Mobility First: A New Vision for Transportation in a Globally Competitive Twenty-first Century

Traffic congestion is a growing problem and unless policy makers and transportation officials make some dramatic changes, it will rise to unacceptable levels by 2030. In , Sam Staley and Adrian Moore explain the inefficient systems and politics that cause this escalating epidemic, presenting commonsense, high-tech solutions that will ease congestion and its troubling consequences. The book considers transportation policy through the intersection of four crucial and timely elements: global, economic, and cultural competitiveness; urban development trends; demographics; and transportation engineering and design. It sets goals for congestion reduction, outlines performance standards that increase transparency, calls for the redesign of the regional transportation network, and describes sufficient investment in technology.

Mobility First considers domestic transportation through the intersection of four crucial and timely elements: global, economic, and cultural competitiveness; urban development and trends; demographics; and transportation engineering and design. The book proposes solutions that will mitigate the troubling consequences of congestion, spiraling road costs, bad roads, and political inertia.

Sam Staley is the director of urban and land use policy at the Reason Foundation. He is also senior fellow at both the Indiana Policy Review Foundation and the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions. His books include The Road More Traveled: Why the Congestion Crisis Matters More Than You Think, and What We Can Do About It (Rowman & Littlefield 2006) and Smarter Growth: Market-Based Strategies for Land Use Planning in the 21st Century. Adrian Moore is vice president of research at Reason. He is the coauthor of Curb Rights: A Foundation for Free Enterprise in Urban Transit.