Another View: Seattle's War on Cars

[cityimrov]

Op-ed: We should stop waging a war on cars
For several decades, the politically correct thinking has been that people should ride transit, walk or bike instead of drive a car.

But the car is not the problem.

The car is an innocent and dutiful result of the basic principles of a free society. People want to have mobility. People want to travel in a safe environment where they want to go, when they want to go and with whom they want to go. The individual right to be free is what creates the demand for the car.

http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2019699309_brucenurseopedxml.html

Shopping center developer Kemper Freeman is doing whatever he can to stop further development of Seattle's wasteful rail transit system in favor of cars, buses, and roads.  From what I've read, he's managed to gain the influence of the Bellevue city council and top lawyers to do whatever they can to stop the evil rail system from continuing on. 

So what is this dark force declaring a war on the innocent car?  The "irresponsible" regional transit authority, multinational corporations, and the "brainwashed" masses who keep voting for rail transit.

Read More Here:
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2011756951_kemper02m.html
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/kemper-freemans-road-rage/Content?oid=10480022

[Lunican]

The car is an innocent and dutiful result of the basic principles of a free society. People want to have mobility. People want to travel in a safe environment where they want to go, when they want to go and with whom they want to go. The individual right to be free is what creates the demand for the car.

All of these things are accomplished by being in an environment built for humans instead of cars.

It's hard to imagine being less free than going into debt to buy a car that requires a government issued license to operate and is subjected to literally hundreds of laws regarding its use. How stupid can you be?

[spuwho]

As long as the argument is always pits as one vs. another, then there will always be evil casting.

In reality, cars or some form of personal transportation will coexist with transit for years to come.

[cityimrov]

I've been reading how transportation is done in places that are embracing mass transit.  What I found out is Jacksonville isn't that different from many of these places.  They have developers who are fighting rail.  They have a stacked city council who will find any reason to not build rail.  They have Jacksonville.com personalities who comment for their local newspapers.   

So why are they building efficient mass transit while Jacksonville is being left behind?  I can really find only one answer. The majority of the people who live there want's it and are willing to personally pay for it.  That's the only thing I can find that's different about Jacksonville from other places that are embracing the mass transit movement.