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I would say my preferences have changed quite a bit. When I was in my early to mid 20s, I was all about city life. Now that I'm getting older, I'm not so averse to the Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Orlando-type lifestyle. A lot of my friends have moved on to the suburbs.
It's not disingenous. And it's not just buses that use roads. When your house catches on fire, are the firefighters supposed to arrive there on a subway?
What is it with this fantasy of the suburbs drying up?
The point is that roads were not paved for transit. And it's not about suburbia drying up, it's about the likelihood of more urban places being available.
Many independent restaurants aren't that much pricer. Even in Manhattan, there are plenty of relatively normal priced ones ($15-$23 for an entree).
Eating out in Manhattan is actually one of the few things in Manhattan that's quite reasonable; while obviously you can get exorbitantly priced meals easily enough, there's plenty of places with very good food for decent prices.
I have to admit that in suburbia there are plenty of people who think some of the chain restaurants are something really special; people line up to get into the Cheesecake Factory or P.F. Chang's, for instance. No accounting for taste. Then again, the TGI Fridays in Midtown is always packed too...
The point is that roads were not paved for transit. And it's not about suburbia drying up, it's about the likelihood of more urban places being available.
Now, enter with more arguing out of context....
err not quite. Roads within towns were paved it was more the freeway system that allowed more people to live further out. With no lights and speeds over 30MPH, you can live much further out. When you are limited to public transit you usually have less flexibility about where you can live due to slower speeds and waiting between transfers.
Suburbs actually do have a long history preWWII, they just took off post WWII. Public transit was limited. The burbs did have some trolleys, interurbans, and bus routes back then but those quickly went away as people no longer "needed" them. Those routes suffered from both losing customers and not having that many customers out in the sticks to begin with. What little public transit there was fell apart.
Public transit can also make use of freeways, hence the Greyhound bus has replaced the interurban for the most part. And locally there are some busses that run on the expressway/freeway(not many).
err not quite. Roads within towns were paved it was more the freeway system that allowed more people to live further out. With no lights and speeds over 30MPH, you can live much further out. When you are limited to public transit you usually have less flexibility about where you can live due to slower speeds and waiting between transfers.
Suburbs actually do have a long history preWWII, they just took off post WWII. Public transit was limited. The burbs did have some trolleys, interurbans, and bus routes back then but those quickly went away as people no longer "needed" them. Those routes suffered from both losing customers and not having that many customers out in the sticks to begin with. What little public transit there was fell apart.
Public transit can also make use of freeways, hence the Greyhound bus has replaced the interurban for the most part. And locally there are some busses that run on the expressway/freeway(not many).
Except NYC and Chicago (to some degree with the Red Line) utilize express trains which allow people to live further out and still have a similar commute time as someone who lives closer in.
Except NYC and Chicago (to some degree with the Red Line) utilize express trains which allow people to live further out and still have a similar commute time as someone who lives closer in.
Not quite. The EL can beat a car in rush, otherwise not. Metra is what the people who live furthest out use. Metra can hold its own against the car all day time wise, just not flexibility wise with trains departing once per hour post rush.
Also the lines that run in the expressway with the exception of the Congress branch(in 290) of the blue line were all extensions of the EL system. The congress was an replacement for a elevated line torn down to make room for the expressway. Also the one express line is the Purple line, it only runs to the loop during rush otherwise it just runs between liden and howard(north border of Chicago).
Not quite. The EL can beat a car in rush, otherwise not. Metra is what the people who live furthest out use. Metra can hold its own against the car all day time wise, just not flexibility wise with trains departing once per hour post rush.
Also the lines that run in the expressway with the exception of the Congress branch(in 290) of the blue line were all extensions of the EL system. The congress was an replacement for a elevated line torn down to make room for the expressway. Also the one express line is the Purple line, it only runs to the loop during rush otherwise it just runs between liden and howard(north border of Chicago).
I wasn't talking about that, MTA has express lines which make it easier for one to live further out and still have a similar commute time as someone living closer in. I mentioned Chicago because on the Northside the Red Line does offer an express service, sort of, because it skips a handful of stops. But the El as a whole does not offer the same type of express service that MTA offers. You are right that Metra does make up for this by providing service further out and offering quicker times into the city.
I wasn't talking about that, MTA has express lines which make it easier for one to live further out and still have a similar commute time as someone living closer in. I mentioned Chicago because on the Northside the Red Line does offer an express service, sort of, because it skips a handful of stops. But the El as a whole does not offer the same type of express service that MTA offers. You are right that Metra does make up for this by providing service further out and offering quicker times into the city.
I guess. I was just pointing out the the only way the EL can beat a car is with rush hour traffic. Once that clears out you will get there considerably faster by car.
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