In the October, 1997, issue of Governing

In the October, 1997, issue of Governing magazine, Alan Ehrenhalt covers the “Asphalt Rebellion,” which he describes as a “full-fledged protest movement” against “a half century of American engineering ideology.” A specific target of this rebellion is the authoritative “Green Book,” published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Ehrenhalt says. The Green Book’s formulas and equations are based on three principles, the author explains. 1) Safety trumps all other considerations, including aesthetics, history and community values. 2) To be safe, a road or bridge must accommodate drivers traveling at high speeds. 3) Safety at high speeds requires width. And so, streets have become ever wider. “Within a certain range of highway width,” Ehrenhalt says, “many things are possible: walkable pedestrian boulevards, main street-style commercial corridors, residential streets where neighbors stop and talk to each other on the sidewalk. Beyond that range, none of those things are possible.” In its simplest terms, the Asphalt Rebellion is a revolt against speed and width and the doctrine that safety outweighs all other considerations, he says. Connecticut and Vermont are allowing departure from Green Book standards, and cities such as Riverside and San Bernardino, California, Eugene, Oregon, and Phoenix, Arizona, have changed standards to reduce street widths. Designers and developers of New Urbanism, who are constantly pushing for reduced street widths, are part of the Asphalt Rebellion. Potential obstacles to this trend are the “highway lobby” and the threat of lawsuits. “One thing any local board or council knows for sure is that if it builds a road according to AASHTO standards, it will not be sued for design negligence,” says Ehrenhalt.