Fixing America's freeways.

• Author: Smith, Michael
• Position: Letters - Letter to the editor

Robert W. Poole Jr. makes a convincing case for high-occupancy toll lanes in "Fixing America's Freeways" (March). However, Poole misleadingly refers to a consumer "preference" for one-person-per-car commuting and a "diversion" of (a small percentage of) federal highway funds to pay for public transit, sidewalks, and bike paths. Poole forgets his history. Our car-dependent way of life is a direct result of government policy, not consumer preferences created in a vacuum.

One-person-per-car commuting didn't spring up on its own. In the 1950s and 1960s, following federal policy, local governments used bonding and aggressive eminent domain to destroy cohesive, traditional neighborhoods in order to build elevated freeways. Streetcar systems were ripped out, in some cases after pressure from the auto industry. The federal government subsidizes freeways and other projects by making municipal bond interest tax-exempt, unlike interest on other bonds.

Suburban zoning boards denied permits for high-density and mixed-use projects in favor of...