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I really have no clue why so many feel they must argue either or.
Talk to the OP - he framed the discussion that way, and has worked hard for over forty pages to maintain the division he sought to create. I have no problem with bike lanes. I do have a problem with people saying stupid things.
Sometimes it is hard to know if you are really this unenlightened or if it is just your City-Data persona. I don't care if this person wants to have 6 cars- it is an idiotic financial decision any way you look at it(I am an economist, by the way). I get tired of seeing so many financially ignorant people in this country who live in homes they can't afford, drive cars they can't afford, live in debt their entire lives- some work 2 jobs just to stay afloat- this lifestyle is for the birds!
You criticized the person with 6 cars without knowing their financial situation. Pretty dumb.
Some people with lots of expensive cars have NO debt.... and can afford big homes and fancy cars. Get over it.
Hmmmm...... but rail only goes to a tiny percent of the desired destinations..... what next, everybody drives to the rail station to pick up their goods?
Personally I think in many instances that would be a great idea. In another thread I noted here locally the train runs right behind the local mall and Wall Mart. K-Mart and Sams just across the street. Lowes a couple places down.
I think it would be great to have the train deliver the items and have the store simply go over and load them onto trucks to take them to the store. The tracks are close enough that Wal-Mart likely could unload with a large truck.
It would be great to get some of the large trucks off the road.
Talk to the OP - he framed the discussion that way, and has worked hard for over forty pages to maintain the division he sought to create. I have no problem with bike lanes. I do have a problem with people saying stupid things.
Yes he did and I noted it more than once. To note that more would ride with better and safer means isn't stupid though.
I'm as much of a lefty as the next guy, but when it comes to car-centric culture, i draw the line there. I can't stand these people who tell how we should live. If people want to live in the suburbs and drive everywhere, that is their right to do so. If you want to live in an area to walk and bike everywhere, be my guest, but please don't lecture us on what is best for us when it comes to choosing where we live.
I think it would be great to have the train deliver the items and have the store simply go over and load them onto trucks to take them to the store. The tracks are close enough that Wal-Mart likely could unload with a large truck.
In the meantime, all the other trains on that track have to stop where they are and wait.
And what happens if they can't get that train unloaded in the window of time allotted? All those other trains are now running behind schedule.
Trains aren't trucks. You can't just stop them wherever you want to.
Trains are great for certain things, and they should be (and are) utilized where it's practical. They're completely impractical (if not downright impossible) for others. You also can't just lay track anywhere you want. If the grade is too steep, the train has no traction, and if you haven't noticed, we have a lot of mountains in this country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pknopp
It would be great to get some of the large trucks off the road.
If there is one thing about this country that makes absolutely no sense is this stupid, lazy, car-centric culture.
Something has definitely gone wrong here!
I note that the OP lives in Iowa. Perhaps it might interest him to know that Iowa, along with Illinois and Indana, once supported a strong network of what were called "interurban" trolley systems. These sytems developed in the years when mass production had not yet reduced the price of automobiles to the point where they were within the reach of most adults or families.
More than anything else, the increasing affordability of the personal auto killed these systems, but another factor during the years oftheir exisence which is no longer a factor today was the suspicion toward single women travelling alone, which lasted until the start of World war ii, and persisted even longer in some rural regions.
Speaking in part from personal experience, I can attest that the rise in fuel prices, particularly since 2005, has made "driving on impulse" considerably more expensive -- but that simple economic fact, rather than the government meddling some of us recall from the first energy squeeze of 1973-74, ought to ber enough to re-orient our transportation network, given time and a rational approach guided by real foresight rather than short-term political squabbling.
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