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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,576 posts, read 81,167,557 times
Reputation: 57808
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We wouldn't be buying our homes in the suburbs if we didn't like to drive. I've had at least a 1/2 hour commute for all my life, in 3 different jobs of 13-17 years. I would never want to live in the cities where I have worked. I like a large yard, big house, no big box stores nearby with the traffic and crime that they bring. We have 3 cars (and only 2 drivers) that we use for different things. Driving is the American way of life, just as it was in the early days with horses, buggies and wagons.
I think even if we had extensive public transportation throughout the country, people would still prefer to drive (or be driven). Especially affluent folks. The ONLY pleasant thing about public transportation to me is that I dint have to focus on the road so I can read, watch a video, do my Wordle. Once self-driving technology is more mainstream I think public transportation will be more a thing of the past.
Self-driving still doesn't solve the issues of traffic, space, upkeep, etc.
Just make transit more appealing to more than low-income folks/9-5 commuters. Invest in security, more frequency, etc.
Self-driving still doesn't solve the issues of traffic, space, upkeep, etc.
Just make transit more appealing to more than low-income folks/9-5 commuters. Invest in security, more frequency, etc.
I think it benefits more than commuters though. Take the city I lived in before now, a resort town down the shore, a 5-mile square island. Over the years, density has increased markedly. Big old houses with wraparound porches and 5+ bedrooms became multi-condo units with 5 or 6 condos. Old house had one family, 2 cars max. Now the same property has 6-12 cars. Now multiply that house x a couple of hundred houses. There is no way to expand the roads. In the summer there is no parking, there are car accidents all the time as people drive around looking for spots. Every year there are pedestrians and/or bicyclists killed. The traffic is horrendous. I never went anywhere on the weekends I couldn't walk to. On Sunday night it can take an hour just to get over the bridge. If we ever had to evacuate in the summer (thankfully Sandy was off-season) it would simply not be possible to get everyone out in a timely manner.
I still love that town, but I would rather put a pencil in my eye than go through the horrendous traffic to get there on a weekend.
There used to be trains to the shore. I think if they could do that again, the quality of life for both visitors and residents would improve greatly. I would be much more willing to go down on a weekend if I could take a train.
When we went to Boston for a Red Sox game, we took a train from near the hotel, and not only avoided awful traffic but also $40 parking.
It's not a matter of public transportation OR driving, I don't understand why some here seem to think you have to have one or the other. They like to drive in many countries that also have high speed rail and other strong public transportation infrastructure. It's not purely an American thing to enjoy driving, nor is it a badge of honor (which seems to be the tone of some posts).
We wouldn't be buying our homes in the suburbs if we didn't like to drive. I've had at least a 1/2 hour commute for all my life, in 3 different jobs of 13-17 years. I would never want to live in the cities where I have worked. I like a large yard, big house, no big box stores nearby with the traffic and crime that they bring. We have 3 cars (and only 2 drivers) that we use for different things.
Different strokes and all that.... I've lived in several metro areas, but never had to do
a daily car commute in or to a big city, thank goodness. Who needs the aggravation?
Driving a scenic country road is fun, sure. Urban driving? Count me out.
Where I live now (San Francisco) I don't need a car at all. The stores I use are in walking distance,
and everything else is reachable on the bus. I can even ride a bus to go hiking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemlock140
Driving is the American way of life, just as it was in the early days with horses, buggies and wagons.
"The" American way of life, as in the only one?? The quality that brings Americans together is...
not being together?? (individual vehicles, detached houses). Even to an introvert like me,
this zeal to be as separate as possible seems quite peculiar.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kyle19125
Sadly there's also a heavy bias against buses here in the US where it seems most who despise them feel they're "beneath" their socioeconomic standing and wouldn't be caught dead with the riff-raff. Which is how a city like Orlando chose what is a virtually worthless heavy rail commuter line that fewer than one thousand riders per day utilize, versus the recommended BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system that could have been pinpointed to desired commuter routes at a much lower cost. SunRail serves very few of the scattered employment centers here as destinations and had a boondoggle construction price of 3 billion dollars for 60 miles of existing track and 12 stations.
