Myriad cities across the U.S. used to boast impressive public transit systems. Many of those services — such as the once robust streetcar system here in Kansas City — were largely eliminated as the car became the primary way to get from point A to point B for most Americans.
But Peter Norton, a transit historian and associate professor at the University of Virginia, says the cost of owning a car and the price tag on building and maintaining car infrastructure is the most expensive transportation strategy to use in urban areas.
While he believes that access to car infrastructure can be important, he says it's also very important to give people options.
"Access can also mean having a place to park your bike, having a convenient bus stop, having a nice walkable sidewalk," says Norton. "So, we're a country that says it values choices, and so what I'm suggesting is that we should put our money where our mouth is and give people choices that includes the choice to drive, but it should include other choices as well."
Norton joined KCUR's Up To Date to discuss public transit solutions ahead of his speaking event at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library this Thursday.
- Peter Norton, transit historian, University of Virginia associate professor
Taking It to the Streets: Rethinking Mobility in America's Cities, 6 p.m., Thursday, April 27 at the Truman Auditorium, Kansas City Public Library - Plaza Branch, 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64112.
