Cost vs. benefits of sprawl

In the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor, the big question isn't whether our population will grow. Instead, it's which way to grow is best. No easy or cheap answers here.

The Corridor - behind the Des Moines metro area - remains one of the two biggest growth regions in the state, even after the 2008 flood that displaced 18,000 people in Cedar Rapids alone.

Latest census figures show the Cedar Rapids metro area, from July 2008 to July 2009, grew 0.6 percent, adding 1,413 residents to the population that now tops 256,000. The Iowa City metro area grew at an even faster rate: 1.9 percent, tops in the state, adding 2,904 residents. And looking ahead, consider these numbers, as The Gazette reported April 11:

l The Cedar Rapids Metro Area likely will grow by 90,000 by 2040 with 40,000 of those in Marion, Robins, Hiawatha and northeast Cedar Rapids, the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization projects.

l The Iowa City Urbanized Area (Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, University Heights, Tiffin) is expected to increase about 26,000 by 2035, reports the Johnson County Council of Governments.

Those planning organizations welcome growth. But they worry that too much will be urban sprawl. Which, in turn, creates more demand for costly new arterial roads.

They say sprawling subdivision developments don't generate enough new taxes to pay for major feeder routes. Some suggest more focus on infill development - using infrastructure to create dense new housing within existing city limits.

But some developers say suburbs are where most people want to build and live; that infill development is more expensive and neighbors don't want it nearby. They cite data from the National Association of Home Builders that new subdivisions pay their way. A recent NAHB study of 143 housing units built in Johnson County concluded the construction's benefits repay the costs of new infrastructure and extended public services within three to five years.

An Iowa State University economist, David Swenson, is skeptical of NAHB's position. And the reports don't seem to address the cost of major thoroughfares.

Meanwhile, transportation officials say Iowa's road use tax fund, which funds construction and repairs of major highways, secondary roads and city streets, is an estimated $27 billion short of meeting basic needs over the next 30 years. They call it a crisis.

Solutions? Raise the gas tax, invest in more public transit, revise zoning laws to restrict sprawl or ...?

Local and state planners and political leaders face difficult choices. No one likes to discourage growth.

But if we continue sprawling outward, we should be prepared to pay more for the privilege. Or live with more congestion and inferior roads.