There's a new Sheriff at Ohio DOT, and He Likes Asphalt.

[KonaKane]

There’s a New Sheriff at Ohio DOT, and He Likes Asphalt
by Angie Schmitt on March 24, 2011

First there was the killing of 3C Rail. Now the Cincinnati streetcar is being led out to pasture. The way transportation projects are unfolding in Ohio, you’d almost think an asphalt industry veteran was heading up the state Department of Transportation.

Jerry Wray, ODOT director and former asphalt industry lobbyist, stands behind Ohio Governor John Kasich. Wray's anti-transit record at ODOT would surely make his former employer proud.

Sadly, you’d be right. ODOT Director Jerry Wray, Ohio’s “Asphalt Sheriff,” is currently presiding over the committee that will determine the fate of the Cincinnati streetcar. The Transportation Review Advisory Council was established by Wray himself in a previous stint at ODOT in 1997 in order to — this is funny — remove politics from transportation funding decisions. Between sessions at ODOT, Wray kept himself busy working as an asphalt industry lobbyist.

…….snip......

So there you have it. Officials at the Ohio Department of Transportation have such a sophisticated understanding of transportation planning that they cannot comprehend how a rail system might complement bus transit service. Or perhaps, just maybe, something else is at work here.

http://streetsblog.net/2011/03/24/theres...s-asphalt/

[Julie]

They get more and more blatant, don't they?

Julie

[KonaKane]

They don't even try to hide their crap anymore. That's the most disturbing part of all. Treachery is bad, but arrogant treachery is the worst.

[Cha]

That's right, Jerry Wray..Asphalt is king of the jungle and you must do all you can to keep Cincinnatti in the 20th Century.

Jerry Wray and Kasich need to stop wallowing in Asphalt.

[OptimistesMaddie]

They are too stupid and arrogant to look to Canada, especially in the Montreal area to see that if planned correctly it works like a charm.

I lived there for 6 months and I was amazed at how functional the transportation was.

[Cha]

(03-25-2011 09:58 PM)OptimistesMaddie Wrote:  They are too stupid and arrogant to look to Canada, especially in the Montreal area to see that if planned correctly it works like a charm.

I lived there for 6 months and I was amazed at how functional the transportation was.

I don't think they care if it does work and like a charm..if it means giving up asphalt then it's bad.

[DFW]

Exactly. Efficiency is a welcome, but incidental by-product of their actions. The main thrust is to divert a decreasing base of tax revenue to their cronies and contributors. What the outcome is for the population as a whole is of no consequence to them whatsoever as long as Fox is there to tell people black is white and night is day.

[Born_A_Truman]

Jerry Wray spoke to the House Transportation committe and wants them to change Ohio's 20/80 (20%=state/80%=federal) funding to 10/90 and change their regulations to allow Ohio to lease the state's right-of-ways to private firms. He also wants them to allow private partners to sponsor rest areas in order to save the state money. Republicans only hate government spending when it goes somewhere other than their projects.