Comments on: The Enigma of 101 http://hitherto.net/2006/08/29/the-enigma-of-101/ A continuing work in progress Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:42:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7-bleeding By: richter http://hitherto.net/2006/08/29/the-enigma-of-101/#comment-18539 richter Wed, 16 May 2007 15:32:22 +0000 http://hitherto.net/2006/08/29/the-enigma-of-101/#comment-18539 Good call! Seems like the bay area has made strides in the right direction, but more can be done. Good call! Seems like the bay area has made strides in the right direction, but more can be done.

]]> By: hitherto http://hitherto.net/2006/08/29/the-enigma-of-101/#comment-279 hitherto Thu, 31 Aug 2006 22:09:52 +0000 http://hitherto.net/2006/08/29/the-enigma-of-101/#comment-279 ...to which the only sensible, bar-brawl-provoking response is (in a stereotyped "hick" accent)... "Speak for yuhself. Ah gone dun gitted mahself an RV" ;-) I agree absolutely that this isn't something that's going to change any time soon. I guess the thing that prompted me to write this was... it's fascinating. Despite all the practical evidence to the contrary - traffic jams and expense, the <i>myth</i> of "the freedom of the car" still acts more powerfully on people than the effective reality of painful commutes. …to which the only sensible, bar-brawl-provoking response is (in a stereotyped “hick” accent)… “Speak for yuhself. Ah gone dun gitted mahself an RV” ;-)

I agree absolutely that this isn’t something that’s going to change any time soon. I guess the thing that prompted me to write this was… it’s fascinating. Despite all the practical evidence to the contrary - traffic jams and expense, the myth of “the freedom of the car” still acts more powerfully on people than the effective reality of painful commutes.

]]> By: hfb http://hitherto.net/2006/08/29/the-enigma-of-101/#comment-267 hfb Wed, 30 Aug 2006 06:45:39 +0000 http://hitherto.net/2006/08/29/the-enigma-of-101/#comment-267 Even in the Boston area, which has a far more extensive public transit network, the commute is not much better on the whole though nothing really compares to the obscenity that is California congestion. Drivers wouldn't be that against what you suggest, but America's love affair with the car and the freedom it brings, even if that freedom means sitting in traffic for hours, is difficult to overcome when it has been steeped into your being since birth. There is also the auto and oil companies who, after WWII, actively eliminated and suppressed new public transport project for obvious reasons. It will take a long time to change attitudes towards public transport vs. the freedom of personal transport in the US. As the old saying goes..."You can sleep in your car, but you can't drive your house." :) Even in the Boston area, which has a far more extensive public transit network, the commute is not much better on the whole though nothing really compares to the obscenity that is California congestion. Drivers wouldn’t be that against what you suggest, but America’s love affair with the car and the freedom it brings, even if that freedom means sitting in traffic for hours, is difficult to overcome when it has been steeped into your being since birth. There is also the auto and oil companies who, after WWII, actively eliminated and suppressed new public transport project for obvious reasons. It will take a long time to change attitudes towards public transport vs. the freedom of personal transport in the US.

As the old saying goes…”You can sleep in your car, but you can’t drive your house.” :)

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