Traffic As A Quality-of-Life Issue

Barack Obama has been increasingly discussing transit issues in his speeches, name-checking particular mass transit solutions depending on what city he's in. Bill Richardson was actually the best candidate on this during the primaries, and his endorsement has maybe been a catalyst here. But I hope it's more like what Ezra Klein says, that Obama may be divining voter concerns.

How long till traffic becomes a voting issue? Americans spend more time in it every year. They get heart attacks from it. And now, with gas prices well above $100 -- and racing skyward still -- how long till road rage, till driving, till a life spent in the car and a paycheck spent at the pump, become voting issues? Arguably, gas prices are already there. But no politicians has figured out how to do anything with that save promise lower gas prices. But we're not going to lower gas prices. And discontent will only become more intense. Someday, some politician is going to figure out what to do with that, and my hunch in the word "transit" will be a big part of it.

I think Obama has the potential to be that candidate, mainly because he has served inner-city constituents in the Illinois State Senate, who use mass transit often out of financial necessity. It's just easier to recognize the potential of mass transit if your personal environment has it on display.

Living in California, I know well that traffic is a unifying issue. It's the easiest way to break the ice in a conversation with strangers. And Ezra's right, politicians haven't done much to ease concerns about it. Out here it's been all about adding infrastructure to roads, with carpool lanes and additional freeways. From an environmental and just a practical perspective this is the wrong way to go about it. Eisenhower understood the value of transportation issues when he embarked upon the interstate highway system. We need a 21st-century packet of transit options, including light rail, high-speed rail, subways, and express bus services. The rising gas prices just increase pressure on politicians to get something done.

Obama is at least showing an attentiveness to this issue, and that's a big step.