Has there ever been a more contentious time between transportation modes than right now? Cyclists vs. motorists, mass transit vs. new roads and highwyas; light rail vs. bus systems...Its enough to leave a multi-modal person (which is just about everyone to some extent) a little weary.
Of course any time that competing interests are fighting for scarce resources there will be conflict, but is our current situation unique in history? In particular, I find it interesting that citizens are so involved in this debate. This isn't simply a matter of competing economic interests fighting for a slice of the pie. Have people, who don't have an economic stake in the outcome, ever fought so diligently for a mode of transportation?
In the late 19th and early 20th century bicyclists founded the Good Roads Movement in order to convince the government and the public to invest in well-built and maintained roads. But were they calling for investment in roads at the expense of other modes? What other movements have worked for a transpotation mode? Was there a Good Rails Movement?
Are we witnessing a new chapter in transportation history, or simply a new spin on an old battle over scarce resources?
Photo by Jonathan Maus, www.bikeportland.org
3 comments:
when i wrote "Good Rails Movement" I was thinking more along the line of streetcar rails and intra-urban transport than heavy rails and inter-urban.
As for roads, there was a movement by citizens and industry to encourage federal building and maintenance of roads in the late 19th and early 20th century. A good book (that is out of print right now, but available at many libraries) to check out on the federal government's involvement with roads is Bruce Seely's "Building the American Highway System" (http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/464_reg.html)
I think I might have read that - checking my list. :)
i dunno what history books i have been reading, but when i read about the history of rails, i see companies that are still public/private entities.
typically, some private seed money starts them (and usually this seed money came from previous public/private ventures), then it involved bribing a few officals, getting some right of ways, selling right of ways and making a profit on the publics dime.
Post a Comment