Under the supervision of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the
Obama Administration has been making a big deal of its efforts to
promote livable communities where people don’t have to drive to get
everywhere. At the Netroots Nation conference last week in Las Vegas,
Mr. LaHood was especially vocal
about his goals. “Americans like their automobiles,” he said. “One of
the reasons they like ‘em is because it is in some places in the country
the only form of transportation, particularly in rural America.”
He promotes an alternative. Americans would act more like Europeans
and Asians when it comes to transportation choice, the Transportation
Secretary implied, had President Eisenhower made a commitment to
high-speed rail when he advanced his Interstate Highway System in the
1950s. “That’s the kind of vision that President Obama and Vice
President Biden [now] have for America,” he said. Mr. LaHood suggested
that after 25 years of spending, “80% of America will be connected” to
intercity rail.
Yet all evidence suggests that despite Mr. LaHood’s statements — the
most honest (and exciting) about the future of American commuting by any
U.S. transport secretary ever, as far as I know — there is no way that
his goals will be implemented unless there is a massive transformation
in the way American politicians think about transportation.
There are two principal explanations for this problem: one, a lack of
long-term planning in favor of alternative transportation options; and
two, a lack of funding.
 |
| photo by Global X |
more about rail transportation:
No comments:
Post a Comment