Politicians and construction companies love big expensive capital projects...
whereas, there's no profit nor photo ops to be had from everyday practical things like good bus service.
Different strokes and all that.... I've lived in several metro areas, but never had to do
a daily car commute in or to a big city, thank goodness. Who needs the aggravation?
Driving a scenic country road is fun, sure. Urban driving? Count me out.
Where I live now (San Francisco) I don't need a car at all. The stores I use are in walking distance,
and everything else is reachable on the bus. I can even ride a bus to go hiking.
"The" American way of life, as in the only one?? The quality that brings Americans together is...
not being together?? (individual vehicles, detached houses). Even to an introvert like me,
this zeal to be as separate as possible seems quite peculiar.
Politicians and construction companies love big expensive capital projects...
whereas, there's no profit nor photo ops to be had from everyday practical things like good bus service.
True. Ah, but the new PABT (also loved by the politicians lol) is on the horizon for midtown Manhattan! Not the same as a local bus service, but buses from all over the country come and go from there.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,576 posts, read 81,167,557 times
Reputation: 57808
Quote:
Originally Posted by NW4me
Different strokes and all that.... I've lived in several metro areas, but never had to do
a daily car commute in or to a big city, thank goodness. Who needs the aggravation?
Driving a scenic country road is fun, sure. Urban driving? Count me out.
This is why enjoy my current commute. Only the last 7 minutes or so is urban, from my freeway exit to the office in Seattle. Prior to that it's though a wooded area on a plateau, down the hills, along a lake, then onto the freeway. Even the freeway drive is nice, with views of the lake, then over a bridge on a larger lake. Going home it's the same plus the view of Mt. Rainier and some of the Cascades most of the way.
I took a CTA train to O'Hare this past weekend. It literally smelled like sewage. And of course, the train was late and half the services were cancelled. And in the days of the manufactured covid "emergency" you have to wear a mask on board.
And this is suppose to be one of the better public transport systems in the US. That's why people don't like public transportation. And American taxpayers don't like wasting money on bottomless money pits.
I took a CTA train to O'Hare this past weekend. It literally smelled like sewage. And of course, the train was late and half the services were cancelled. And in the days of the manufactured covid "emergency" you have to wear a mask on board.
And this is suppose to be one of the better public transport systems in the US. That's why people don't like public transportation. And American taxpayers don't like wasting money on bottomless money pits.
Or it's a sign of how decrepit we have let our public transportation system become. We probably have the worst in any first world country. We should have high speed rail by now.
Or it's a sign of how decrepit we have let our public transportation system become. We probably have the worst in any first world country. We should have high speed rail by now.
It's decrepit because the demand isn't there and because the demand isn't there, neither is the money. There are maybe 4 cities in the entire country where mass transit is actually an economically viable proposition. Everywhere else, it's probably a waste of money.
Those are the only cities that should have it.
We don't have high speed rail nationally because it's a stupidly expensive and wasteful proposition. There are HSR projects being built at the local and state level, which is how it should be done. We're not Europe or Japan and we shouldn't try to be Europe or Japan.
It's decrepit because the demand isn't there and because the demand isn't there, neither is the money. There are maybe 4 cities in the entire country where mass transit is actually an economically viable proposition. Everywhere else, it's probably a waste of money.
Those are the only cities that should have it.
We don't have high speed rail nationally because it's a stupidly expensive and wasteful proposition. There are HSR projects being built at the local and state level, which is how it should be done. We're not Europe or Japan and we shouldn't try to be Europe or Japan.
Cities outside those 4 are growing. Alternative options to the car are gonna be needed and adding more traffic lanes aren't gonna cut it. This country was just fine prior to WW2 when it came to getting around so we can do it again.
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