
> That’s what RTD did. At the time RTD decided to build rail instead of bus-rapid transit or some other form of
> transportation, the original estimates for both the SW (Santa Fe) and SE (T-REX) lines were much lower than
> their final cost turned out to be. As U.S. DOT researcher Don Pickrell observed, when you underestimate capital
> costs, you bias the analysis in favor of alternatives whose capital costs are high.
Again, this has happened in many other metropolitan areas across the United States. It’s nice to be able to hit
up the taxpayers for cost overruns.
I love the expression “paid political operative”. It sounds like you’re an assassin!
This is worse the McCain and Obama arguing over the particulars of their smear ads. Here are some important factors as I see it in the situation:
1. FasTracks is way over budget just like just about every other capital improvement program in a major city. Typical government planning boondoggle I suppose. Touche.
2. The credible relevance of the numbers you use, O’Toole, is something that has been debated at great length on this blog. Some people choose to believe that cars can do no harm (in comparison to other modes) a like to live in the wonder world where all roads are built with user fees. There are lies, damn lies and stats.
So… Which liar are we to believe?
“Here is a humorous statement: ‘O’Toole’s claim that light rail increases pollution is so absurd …’ My article didn’t say anything about other pollution…”
Your article: “It also uses more energy and emits more greenhouse gases, per passenger mile, than the average SUV.”
Splitting hairs? What other pollution from vehicles is there other then greenhouse gasses? I sorry someone publicly disagreed with you O’Toole, but a guy that writes such inflammatory things about government agencies and the people that work for them should be able to take it a little bit better.
He was just be honest, this is what you get paid to do.
bennett Says: “What other pollution from vehicles is there other then greenhouse gasses?”
Oh, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulates, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, to name the main ones that contribute to air pollution. Of these, only carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas.
I’m less than impressed when The Antiplanner brings up the cost overruns in steel and concrete, and asphalt. Alternative road projects would, and do, suffer the same cost overruns from these construction materials. One can’t say that rail transit is “bad” based on these particular cost overruns, since road “megaprojects” would have suffered the same fate.
Mike, ask Randal how many road projects in the FasTracks area are being put off due to cost overruns.
DS
C. P. Zilliacus asks ” Shouldn’t they, of all people, be required to ride the transit system that they are supposed to be in charge of?”
Whatever else you might think of him, former NYCTA President David Gunn bought an apartment in Brooklyn and rode the train to his downtown Brooklyn office. More transit agency heads should follow his example.
Hugh Jardonn wrote:
> Whatever else you might think of him, former NYCTA
> President David Gunn bought an apartment in Brooklyn
> and rode the train to his downtown Brooklyn office.
> More transit agency heads should follow his example.
Gunn acted like he wanted others to act. Amazing!
As I understand it, Mr. Gunn did the same thing while
he was the general manager of WMATA (e.g. Metrorail and
Metrobus) in Washington, D.C. and its suburbs.
In Marsalla’s defense, he does ride transit to work most days. But he still gets an auto allowance.
But this really has nothing to do with whether FasTracks is a good idea.
kens wrote:
“Oh, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulates, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, to name the main ones that contribute to air pollution. Of these, only carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. ”
Nitrogen oxides and water vapour from exhausts are also greenhouse gases. Sulfur dioxide as an aerosol is a gas which reduces global warming – but damages the ozone layer.
msetty, you’re correct, no one can get around those cost overruns. So any mega project would take a big hit on those. To me that adds to the reason for getting away from those projects in general. For example, instead of rebuilding a 14 miles stretch of a freeway, split it into two projects. Like with T-Rex, split it into an A and B. Fund A and have it hit let’s say the I225 + I25 interchange and a strech a few miles on each side on each side. Then a year after that’s started, firm up the plans for part B and evaluate that.
In the case of FasTracks, plan out of the system roughly but only commit to the first couple of lines like the West Corridor and the Gold Line. Then if things don’t go well, you can re-evaluate building the next 2 or 3 lines. Of course that’s not easy politically since it would mean different sales tax votes at different times. Can you imagine going to 7 county’s for just two lines with more to come later? Maybe you could just do Denver and Jefferson counties. What it would do is ensure if things go poorly, there isn’t this big “commitment” to build the rest of the lines. It probably would also make it hard to get in things like the doubling up on the Boulder Turnpike or extending a line up 225. But those are parts of the project that were most questionable and are most deserving of not being built. They get thrown in to create more political support for the entire project. That is, they get thrown in so folks in Boulder County or Adams are paying for lines that will serve them the least, if at all, just so they get some they probably don’t really need.
“That’s what RTD did. At the time RTD decided to build rail instead of bus-rapid transit or some other form of transportation, the original estimates for both the SW (Santa Fe) and SE (T-REX) lines were much lower than their final cost turned out to be.” — Antiplanner
What were those original, revised and final costs?
davek Says:
I love the expression “paid political operativeâ€Â. It sounds like you’re an assassin!
THWM: Well that’s a good way to put things ROT gets paid to be an economic terrorist!
Roads don’t make money.