Anyone who has been to the Old Countries should be inspired to lobby Mayor Dave and County Kathleen to make good on their spring-time pronouncements about Dane rail service in 2-3 years, and request that the local trains in Norway, Germany, Austria and Switzerland be used as models. They are electric, clean, quiet, fast, carry lots of people, and have room for lots of bikes, strollers, carry-on luggage, etc. While you can certainly encounter traffic congestion and rude drivers there with a similar frequency to here, over there it is easy to almost completely divorce yourself from the auto-centric world.
It is akin to being on a different planet. Nearly everywhere we looked there were segregated bike paths, both paved and graveled, that went everywhere the highways went. Usually, they were a comfortable distance from the highways. (In Norway, they were often over the next ridge, unless you ride the highways). Often, they were close to the rail lines, which had lots of trains on them, but since nearly all are electric, there is no diesel plume to hold your breath for as you pedal along.
Absolutely true. I have been sorely disappointed by La Crosse head-in-a** representatives who voted to locate a new city "transit center" in a boring corner of our downtown rather than fight county car commuters over a County-owned parking lot in a very central location (near to county offices, jail and post office - actually, it used to be the site of the very beautiful and stately City Hall but was razed in the 60's for a Montgomery Ward box and parking lot and finally, decayed to a big flat parking lot - another crime story in itself.) To these Neanderthals, transit center means waiting room (like the old Greyhound terminals without such a strong smell of urine and stale coffee.)
My experiences in the Netherlands show me that transit center can mean city center - with bike rental, covered parking, repairs; shops; restaurants; public art and meeting space; tourist info; etc. A vibrant hub of a regional multi-modal transit system could have been wonderful - not only for downtown revitalization and decreased congestion, but also because we could have led the way to show how regional planned multi-modal transportation can revitalize small communities and provide jobs and cleaner air and better land use.
If your elected officials' only experiences of "mass transit" were bus rides taken forty or more years ago from one hellhole of a bus depot to another, and the bicycle is still considered as a toy rather than as a legitimate means of transportation, then there's little hope of making significant changes.
With a nod to MLK Jr on this anniversary of the March, those who have had the dream have to tell others about it and act on it - write to Amtrak, contact officials, write letters to editors, run for office, support candidates with experience and vision.
I appreciated reading Jeff's post and applaud his action (and hope it continues!)
Cathy in La Crosse
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