Why does Indianapolis get a bad rap as a boring city? (South Bend: fit in, appliances)

[Humboldt1]

"bus rapid transit" is somewhat of an oxymoron. I have never seen a bus at can get me anywhere as fast as a car, even those with no stops. Add in the frequent stops that buses make and I can bike faster than "bus rapid transit".

It is like the folks in Illinois calling our "higher speed rail" at up to 110mph vs true "high speed rail" seen along the east coast and in Europe and Asia (150mph max and above). Instead of 5.5 ours it will take 4.5 hours to get from Chicago to St. Louis via proposed higher speed rail. I can drive it in 4.5 hours and not have to worry about getting to station, etc.

Bus rapid transit is only comparable to a car if e bus runs express, NO STOPS. Once you add in the numerous stops between broad ripple and downtown, it is comparable to riding a bike (15-20mph). That is slow transit.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

"bus rapid transit" is somewhat of an oxymoron. I have never seen a bus at can get me anywhere as fast as a car, even those with no stops. Add in the frequent stops that buses make and I can bike faster than "bus rapid transit".

It is like the folks in Illinois calling our "higher speed rail" at up to 110mph vs true "high speed rail" seen along the east coast and in Europe and Asia (150mph max and above). Instead of 5.5 ours it will take 4.5 hours to get from Chicago to St. Louis via proposed higher speed rail. I can drive it in 4.5 hours and not have to worry about getting to station, etc.

Bus rapid transit is only comparable to a car if e bus runs express, NO STOPS. Once you add in the numerous stops between broad ripple and downtown, it is comparable to riding a bike (15-20mph). That is slow transit.

Do you consider light rail to be quick? Because bus rapid transit mimics light rail exactly. It doesn't have to deal with traffic or red lights.

[Serious Conversation]

Generally if I can get somewhere as quick and/or with less hassle by driving, I'm going to drive.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

Generally if I can get somewhere as quick and/or with less hassle by driving, I'm going to drive.

Me too. I wonder how they haul 6 or 7 sacks of groceries on a train or a bus. Or if they go to a place like Sears or Home Depot and buy an appliance that is too big or too heavy to carry by hand but it will fit in the trunk of a car or the back of a pick up. I like the independence that having my own vehicle brings along with the ability to come and go at a time I please rather than according to the time the next bus or train arrives.

I'm not against trains or busses or any kind of public transportation for people who dont want or don't have the luxury of a vehicle, for whatever reason, but I never understood this East Coast fascination with density that seems to be spreading like wildfire throughout much of the country.

Makes me wonder where we are headed. I'm thinking the ultimate goal is to keep people in their own neighborhoods with no reason to ever leave because most everything a person would ever need can be found in their own little few block section of town.

I see it as another way to segregate and keep the riff-raff and other undesireables in their own section of town.

[Chicago76]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

Me too. I wonder how they haul 6 or 7 sacks of groceries on a train or a bus. Or if they go to a place like Sears or Home Depot and buy an appliance that is too big or too heavy to carry by hand but it will fit in the trunk of a car or the back of a pick up. I like the independence that having my own vehicle brings along with the ability to come and go at a time I please rather than according to the time the next bus or train arrives.

I'm not against trains or busses or any kind of public transportation for people who dont want or don't have the luxury of a vehicle, for whatever reason, but I never understood this East Coast fascination with density that seems to be spreading like wildfire throughout much of the country.

Makes me wonder where we are headed. I'm thinking the ultimate goal is to keep people in their own neighborhoods with no reason to ever leave because most everything a person would ever need can be found in their own little few block section of town.

I see it as another way to segregate and keep the riff-raff and other undesireables in their own section of town.

Relax. No one is coming for your car. Even in most dense metros, the vast majority of housing is still single family detached suburban style homes. Nothing wrong with that. What is wrong with it is that we moved so far toward that extreme (mainly due to policies favoring it), that we have eliminated sufficient choice on the other end.

