'Smart growth' group lobbies against new road construction

Democrats have two goals when it comes to writing a stimulus package: Kick-start the economy, and make it a greener one. But a list of “shovel-ready” road and bridge construction projects pushed by state highway officials to boost the economy and create jobs is a depressingly familiar shade of gray to a group of transit, environmental and “smart growth” advocates. “The stuff we’re seeing is more of the same,” said Robert Puentes, who runs the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution. Puentes and other members of a new coalition, Transportation for America, have put together a counteroffer they say will meet both goals of creating jobs and protecting the environment. Unlike the lists put forward by state transportation officials, Transportation for America’s is heavy on transit programs and more bike and walk paths. “If we move toward the change people voted for, we move toward a green recovery that could create thousands and thousands of jobs,” said Geoff Anderson, president and CEO of Smart Growth America....