But it's important.
Have you ever been to Europe? Funny, but in the times I've been there, I've rented a car just once. Because if you go to London or Paris or Rome or just about anywhere else 'across the pond', you'll find that public transportation, rail in particular, will get you just about anywhere. Cheap.
Why, then, does the United States of America not enjoy the same convenience as our friends in Europe? For the life of me, I don't know. But according to Sec. of Transportation Peters, we've got a 'four point plan' to address our transportation woes.
Well, that ought to get you to work on time.
I'd really like to know more about this 'four point plan' of ours. I looked on the DOT website. Nothing. I googled 'four point plan for transportation', and I did find a site with a really cool picture of a high speed train and some plans for improving transportation. In Dublin. Still looking for ours.
Yesterday in the Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing, Senator Kerry questioned Peters on the viability of our infrastructure. It's not really a topic that catches the headlines unless something goes wrong. There was a lot of much needed focus on bridges and highways in the hearing and not only because they're falling down in places like Minnesota and all across America. JK talked a lot about bridge and highway issues local to Massachusetts yesterday in the hearing.
But what caught my attention was the discussion of rail. I know this doesn't sound like a really pressing issue, but it is. We Americans need innovative solutions to our infrastructure problems, desperately. In addition to meeting our highway needs, improving our rail system would address so many of our transportation problems. He talked about that, too.
There are some successes, but not many recent. I travel frequently to Philadelphia. When I go I don't need a car, because in Philly the SEPTA goes from the airport to downtown in less time, with no parking worries, and at a much more reasonable cost than renting a car. It's slow, but it's something. Same for Boston. Although not quite as convenient as Philly, you can get from Logan to 'dahntahn' on MBTA for two bucks. Imagine if that were the case in and between every city in America. We need to work on that. Not only to keep the existing systems running, but to look to technology to make public transportation not only available, but attractive.
The really amazing thing is that I was a child when I first learned about light rail systems. There was a project in the next town over, and I thought it was the coolest thing on rails. That was forty years ago. I think it was 35 years ago that the project was dissolved. Even as a child, I knew that wasn't good.
Senator Kerry has legislation pending that addresses highway construction and safety.S.1761
Title: A bill to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to contract with an independent engineer to review the construction methods of certain Federal highway projects, to require States to submit a project management plan for each highway project financed with Federal funds, and for other purposes.
It's important, and it's a start. Rail will never address all the transportation needs here in the US, and it shouldn't. Like so many Americans, I love to drive. And I know that when I cross a bridge, I'd like to be pretty certain I'm going to make it to the other side.
I'd really like to take the train, though. Time for us all to to get on board.
Comments (1)
Posted by Fred R Moore | October 20, 2007 7:24 PM
I am so grateful for your comments on the railways in the USA comparing them with the systems of Europe
John Mc Cain used an airplane to destroy Vietnam's railways and now he is working on ours, you are the true hero not him
give 'en hell