Green insincerity

Marco Anglesio mpa at the-wire.com
Thu Mar 21 10:58:35 PST 2002


On Thu, 21 Mar 2002, Jordan Hayes wrote:
> I think we've had this discussion before, but "build public transit"
> is not a "solution" to the "problem" of "too many cars" . . .

Unfortunately, it certainly isn't. THe problem of too many cars was created, in part, because cars are the best way to live in a low-density urban area. (This also is a dead-end for urban areas, but YMMV). OTOH, high density urban areas discourage cars - nowhere to put them, no point in driving them - and encourage use of public transit. There really has to be a personal and individual advantage to public transit - not just cost, but time, convenience, etc.

For example, I live in midtown Toronto. Driving to work (downtown, just north of the financial district) would not only take more time than catching the subway, it would also cost me a whole lot more and be much more inconvenient. Most of my friends, those that live here, also live near the subway lines, and nearly all work downtown too. Public transit makes sense for us.

OTOH, if I lived further out in the burbs, it wouldn't; it would be sufficiently inconvenient to match my schedule to transit's. The added cost would just be part of the cost of living.

m.

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> Marco Anglesio | We think in generalities, <
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