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The solution is investment in public transportation and a reduction in consumption. There's absolutely no reason for most people in industrialized countries to

by gt565k 8y ago

The solution is investment in public transportation and a reduction in consumption. There's absolutely no reason for most people in industrialized countries to own a car, other than the fact that the public transportation infrastructure sucks. With the shift of gas to electrically powered vehicles, there's even less of a reason for people to own an electric vehicle with a massive battery. We need higher density public transportation. Where the kwh of transporting a person goes down on average, thus reducing the need for more batteries. As residential density increases, and road infrastructure can't keep up, we'll see a lot more bike paths, light and heavy rail, close proximity grocery stores, etc... Look at Atlanta right now. Traffic is a clusterfuck, suburbs are also expanding, prompting more people to own a vehicle so they can get to downtown where the jobs are. You sit on the highway, and every single person is in a 5 person vehicle, only for 1 seat to be occupied. What a colossal waste from a utilization perspective. Atlanta has decided to repurpose an old rail loop around the city and make a paved path around the entire city, which connects to other public infrastructure via auxiliary paths and existing trails. It is called The Beltline. It will take maybe another 10 years to complete the entire loop, but the city will be ready to handle the problems that will ensue decades from now.

HillaryBriss 8y ago
People want a consistent, reasonable commute time. Los Angeles's utilization rates for public transportation could probably be improved a great deal by giving buses priority over individual car traffic so that bus commute times were relatively short and predictably so. But what a huge political battle would have to be won to change street and freeway use regulations...
andygreenwell 8y ago
And then you have the mayors of North Fulton (for example Mayor Mike Bodker of Johns Creek) that are fundamentally opposed to expanding various forms of rapid transit into their supposedly low density housing suburban communities: https://www.johnscreekga.gov/NewsAndEvents/News-Archive/2018-News/View-the-Mayor-s-statement-on-proposed-MARTA-tax-i https://www.johnscreekga.gov/NewsAndEvents/News-Archive/2018... Having moved to Johns Creek from Boston last year, I think the Red Line should go all the way up 400 to Cumming and they should add more express lanes along 400. But there are two messages I hear consistently around town when I ask various people about this issue: 1. People like their low density housing, and you are never going to be able to put in enough rail access (like Boston's T or NYC's Subway) close enough to where people live or where they need to be on the other end to eliminate cars off the road through most of the area. 2. They don't want particular groups from other parts of Atlanta having easy access to where they live...essentially to keep possible criminal elements away. Point 1 is a legitimate concern, but commuter rail systems do exist in other areas of the country, and parking garages can be placed next to rail stations. Would definitely ease the nightmare that is rush hour on 400. Point 2 is just a terrible legacy of racism that still exists in the South (and I'm a Southern boy born and raised until living in Boston for 10 years). There is a terrible acronym for MARTA that I have heard multiple times since moving here that just needs to disappear.

by gt565k 8y ago

HillaryBriss 8y ago

People want a consistent, reasonable commute time. Los Angeles's utilization rates for public transportation could probably be improved a great deal by giving buses priority over individual car traffic so that bus commute times were relatively short and predictably so. But what a huge political battle would have to be won to change street and freeway use regulations...

andygreenwell 8y ago

And then you have the mayors of North Fulton (for example Mayor Mike Bodker of Johns Creek) that are fundamentally opposed to expanding various forms of rapid transit into their supposedly low density housing suburban communities: https://www.johnscreekga.gov/NewsAndEvents/News-Archive/2018-News/View-the-Mayor-s-statement-on-proposed-MARTA-tax-i https://www.johnscreekga.gov/NewsAndEvents/News-Archive/2018... Having moved to Johns Creek from Boston last year, I think the Red Line should go all the way up 400 to Cumming and they should add more express lanes along 400. But there are two messages I hear consistently around town when I ask various people about this issue: 1. People like their low density housing, and you are never going to be able to put in enough rail access (like Boston's T or NYC's Subway) close enough to where people live or where they need to be on the other end to eliminate cars off the road through most of the area. 2. They don't want particular groups from other parts of Atlanta having easy access to where they live...essentially to keep possible criminal elements away. Point 1 is a legitimate concern, but commuter rail systems do exist in other areas of the country, and parking garages can be placed next to rail stations. Would definitely ease the nightmare that is rush hour on 400. Point 2 is just a terrible legacy of racism that still exists in the South (and I'm a Southern boy born and raised until living in Boston for 10 years). There is a terrible acronym for MARTA that I have heard multiple times since moving here that just needs to disappear.