Saturday, April 21, 2012

Earth Day Transit Article Unintentionally Underscores Problems

In the paper this morning is a nice little piece on Cherriots and yesterday's free rides for Earth Day.

But the pictures tell a different, and unfortunately ironic story.

During rush hour you could actually ramp up the awfulness, but still...can you count the things wrong in the photo?
  • Closed crosswalks 
  • Long distances between places to cross
  • Person riding on the sidewalk because they don't feel safe in the bike lane 
  • A big bus crowding a bike lane
  • Curb cuts without driveways and other wheelchair slalom
What else do you see?

And then there's the issue of the article itself - without weekend service on all lines and more frequent service on many lines, how useful can transit really be?

It's great to celebrate Earth Day, but there's so much more to do. It's hard to see this as half-full rather than half-empty.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Another problem, in my mind at least: no buffer between the road and the sidewalk (besides the bike lane). This is a 'Salem special'. All of the roads they are building these days lack that beautiful grassy buffer that makes it feel like you are walking without cars in your face.