Ray LaHood tries to resuscitate the ARC Hudson River tunnel with … bike lanes?

10 Oct, 2010 by Chris Wysocki

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OK, not really. But bike lanes in a rail tunnel isn’t the most preposterous idea Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has come up with. And he is on record as being a huge fan of pedal power over motorized transport.

Mr. Bike Lanes swooped into Jersey yesterday seeking to persuade Governor Chris Christie to reconsider his decision to cancel the ARC Hudson River tunnel project.

“We need to know if you’re willing to look at options,” LaHood said. Sure, what options? Something innovative? A better plan? Ideas for cost containment?

Hah. Once upon a time Ray LaHood used to be a Republican. Now he’s an Obamabot through and through. His “options”? Raise taxes on New Jerseyans!

How about a 50-cent ticket surcharge for commuters?

Christie said he knew that concept and had already dismissed it in light of the recent toll hikes that are hitting hard the very same commuters who might one day be aided by ARC.

What about the Port Authority?

Christie went back to a theme he had been talking up in the press, explaining that the Port Authority is not some mystical force that manufactures cash and runs airports and bridges through divine right. He told LaHood that hitting Port Authority fee-payers is no different than hitting New Jerseyans directly.

But, but, but … “mystical forces” always work! Those Obamabots, they’ve got Magic Unicorns! Barry’s Magic Unicorns can do the trick!

I’m sure they’ll eventually suggest we raise our gas tax. Raising taxes is the progressive thing to do.

Governor Christie graciously agreed to give the Feds another two weeks to come up with some realistic options for keeping ARC on track. Of course they’ve already had twice that long to propose something; ARC was “on hold” for a month prior to being shut down. Frank Lautenberg even woke up from one of his naps to complain about the stoppage. So surely Ray LaHood and his staff were aware of the situation long before yesterday.

Maybe if LaHood wasn’t so worried about banning all cell phones (yes, even hands-free via Bluetooth) he might have found the time to plan for the future of America’s most important rail corridor.

Cross-posted from WyBlog.us.:  Follow me on Twitter @WyBlog.