[sustran] [NewMobilityCafe] Re: "Driven to despair" - PBS Exposes the Joys of Transit

Todd Edelman, Green Idea Factory edelman at greenidea.eu
Sat Oct 11 23:19:32 JST 2008


Pretty good... and as someone born in southern California actually a 
little emotional at times (as now they are repairing one of the systems 
which drove me to exile). The only problem I saw was where they left the 
statement unopposed/unresponded to about the proposed high speed rail in 
California having to pay for itself, which is as we know not a 
requirement for automobile transportation infrastructure.

- Todd Edelman,
Green Idea Factory, now in Berlin, formerly of Canoga Park, Brentwood 
and Culver City, California

LEric Britton wrote:
> Thanks Streetsblog.com for the heads-up.
>
>  
>
> This is a very interesting take on transport in the US, which I think
> provides at least a modicum of hope for a different and more reasonable
> future. We have long believed that it will be pocketbook issues which sooner
> or later will drive us to more sustainable transportation and most
> sustainable lives.  It might be wonderful if we changed because we were
> noble and thought ahead, but if we change in the right direction simply
> because we have to, well that's progress too.
>
>  
>
> Eric Britton
>
>  
>
> PS. For their 26 minute video, click directly to
> http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/440/video.html 
>
>  <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Streetsblog/~3/417175390/> PBS Exposes the
> Joys of Transit - http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/ 
>
>  
>
> With gas prices spiking and home values crumbling, the American dream of
> commuting to work from the fringes of suburbia has become an American
> nightmare. Many are facing a hard choice: Paying for gas or paying the
> mortgage. How did it come to this? It's not just about America's financial
> crisis; it's also about big problems with our national infrastructure.
> Overstressed highways and too few public transportation options are wreaking
> havoc on people's lives and hitting the brakes on our already-stretched
> economy. This week, NOW on PBS takes a close-up look at our inadequate
> transportation network and visits some people paying a high price-in both
> dollars and quality of life-just to get to work. Do we have the means to
> modernize both our infrastructure and our lifestyles? 
>
>  
>
> Posted: 10 Oct 2008 04:08 PM CDT
>
>  
> <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/reports/driven-to-despair/watch-fu
> ll-report/103/> now_train_still.jpg
> NOW host David Brancaccio does an interview on the LA Metro.
> <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/reports/driven-to-despair/watch-fu
> ll-report/103/> Click through for the full video.
>
> The
> <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/reports/driven-to-despair/overview
> /6/> latest episode of NOW is surely the most effective takedown of
> car-dependent planning ever broadcast in news magazine format. Adhering to
> the familiar contours of pocketbook journalism, "Driven to Despair" starts
> with a sympathetic portrayal of the Schleighs, a family who moved to a
> southern California exurb seven years ago. With their adjustable rate
> mortgage about to reset and gas prices already busting the family budget,
> they need a way out.
>
> What follows can be fairly described as a 25-minute ode to the time- and
> money-saving benefits of transit, complete with
> <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/reports/driven-to-despair/timeline
> -of-los-angeles-transit/101/> a brief history of the Los Angeles streetcar
> system and a rueful suggestion that the Presidential candidates should
> address transportation more forcefully.
>
> Watching the Schleighs and their neighbors react to the idea of riding a
> train to work -- sneering, in one case -- it's all too apparent why someone
> running for national office would skirt the issue. But you also realize that
> if a national pol were to finally go out on that limb, he or she may find
> voters more receptive to the idea of better trains and buses than feared.
>
> "Driven to Despair" will be broadcast on PBS affiliates tonight (check local
> listings). It's the first part in a NOW series on infrastructure called "
> <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/> Blueprint America."
> http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/
>
>  
>
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>   


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--------------------------------------------

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