[PLUG-TALK] Re: [PLUG] PLUG meeting
Russell Senior
seniorr at aracnet.com
Fri Dec 6 17:02:54 UTC 2002
>>>>> "Brent" == Brent Rieck <bsr at spek.org> writes:
Brent> No, you're not stupid, but I don't agree that it's a great
Brent> system, merely a comparatively pretty okay system. It is a
Brent> very poor system for those that live in the suburbs; Tri-Met
Brent> serves the close in Eastside and the (very) close in Westside
Brent> very well, get beyond that and expect a bus/max trip to take 2
Brent> to 3 times longer than a car trip would (not counting finding
Brent> parking at your destination).
I am inclined to agree that public transit is more and more painful
the further you get out into the suburbs. I chose to live in the city
(Alameda/Irvington in NE, and I love it), and I have great bus service
downtown (takes about 10 minutes, comes every 15 minutes all day).
Unfortunately, it takes 45 minutes to get to my office (in
Westmoreland) by bus, about 12 minutes by car and about 30 minutes by
bicycle.
I see these things as "systems". People need to realize, and not be
"protected" from realizing, that relocating to the suburbs is not
without its costs. One of its significant costs is lost time in
transportation, having to drive everywhere you go, having to drive
longer and longer distances to get services, etc. The nice thing
about the pain is that it causes us to think about our choices, and
encourages us to make better choices. We paid a lot more for our
house in a great neighborhood in the city than we would have for the
same house and lot in the suburbs, but we _got_ a lot more in quality
of life (great neighbors, convenient services, etc), and we have a
better _investment_, because our house has appreciated in value faster
than the same house in the suburbs.
Brent> About the diagrammatic maps: Because their maps are now [...]
They have a trip planner (address to address), and now they've even
got a pretty cool live "next bus" calculator that uses real-time GPS
data to tell you how many minutes away the bus is.
--
Russell Senior ``I've seen every kind of critter God ever made,
seniorr at aracnet.com and I ain't never seen a meaner, lower, more
stinkin' yellow hypocrite than you!''
-- Burl Ives as Rufus Hennessy
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