Recently I was visiting with LondonFlyGirl who mentioned that her trips from London have been to Washington now rather than to Chicago---the airlines are consolidating their routes and their employees in an effort to survive the rise of gas prices. On Ch 21 recently they were talking about how this looks to the small towns that used to have thriving airports, the example was Gary, Indiana, and the impact has been devastating as airlines exit leaving them with empty facilities and plunging economic prospects.
This movement to the "HUB" has also been going on for folks in the suburbs--click on the post for an article from the Star Tribune. Turns out that lots of folks are looking at the new condo living on the light rail as a possible model for how life might be. However....there would be some changes. Rather than just go out for a bike ride, one would walk to the nearby athletic club. Rather than walk down the street to the Chinese eatery for takeout, one would go the upscale sit down award winning restaurant. And finally, rather than getting in the car, one would call the garage and have the valet get the car ready. O.K. A little dreaming is good.
Still. America is moving to hubs. And we are seeing this in Evansville also as businesses that were previously in smaller towns are choosing Evansville as a larger town to be the hub and counting on transportation links to Madison and Janesville. Hence our van pool links to Madison are important. And likewise, improving these links makes sense for those who would wish residential development---people need to get to work and they are not going to drive---by making bus, van, or rail connections possible.... possible future residents find communities attractive.
Recently in the Janesville Gazette, Gina Duwe has written about the situation of seniors and stark facts of their lack of income to meet their needs. The national media has predicted a huge decline in cars on the road. Clearly, as the population ages, they are not going to be driving. And they are going to be moving to hubs. Can we be an attractive hub? Can we improve our transportation resources for citizens to remain stable and growing? Stay tuned.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
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Evansville, by far, had the largest presence of any city at the Regional Transportation Plan meeting at BTC last month.
ReplyDeleteContacts were made there, separate from the planning already underway, for a new van alternative for Evansville families. Contacts were also made to improve Park and Ride and Intercity Bus options for Evansville.
People can work on their own transportation options but Evansville is working with the County, State and private business to develop alternatives as well.