Alex Marshall

Recent Articles

• Why Does Our Infrastructure Resemble a Third World Country’s?
• Jan 31, 2012
• One explanation may be our budgeting process.
• 20 Comments

• A Lesson for Passenger Rail, From Roads
• Nov 30, 2011
• A look back at the building of millions of miles of roads shows why passenger rail needs a well-structured bureaucracy in order to succeed.
• 1 Comments

• Can Light Rail Unite Two Va. Cities?
• Sep 30, 2011
• Virginia Beach voted against the building of a light rail years ago. Now that it’s up and running in nearby Norfolk, Va., some think beach-dwellers may rethink their decision.
• 1 Comments

• Intercity Bus Travel Roars Back
• Jul 29, 2011
• Bus travel between major cities is popular, but operators need strict regulation to avoid a race to the bottom.

• Improving Ports to Keep Up with the Global Economy
• May 31, 2011
• With the expansion of the Panama Canal, states and cities are debating whether to spend money deepening channels and expanding facilities to handle new ships.

• What to Call the Gas Tax: Not Just Semantics
• Mar 31, 2011
• Calling the gas tax a 'user fee' is logically and factually wrong.
• 27 Comments

• Infrastructure Stoppage: Fiscal Prudence or Politics?
• Feb 1, 2011
• Infrastructure projects were once largely bipartisan, but such efforts have been tied up in partisan battles over the role of government.
• 2 Comments

• Bicycles' Popularity Grows in Cities
• Dec 1, 2010
• Bicycling has become fashionable. Urban and transportation policymakers take note.
• 6 Comments

• Getting in Front of Communication and Transportation Investments
• Oct 1, 2010
• Government keeps adapting to how information and people travel.

• Accelerating Amtrak Trains
• Jul 30, 2010
• Will superfast train service in the Northeast ever happen?
• 4 Comments

• Installing City-Wide Fiber-Optic Networks
• Jun 1, 2010
• Don't wait to find out if Google will install broadband in your city.
• 4 Comments

• Airport Economics
• Apr 1, 2010
• Big city airports need federal regulations to help weather airline instability.
• 2 Comments

• The Aughts: The Decade of Infrastructure
• Feb 1, 2010
• As the decade ends, there's little to cheer save a notable exception: infrastructure.

• Transportation Decisions: Part Calculation, Part Imagination
• Dec 1, 2009
• When it comes to roads, practicality and economics are important. But so is emotion.

• The Weaknesses of Sweeping Privatization
• Oct 1, 2009
• The most important question is not whether private investment in roads and other public infrastructure will revive, but the degree to which it should.