More smarts, fewer roads?
No one likes being stuck in traffic jams. Unfortunately, as housing subdivisions increasingly pop up in locations far from major job centers, traffic congestion has grown steadily worse for commuters.
The solution? A growing number of people, apparently, would like developers to build more transit-oriented developments and municipalities to improve public transportation. This, repsondents to a new survey say, is a far better alternative than is paying construction crews to erect additional roads to battle traffic congestion.
This was the opinion of three-fourths of the respondents to the 2007 Growth and Transportation Survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors and Smart Growth America.
Nearly half of the survey’s respondents said that improving public transportation would be the best way to lessen traffic congestion. An additional 26 percent said that they’d like to see developers build communities that reduce the need of its residents to drive. These transit-oriented developments have grown in popularity. Located near downtown train stations, they usually include residential and retail in close proximity to each other, so that residents never are forced to drive for groceries, restaurants or other consumer needs.
This is good news. My family and I made sure that we lived near a commuter train station when we moved nearly two years ago. This way, I could ride my bike to the station whenever I needed to hoof it into Chicago. We also live within walking distance to our town’s public library, our son’s school, local parks and even a family-run grocery store. I can’t overstate what a relief it is not to have to jump into a car every time I need to get something.
Problem is, I wonder how many of the survey respondents would really take advantage of public transportation if they had improved access to it. Often, it seems that people think public transportation is a great idea for their neighbors, but a terrible one for themselves. Why else do we see so many cars on our congested highways with one driver and no one else inside them?
It reminds me of a great story I read once in the Onion. (If you don’t know, the Onion is a satirical newspaper. It’s extremely funny.) The story focused on a fake survey stating that 100 percent of commuters agreed that public transportation was a great option for everyone else.
Tags: Growth-and-Transportation-Survey, smart-growth-america, traffic-congestionRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Breaking News, Educational Tools, Insights and Commentaries, Real Estate Tools, Real Life Stories
1 opinion for More smarts, fewer roads?
How to have a more productive commute
Oct 31, 2007 at 9:57 pm
[...] at Property Crossroads, Dan Rafter made an interesting post about how more people want access to public transportation. People want communities that are planned in such a way that they can easily commute. Now, I live [...]
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: