Tuesday
14Aug
Two Transportation Choices
Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 09:59AM
I'm writing this while riding down Westport Road on a TARC bus. (And no, TARC hasn't recently added WiFi capability to their fleet; I'm writing it in a text editor and will upload it later when I get to a hotspot downtown.
It strikes me, as I ride and type, that the justaposition of TARC and Westport Road illustrate the two choices facing us in Louisville: more asphalt and concrete, or more alternative forms of transportation. Because let's face it -- Louisville is growing, and we've got to find a way to move all these people.
The old answer is simple: build more roads. Not enough lanes? Add more. Downtown bridge overcrowded? Build another. That one's crowded too? Double-decker it, add more lanes, make the lanes narrower -- anything to allow more car-miles-per-person.
The new answer is also simple: find ways to move people without increasing polution or using more carbon-based fuels. Public transportation is one. Bicycles would be another. Car-pooling is a third. Light rail is a fourth.
Unfortunately, Louisville's leadership pays lip service (a little) to the new answer, but actually believes in the old ways. We are about to spend billions (yes, that's a B) on bridges, concrete, and asphalt, but not a penny on light rail, not a penny on car-pooling, not a penny on a serious expansion of public transportation.
Why not MOV lanes on the interstates? Why not hub-and-spoke light rail that would support Park-and-Ride lots in the suburbs? Why not a serious commitment to bike lanes and bike storage? Why not any of a multitude of other innovative answers to people-moving?
Louisville's movers and shakers can be innovative, can be forward-thinking at times. But when it comes to public transportation, the only moving that occurs to them is more dump trucks moving more asphalt.
It strikes me, as I ride and type, that the justaposition of TARC and Westport Road illustrate the two choices facing us in Louisville: more asphalt and concrete, or more alternative forms of transportation. Because let's face it -- Louisville is growing, and we've got to find a way to move all these people.
The old answer is simple: build more roads. Not enough lanes? Add more. Downtown bridge overcrowded? Build another. That one's crowded too? Double-decker it, add more lanes, make the lanes narrower -- anything to allow more car-miles-per-person.
The new answer is also simple: find ways to move people without increasing polution or using more carbon-based fuels. Public transportation is one. Bicycles would be another. Car-pooling is a third. Light rail is a fourth.
Unfortunately, Louisville's leadership pays lip service (a little) to the new answer, but actually believes in the old ways. We are about to spend billions (yes, that's a B) on bridges, concrete, and asphalt, but not a penny on light rail, not a penny on car-pooling, not a penny on a serious expansion of public transportation.
Why not MOV lanes on the interstates? Why not hub-and-spoke light rail that would support Park-and-Ride lots in the suburbs? Why not a serious commitment to bike lanes and bike storage? Why not any of a multitude of other innovative answers to people-moving?
Louisville's movers and shakers can be innovative, can be forward-thinking at times. But when it comes to public transportation, the only moving that occurs to them is more dump trucks moving more asphalt.
Labels: Bridges, Public Transportation
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