• Wooden water mains are still in use in number of places around the country. Its a quaint example of serious problem: America’s water mains are aging. There are 240,000 breaks each year. (NYT)
• Chicago was planning to sell Midway airport to private investors for $2.6 billion, but group ran short of financing and the sale has been kiboshed. (Bloomberg)
• Today’s dubious story about high speed rail in America comes from the National Review. It’s assessment? HSR is “going nowhere fast” because it costs money. Unlike, you know, building new highways or expanding airports, which are both really cheap… (National Review)
• New York transit riders would only face an 8% fare hike–vs. 25%–if a new rescue package offered by Democrats is passed. (WNYC)
• Japan’s largest bullet train operator has seen traffic fall for the fifth straight month in the midst of a gloomy business climate. (Bloomberg)
• What’s the least energy intensive way to get around? Seattle Transit Blog does the math and figures out that it’s bicycling, which takes 95% less energy than auto travel and less than half as much as walking.
• Of Obama’s HSR proposal, the never-shy Jim Kunstler writes in his blog this week: ” To be blunt about it, this is perfectly fucking stupid.” For more on this, read his Infratructurist Q&A. (Kunstler)

http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009/04/02/james-howard-kunstler-how-to-invest-infrastructure-for-an-age-of-scarcity/

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