The Farm, the Traffic, and the Power to Destroy
Hot on the heels of a renewed vigor for open space protection at the Statehouse, a recent proposal in Delaware seeks to run a five-lane highway through one of the Ohio’s only privately-owned state nature preserves.
At the Stratford Ecological Center, nestled behind route 33, the smell of a new crop of flowers for market and the sounds of children, livestock and the occasional tractor fill the air. If Delaware city planners have their way, though, these could be replaced with thick diesel exhaust and the roar of an endless stream of 18-wheelers.
Delaware, like many rural regions surrounding major metropolitan areas, is facing heavy pressure to accommodate massive increases in traffic along once pastoral roads. Efforts to expand existing roadways, build new roads, or implement traffic control measures have all met with opposition in one form or another. Everyone seems to agree that something must be done, just not at the expense of anyone’s own property.
Stratford is merely one example of these controversial road proposals. But the center’s uniqueness has drawn special attention as a community resource. For a non-profit organization that experiments with ways to encourage more sustainable agriculture and to educate children about farm life and nature, the news of pavement coming their way was understandably hard to swallow.
Before the proposal was announced, the owners were in the process of obtaining a conservation easement. This occurs when a property owner agrees to sell to the government all future development rights in an effort to preserve the land as it is. While such an action may prevent commercial development, though, it does not protect land from the government’s ability to employ eminent domain and seize privately held property from its owners.
The matter is further complicated by the fact that there are simply not enough funds for any of the proposed projects stirring up all the commotion. Calls by city officials for tax increases are mounting as the only way to bankroll these troubled solutions. In March, the Thoroughfare Task Force agreed to at least consider alternative routes, and County Commissioners passed a resolution against supporting a route through Stratford. Considering the lack of funding and public outcry, perhaps it is time for officials to look at other available options.
One other option could provide all parties with a much more satisfactory outcome — privatization. This could lead to a floodgate of funding alternatives. Depending on the level of control elected officials choose to maintain, contracting out plans could range from a model where the contractor designs and builds the project to a temporary or permanent toll road. Based on examples from around the country, cost savings and speed of completion would increase dramatically.
Removing the threat of eminent domain and replacing it with compensation based on open market negotiation may also greatly lessen any road project’s volatility with the public. Delaware city and county officials could write a provision into any contract explicitly denying the use of government seizure and follow up with strict enforcement. This is no longer the 1950’s. We have a viable system of transportation in place and there is no justifiable reason for individuals to be forced off their land to create a more convenient commute for others.
Under current proposals, a desired truck bypass to reduce congestion and pollution is not a possibility because not enough trucks would be diverted to make it worth the government’s investment. If a firm were granted the ability follow their own plans and construct a short toll road to be operated it indefinitely or turned over after a period of time, then trucks could avoid the additional 12 traffic signals planned throughout Delaware. Residents might then also be able to breathe and drive a bit more easily.
In any case, the government has hardly proven the necessity of plowing over a nature preserve to reduce traffic. In fact, the case has not been made for the necessity of plowing over anyone’s property through legal dictate. While eminent domain is a legitimate privilege of the government, it does have the effect of reducing the apparent cost of land. That value becomes simply what that which it has for whatever project is under consideration. An open market approach would more fully consider all costs involved, and any future project would find its home where land has the least economic value to its owners, not government planners.
