WSJ Question of the Day

[question everything]

Really for tomorrow:

Which part of the U.S. transportation system is most in need of funding?

Highway and Bridges
Mass Transit
Airports

And so far, with only 247 votes, Mass Transit is way ahead - 57%.

Highway and Bridges are next, with 40% and only 4% chose airports.

[napi21]

1. I agree with that. I assume you don't?

I'd give anything to have mass transit where I live. I keep hearing about how Amtrak is going bust because they just don't have the funds necessary to do maintenance.

Most of our bridges are very old and in desperate need of repair.

The airlines, although not making any $$, are in very good condition as far as safety, maintenence, and equipment.

If you had to do the poll, just how would you vote?

[question everything]

3. I certainly do, and I did vote for Mass Transit

and was pleasantly surprised that it was the majority.

Few had some comments and they agreed that it was hard to decide between mass transit and highway and bridges that have been deteriorating in many places.

We sorely need light rail in major cities that go inside an airport terminal. Seems that Chicago O'Hare does. Minneapolis new light rail does go inside the international terminal, but it is not wide spread in the metro area.

And JFK has the AirTrain that connects to the Subway... which is not that easy if one carries a lot of luggage over stationary fixed stairs.

Los Angeles built a wide spread transit system... that stopped just a few blocks from LAX. No one can explain such short sighted.

Here is the WSJ link, may be accessed only to subscribers

http://discussions.wsj.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=wsjvoices&nav=messages&msg=3601&mod=?mod=home_us_inside_today

[napi21]

4. MARTA goes into the Atlanta airport too.

I just wish MaARTA could be established farther north than it is now. There are thousands of people who live where I do and drive to Atlanta every day! It's a damn nightmare on I85 too! Traffice is stop and go (a little at a time) and when they do get a little space, some idiot funs into someone else!

[wli]

2. URL? thanks n/t

[question everything]

5. Sorry. Just provided it, above

but can be restricted to subscribers.

This morning, 1725 cast their vote (a relative slow voters turnout)

Mass Transit 58%
Roads and Bridges 36%
Airports 5%

Comments:


Bridges are a serious problem. Non galvinized re-inforced concrete is just a time bomb ticking away as it rusts.

Subways and railroads next in line.

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Here in the northeast, the average commute time is over half an hour each way. The roads are jammed. Mass transit is feeble (except in NYC and Wash DC). Our love affair with personal transport devices like cars, has to end if the planet is going to sustain itself. There just is not enough CO2 gas being taken out of the air to make up for the burning of fossil fuels. So, I would say our money should be used to modify roads to get them out of the way of mass transit. The automobile manufacturers should be retooling for their business - perhaps making subway cars.

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It's pathetic that President Bush flew to Illinois to sign this bill, wasting fuel and taxpayers $'s!

I did not vote because 'none of the above' is not an option.

Citizens can send a loud message to Dubya and XOM by parking their cars and walking, riding mass transit or biking.

But I think everybody might be thinking 'oh what the heck, the planet is going to be unhabitable in a few years anyway, so I might as well go ahead and poison the air more!' 'Get it over with sooner than later!'!

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Just put a $3 per gallon tax on gasoline & diesel. Make private (i.e. auto transport) quite expensive. Spend the tax money on commuter bus and subway/train transport; make it abundant, convenient and cheap. Peak Oil phenomena will make auto transport uneconomical anyhow; so take advantage of it now.

Don't put a penny on roads for a few years, jobs or no jobs.