Smart City Challenge: "Seven cities competing to waste $40 million"

Smart City Challenge

From Randal O'Toole:

Electric cars! Robocars! Smart transit stations! Solar-powered buses! Free WiFi in transit corridors! These are some of the ideas proposed by seven cities that made the cut from 71 original applicants for President Obama’s “smart city” challenge. The Obama administration promises to give away $40 million to some lucky winner, with more likely in future years.

These are almost all stupid ideas that will do little to fix the real transportation problems in the cities that are applying for the funds. But the federal government has offered funds for these kinds of projects, so these kinds of projects is what cities will do...

Rob's comment:
Years ago when I was writing for a Northcoast weekly, I interviewed a spokesman for the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department about the annual campaign against marijuana growers. 

He said, first of all, growing marijuana is illegal, and also the state gives the county money to do the raids. I posed a hypothetical: If you posted deputies at every traffic intersection, you could also nab a lot of law-breakers. 

His response: We would do that if the state gave us money to do it!

An earlier post on the subject: A "Smart" city is an anti-car city.

Later: San Francisco didn't win the grant, losing to Columbus, Ohio.