Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
While I do believe there is a definite need for more public transportation, i think that there is a more immediate and pressing need for upgrading dangerous bridges which are ripe for a collapse where people can be killed. As far as widening roads, why should we do that and make it more pleasent for commuters when we want to get away from that slowly entering the future?
And it's winning by 94% (out of 37 votes), LMAO. Shows how much the SUV-loving, car-and-sprawl-it mentality is finally dying. Maybe Americans are finally gaining their senses back.
I'm a liberal democrat... but I thought one suggestion which religious right freak Huckabee made was right on... instead of cutting tax rebate checks for everyone to go out and blow on more Chinese crap, which does nothing for the economy unless you're a Walmart employee... we should have spent the money on hiring Americans to work on new mass transit infrastructure (actually, I guess he suggested bridges, oh well)... ie a return to the old work progress administration, etc. New jobs... new income (well, which would have been spent on more Chinese crap anyway, but at least in return... )... and some progress towards weaning ourselves off of the one person/one car transportation system.
after looking at the results on this poll, its obvious by %95 that we need a high speed rail, aka. amtrack that serves the whole Country, from Seattle, to St. Louis, to Miami. I dont even know why this was a poll, or those other two options were even on the list.
in fact, im hearing a train go by my house right now. to bad its only a frieght train
1. the tickets should be fairly cheap sence the amtrack service is electric, and it would be much cost saving to go on a train from NYC to New Orleans than to fly or drive.
2. it might not be as fast as flying, but it will be more relaxing and you can enjoy the scenery. and it will be much less wreckless as driving, because even if your a good driver, you can still get hurt by idiots or drunk drivers.
3. If you look at history and westward expansion, there was more than route 66. railroads had alot to do with it also. St. Louis is a good example of a city with tracks downtown. Like most cities in the 1800's, St. Louis had a union station, which passengers came through from around the country. cincinnati is a good example to. most of these union stations have been set up for historical use, or abandond, or another company bought it.
4. If we can bring railroads back like we had in the 1800's. we can have alot of success as a country in bringing our economy back to where it should be. and maybe that could help lower gas costs since there would be a lower demand.
What do you feel is the greatest transportation need right now in the US of A?
Replacing all those outdated and really ugly steel bridges?
Public transit/ high speed rail?
Road widening to relieve congestion?
If the bridge works, leave it. Paint it if you don't like it. Is a signature bridge going to improve your trip? If the road is too congested, you can stop simply driving.... assuming that you have decent public transit. Most areas that are congested are cities; they should have decent public transit. [All the years I worked I took the bus and the metro rail we have. Now, that is cut back to a minimum so they need to put it back to the towns on the border of the burbs; mine was 1/2 mile away, now it is 5 miles to the nearest bus - a long walk]
I grew up using/public transit, worked using/public transit and we always had just 1 car, except when our daughters went to college [they lived home and drove].......... Now, I share 1 car w/my husband. Saves on gas, cost, etc. If I did have the transit nearer, I would use it.
after looking at the results on this poll, its obvious by %95 that we need a high speed rail, aka. amtrack that serves the whole Country, from Seattle, to St. Louis, to Miami. I dont even know why this was a poll, or those other two options were even on the list.
in fact, im hearing a train go by my house right now. to bad its only a frieght train
1. the tickets should be fairly cheap sence the amtrack service is electric, and it would be much cost saving to go on a train from NYC to New Orleans than to fly or drive.
2. it might not be as fast as flying, but it will be more relaxing and you can enjoy the scenery. and it will be much less wreckless as driving, because even if your a good driver, you can still get hurt by idiots or drunk drivers.
3. If you look at history and westward expansion, there was more than route 66. railroads had alot to do with it also. St. Louis is a good example of a city with tracks downtown. Like most cities in the 1800's, St. Louis had a union station, which passengers came through from around the country. cincinnati is a good example to. most of these union stations have been set up for historical use, or abandond, or another company bought it.
4. If we can bring railroads back like we had in the 1800's. we can have alot of success as a country in bringing our economy back to where it should be. and maybe that could help lower gas costs since there would be a lower demand.
Amtrak is far from all electric. When you go 100 miles north of NYC toward Albany, they put on a diesel. It is 10 hours from Buffalo (Depew) to NYC (Penn). I have taken it many times. If you go west from here, you need to go to Chicago to line to anything else.
Buffalo's old Central Terminal is about 8 stories tall (maybe more) and is abandoned for rail traffic. It used to have trains 24 hours a day, according to the 87 year old neighbor I have. It still has its rails; most of this area still has rails. We get tons of freight going thru, most on the tracks Amtrak uses.
If you want to see a decent rail system, try going across Canada on Via Rail
It would cost BILLIONS (well, maybe some small portion of our war expenses that is) to get Amtrak operating efficiently across the entire continental US (ie construction of dedicated rail). I'm sure they probably have dedicated lines in the east and on the west coast... but through the center of the country they must run on freight lines... to which they play second fiddle. On the Amtrak Zephyr line which runs from California, through Omaha on to Chicago, for example... you can't depend on it to be on time to within even 2 or more hours. Regularly, the train stops and waits for a freight line to pass. It's a great vacation trip... but you wouldn't want to count on it to get to a business meeting on time.
While public transportation isn't realistic for all cities, it should be actively encouraged and fostered in the areas of the US where it is realistic, not let to decay. It seems a shame in the cities that are built in such a way where public transportation is a viable option, it is constantly struggling just to run and is in a dilapidated state.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
its so obvious
. to bad its only a frieght train
