[Winona Online Democracy] As many of you are aware, there was a larger bus service in Winona decades ago. There were regular east-west busses on 5th Street and 10th Street, which made sense since the city is long and narrow. In the heart of the city (sorry, Wincrest and Pleasant Valley) no one was more than a few blocks from either line. I don't know if there was any north-south connection - probably in and out of downtown and maybe some of the other cross streets (Huff, Main, Franklin, Mankato?). I remember taking the 10th Street line when I was in first grade (1960) from my home near Madison School out to Mankato Avenue and Kolter's bike shop where my dad had a new bike waiting for my 7th birthday. I don't know how long those routes stayed in service.
My guess is that, like many cities, public transit faded in the 60s as more people owned cars and there was less need for busses. As us older fogeys know, it was rare for teenagers to have a car forty years ago and not all families had even two cars - now most families have several cars, so the need for transit has disappeared for a lot of people. Then there is the spreading out of the whole city - both a cause and an effect of more automobiles. More cars so more people can get to things located farther out, and more things located farther away so more people need cars. You get the vicious cycle. The single largest cost component of a transit system is the bus driver's salary. That's why bigger cities go to larger busses and trains, and why smaller transit systems (vans, dial-a-ride, etc.) need to be heavily subsidized. But just as cars create their own cause-and-effect cycle, a good transit system in a dense area can create the opposite cause-and-effect: fewer cars, more pedestrians, denser development, therefore more transit riders to support the system. Winona probably doesn't have the density needed to support such a system, so I think subsidized transit is a given for the foreseeable future. But it is one of the basic systems that make city life livable for many people and keeps other systems going - like downtown businesses, etc. - Phil Carlson, Mpls _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
