At 09:13 AM 01/10/2003 -0600, Ann Freiwald wrote: >Well, if we can save millions of dollars using buses over rail then >lets spend the money on advertising to convince people how cool riding >the bus is!
Ann, that's an excellent idea for increasing bus ridership, but it doesn't do as much for creating the compact, mixed land uses that make public transit more vialbe in the first place. Rail transit does that because developers are much more assured that transit will continue to be available where tracks and stations have been built and paid for. They are much more likely to risk investment near rail stations in, e.g., multiuse buildings with retail on the first floor and apartments or offices above than they would be doing anything like that near a bus stop. Bus routes and stops are too easy to change (as the arguably service diminishing reorganization of Madison Metro a few years ago demonstrates). This is the same mechanism that causes developers to invest in sprawling land uses at highway "improvements" and interchanges, a fact that our state DOT is just now beginning to acknowledge (see the "Indirect and Cumulative Effects Analysis for Project-Induced Land Development" Technical Reference Guidance Document cataloged by WisDOT in "Land Use in Envrionmental Documents" - no, I don't know where or if it's available online, I got a harcopy from Susan Fox, the author, and yes, all of that jargon above is on the title page) _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
