You Are Not Alone, Seattle

The South Park Bridge could use some funds

So sayeth Michael Jackson, and so sayeth the New York Times. The paper published an above-the-fold (at least online) story today entitled "Cities Lose Out on Road Funds From Federal Stimulus." For all the teeth-gnashing in the Mayoral race about whether it was Greg Nickels' alleged bullying that cost the city its share of the Olympia-channeled stimulus cash, it appears that the pattern played out all over the country. It's a long-standing, nationwide practice, the article notes, the product of statehouse politics, political favors, and funding formulas that favor state-owned roads.

While some of the direct-to-cities money hasn't been distributed yet (such as the funds that Seattle might get from the Puget Sound Regional Council), the NYT found that the 100 largest metropolitan areas--which hold 2/3 of the population and produce 3/4 of the economy got less than 1/2 of the stimulus money. Cleveland didn't get a bridge it was supposed to. Charlotte only got $8 million of the state's $423 million. Missouri spent half of its money on small counties making up a quarter of the population. Still, Seattle was the only city mentioned that was shut out altogether. So maybe we are special.