Public Transportation improvements to any urban area that improves the accessibility for its people to other areas of a city is a positive thing.
Having a citizenry that has limited options as to how they navigate their own city can have negative effects on neighbour hood areas when there are restrictions to their possibilities of treansport. In this country the car being such a givven commodity it is easy to forget that many people do not have those means. Also changing peoles lifestyles and daily routines as to how they use the cites transportation systems can only be a benefit not just for the environment in the long run but also for the communters themselves. Rather than sitting in long queues behind the wheel why not sit in a comfy chair and read the neswpaper? However the LRT will initially be an expensive investment and risk. I think the issue that needs to be looked at is, when or if the LRT is built, will the commuters leave the car behind? Getting people to get out of the car and get used to a different mode of treansport that has different beneifts to car travel is going to be a bigger issue in the long run when or if the money is spent. So much of American culture and city infrastructure is centred around the car that the success of the LRT will be the acceptance and use of it when it comes to the crunch, leaving the car in the gargage on a cold winters morning? Hmmm? Will it be too much of a risk? Alice Gilkes U of M _______________________________________________ Twin Cities Metropolitan Issues Forum http://www.e-democracy.org/tcmetro Rules: Sign posts with real name. You may not post more than twice a day.
