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its already started to change though, have you seen polls of the millennials? the millennial generation looks more negatively on cars than deny generation before them
Until they shed their student loans, get married, and have kids. It's all skittles and unicorns for young ideologues until the practical aspects of life finally catch up to them. Then, cars aren't so bad afterall.
Until they shed their student loans, get married, and have kids. It's all skittles and unicorns for young ideologues until the practical aspects of life finally catch up to them. Then, cars aren't so bad afterall.
I don't think you understand that not everyone wants "The American Dream" that was sold to our parents by developers & the car industry who worked together to continue selling new suburbia & cars. The millennial generation on average has said that they look to Europe for inspiration more than our American parents & ancestors. The idea of American consumerism has worn down the spirit of young Americans, & those young Americans want change. I think the net neutrality ruling is proof that the government is listening to what millennial want. Examples: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/...their-parents/ http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insight...driveways.html
Not surprising. Streetcar advocates were never clear on what the real purpose was anyway. This project was conceived more or less as economic development engine rather than a bona fide means of transportation. Now that people are starting to evaluate it purely from a transit perspective, it's not too surprising to see support wane.
DC probably could have built a couple of infill stations for the same cost of the streetcar. The NoMA station cost $103 million. It was built in a little less than four years.
DC probably could have built a couple of infill stations for the same cost of the streetcar. The NoMA station cost $103 million. It was built in a little less than four years.
I remember when NoMA station was still New York Ave station.....
I don't think you understand that not everyone wants "The American Dream" that was sold to our parents by developers & the car industry who worked together to continue selling new suburbia & cars. The millennial generation on average has said that they look to Europe for inspiration more than our American parents & ancestors. The idea of American consumerism has worn down the spirit of young Americans, & those young Americans want change. I think the net neutrality ruling is proof that the government is listening to what millennial want. Examples: Not just a phase: Young Americans won’t start motoring like their parents - Greater Greater Washington Millennials Prefer Cities to Suburbs, Subways to Driveways
thr irony is that
- these polls dont speak for all millenials. Im not even sure if they speak for the majority
- not to start a pro vs anti gentrification thread but alot of gentrifiers are millenials. These millenials claim they think the suburbs are boring and blah blah blah yet theyre going into the cities and trying their best to turn them into the same boring suburbs that they came from minus driving everywhere and public transport options. couldnt help but point this out.
The street cars have already been running up and down H ST on a regular basis for the past few months (albeit without any passengers)! How in the world could they come this far and scrap it now? If so this will go down in the annals of history as one of the biggest botch jobs ever. I usually don't have much faith in the efficiency of DC government but even I will be utterly shocked if this doesn't come to fruition.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt2789
The infrastructure is all in place and the street cars are running on them. Regardless of what some may think about the practicality of the system or the demographic of those utilizing it I don't see why they just don't go ahead and start letting people ride the thing already! Yeah I'm sure there are still have a few minor logistical things to finalize but they have already sunk all this money and time having built the thing already (Christ they shipped the streets cars over from Eastern Europe)! I'd like to see them test the system out with passengers for a year or so. If it fails to prove useful than by all means pull the plug and all the haters can scream "I told You So"!. At this point though it has already been built and everything else is pure speculation!
Okay where in the almighty heck are all the cheerleaders that SWORE this streetcar was going to encourage hi rise development and be the most innovative thing in urban transit???????
NEWSFLASH: its already a botch job and a waste of money! common bloodclaat sense couldve and SHOULDVE told you that this project was a byproduct of pisss poor planning and a severe lack of common sense was not utilized in planning this traffic jamming monstrosity......I could @ least somewhat sympathize if the trolley went deep into downtown or all the way down benning road to southern ave like it was originally supposed to but it barely went past bladensburg road.....smdh
Okay where in the almighty heck are all the cheerleaders that SWORE this streetcar was going to encourage hi rise development and be the most innovative thing in urban transit???????
There is no one that claimed it was the most innovative thing in urban transit. I suspect you can't find those cheerleaders because you just made them up.
There has been a tremendous amount of development along the H Street corridor, and developers and business-owners alike have made the decision to invest there at least partially because of the promise of the streetcar. If you don't believe anything included in the economic development impact report, then you'll just have to take the businesses/developers word for it because they have stated as much publicly. In that regard it has already realized marked success.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shooter2219
NEWSFLASH: its already a botch job and a waste of money! common bloodclaat sense couldve and SHOULDVE told you that this project was a byproduct of pisss poor planning and a severe lack of common sense was not utilized in planning this traffic jamming monstrosity......I could @ least somewhat sympathize if the trolley went deep into downtown or all the way down benning road to southern ave like it was originally supposed to but it barely went past bladensburg road.....smdh
If public infrastructure projects had less wherewithal than the mercurial rantings of their critics, then not one single road would be paved in the United States. Fortunately that is not the case, and I suspect even this streetcar, problems withstanding, will be around longer than most criticisms (even the New Orleans streetcar plows into the occasional car; there will always be some complaints).
The next step in this process is not the death of the streetcar, which is purely the editorial rhetoric of the day. I watched the DDOT hearing; that was not the thrust of the comments. Dormsjo was just making a point that they're doing a holistic evaluation and he wasn't (officially) pre-eliminating any options. The next step is making a decision on how to move forward based on the findings of a report being conducted by the American Public Transportation Association. Just a reality check - there is less than a 0% chance that APTA recommends scrapping the project. APTA is a pro-public transportation organization.
As I said before, I suspect they'll need to cut the curb back or eliminate some H street parking to accommodate more clearance for the car. The safety issues are engineering problems that will be ironed out. Ultimately, this initial leg of the streetcar will fully open to the public, and the furor of the problems will die down.
An expansion of the streetcar system may be put off for years because of the political liabilities caused by the poor execution of this first segment. Ultimately, transportation capacity pressures are going to force more investment in permanent public transportation infrastructure. I'd be surprised if an expanded streetcar system was not part of that investment.
- these polls dont speak for all millenials. Im not even sure if they speak for the majority
- not to start a pro vs anti gentrification thread but alot of gentrifiers are millenials. These millenials claim they think the suburbs are boring and blah blah blah yet theyre going into the cities and trying their best to turn them into the same boring suburbs that they came from minus driving everywhere and public transport options. couldnt help but point this out.
obviously it doesn't speak for all millennials. There is no possible way to poll the entire population which is why you have samples. its a pretty basic statistical concept. Millennials want good schools, safety, & good jobs, & that means they want cities to be like suburbs? so what is a "real" city in your mind? one with tons of poverty & crime?
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