The thing is Terry, that autos still account for about 2/3rd's of PDOT's budget. Bikes, transit, pedestrians, streetscapes and compete for that last 1/3.

It's just not credible for you to say that automobile drivers are somehow victims of a callous and anti-auto crowd that just won't listen! Just because bikes have gone from 1% to 1.5% of the budget doesn't mean that we are neglecting cars, Terry. Cars going from 67% to 65% of the budget is not an assault on car drivers. Give me a break! (And those numbers were used for illustrative purposes; while they are close, they don't reflect the actual changes in the budget.)

This is the sort of argument that just riles me up. The automobile has been BY FAR the main beneficiary of nearly all the transportation investments made over the past 40 years - at the local, state, and national level. So explain again how we don't do enough for cars?

You say we need to widen lanes. Fine. Just tell me what streets you want widened. Then, go talk with the neighbors in those areas to let them know that either they are going to A) have 4 foot sidwalks, B) no parking, C) or get their houses torn down.

The political reality is that widening streets in an URBAN area is close to impossible, and not likely even desirable.

Terry, obviously you have had many conversations with Sam and me. Obviously we hear you. We just disagree on the issues. I know it isn't fun to be on that end of things, but it's bound to happen. Just because you don't get what you want doesn't mean we aren't listening to you. The fact that you repeat that claim starts to sound a little like a temper tantrum...

Please don't whine or play the victim card. I know many conservative demogogues seem to like to pull that one out of their pocket to make their points, but it is just not credible or convincing. Cars still get the lion's share of the budget and account for most transportation spending.

If we are successful in our endeavor to get new revenue, though, we are going to take a system-wide look and do signalization improvements around the city to address congestion and emission issues. That is a lot more realistic than widening urban streets.