If you really want to know how people live in dense areas: I carried my dry cleaning across the street. I met friends at the neighborhood cafe, pub, restaurant down the street. I generally didn't need to carry 7 bags of groceries home at a time. There was a produce place I'd stop by and carry a couple bags home once a week. Other things at other stores. All of it was better quality than what I could find at large supermarkets. Cheaper too. It wa very convenient to make short 15 minute trips walking back from the train. I'd read on the way to work with a coffee in hand. I'd walk 4 blocks to go play soccer or softball. I knew the little old lady downstairs and would help her with things as she needed it. people now have car shares for major purchases. That is cheaper than owning a car that sits idle 95% of the time. I also talked to a lot more people. I felt better informed about events, got more exercise in my daily routine just from walking, and was generally happier and better connected socially. It's okay if that isn't really your thing, butost cities do need more of these types of places that are relatively safe to attract a full range of residents.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

Me too. I wonder how they haul 6 or 7 sacks of groceries on a train or a bus. Or if they go to a place like Sears or Home Depot and buy an appliance that is too big or too heavy to carry by hand but it will fit in the trunk of a car or the back of a pick up. I like the independence that having my own vehicle brings along with the ability to come and go at a time I please rather than according to the time the next bus or train arrives.

You are obviously not the target market of the bus rapid transit system.

FWIW, I own two cars and still don't haul appliances in them. I get a friend to help or just pay for delivery.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by shyGUY04007

All I know is that alot people are moving to Indy from larger cities like Chicago,NYC,DETROIT and other places and I'm told that they didn't know they were living till they moved here.my NYC friend told my NYC is too much of a hassel to live.cost of living is too high,too many people,the city isn't as clean here,no stop and frisk,no getting up at 4am to move your car off the street so the street swipper can come through,no long lines here in indy at the license branch and so on and so on. Who goes to work at 8am but don't get home till 7:30pm to 8pm because of traffic.cost of living is ridiculous in NYC and Chicago compared to here and you get way more square feet here. So I think Chicago and NYC are places to visit and sight see but not live and raise a family but Indy is growing might bust at the crack

I can see some people preferring Indy to NYC, and I can see some people not. I can not, however, envision a scenario in which Indy grows so much is "busts a crack." Come on now.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by Shakeesha

It 's boring and lacking the things you'd expect in a 2 million plus metro. It has a small skyline, low diversity, low dense areas, low number of higher education facilities, higher than average crime rate, higher than average blighted areas. It's not for me. Indy's only bright spot is its economy.

I know you're a regular Indianapolis hater, but your attacks here are pretty baseless. Indy's skyline is right on par with every other 2 million metro city, and slightly bigger than some of them. Low diversity is a thing of cities that saw exponential growth in the 20th century, look at all your sun-belt cities. Blighted areas? No city is without those, but I don't see higher than average. Indy's poverty rate is much lower than most comparable cities and slightly below the national average.

I'll give you that Indy is a little lacking in higher education facilities. You have IUPUI and Butler there, though Butler is a very small school. That's mostly because the best schools in Indiana chose to settle elsewhere, Notre Dame in South Bend, IU in Bloomington, Purdue in West Lafayette, Ball State in Muncie, etc.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by msamhunter

oing to know anything else? Even adding uw Madison, still falling short.

In fairness, Milwaukee does have Marquette University, Indianapolis has no comparable university to compete with that. Everything else I agree with, Shakeesha is a regular Indy basher, Murfreesboro must be a boring place if all he can do is bash Indy.

[ColdAilment]

Originally Posted by shyGUY04007

All I know is that alot people are moving to Indy from larger cities like Chicago,NYC,DETROIT and other places and I'm told that they didn't know they were living till they moved here.my NYC friend told my NYC is too much of a hassel to live.cost of living is too high,too many people,the city isn't as clean here,no stop and frisk,no getting up at 4am to move your car off the street so the street swipper can come through,no long lines here in indy at the license branch and so on and so on. Who goes to work at 8am but don't get home till 7:30pm to 8pm because of traffic.cost of living is ridiculous in NYC and Chicago compared to here and you get way more square feet here. So I think Chicago and NYC are places to visit and sight see but not live and raise a family but Indy is growing might bust at the crack

Bust at the crack? Are you going for "Bursting at the seams" or something with that line?