In Ohio #publictransit is terrible. Why?

The Columbus Dispatch: "Is it really any surprise that none of us can stand to take the COTA bus to work rather than driving, even a few days a week? For one thing, people don’t have the time. There probably isn’t a bus stop nearly as close to your house as your driveway is, or nearly as close to where you work as the company parking lot is. So, you have to factor in the time and energy to walk. This becomes even more influential in bad weather."

More Transportation Choices for Ohio: Are Politicians Listening?

plunderbund : "While public transportation investment remains stagnant, we’re seeing massive increases in highway expansion spending that are unnecessary to the point of being wasteful."

Advantages of #carfree cities

cleveland.com: "-- A 5 to 10 percent reduction in traffic speeds translates into an 18 to 20 percent increase in property values.

-- Homes in walkable areas command 12 percent more than homes in areas that aren't very walkable, and commercial properties have values 5 to 8 percent higher.

-- Pedestrian-friendly, transit-served, mixed-use communities generate 10 times more tax revenue per acre than suburban development. 

The Gund Foundation's Jaquay said the notion of retaining and attracting Millennials to Cleveland -- people 18 to 33 or so -- is not lost on local civic leaders.

Collier said a "culture shift" to change the funding model, attitudes and perceptions has to happen at the federal and state level, where most transportation funding dollars are doled out. "We should be able to spend more money on public transit," he said."

One million people in Ohio live in a home with no car

cleveland.com: "Ohio supports a network of 28 urban and 33 rural transit systems. In 2012, Ohioans took 115 million trips using ODOT-funded public transit systems. Nine percent of Ohio households, or about 1 million Ohio residents, are without a car.

ODOT said public transit demand is increasing -- with a definite rise in the need for convenient, affordable public transportation to jobs, medical appointments, shopping and recreational activities -- even as transit agencies struggle to fund existing services."

People want efficient, reliable #publictransit

Cities of tomorrow will need strong public transportation systems to foster growth - Cleveland Business News - Northeast Ohio and Cleveland - Crain's Cleveland Business: "The most important factor for riders in choosing transit is travel time and reliability, not fancier amenities such as wi-fi, CityLab.com notes."

GOP rejects Columbus for convention site -- not enough #publictransit

Officials blame lack of public transit for failed GOP convention bid | TheHill: "Columbus City Council President Andy Ginther attributed the snub from the GOP to the city’s lack of public transportation alternatives, according to the report. 

“One of the missing pieces (in bidding for a large convention) was the ability to get around our city easily,” the paper reported Ginther said."

You don't have to ride #publictransit to benefit from #publictransit

Opinion: Bus riders deserve a tax break: "Even those who have no choice but to drive to work each day are better off because of public transportation. After all, increased reliance on subways, trolley cars, ferries, and the like results in less congested roads and fewer traffic accidents."

Cincinnati - #publictransit key to labor supply

Cincinnati Enquirer: "• Feb. 2 – The benefits of improving mass transit in the region, from reduced congestion on roads to better health outcomes to attracting young workers who prefer alternatives to driving: http://tinyurl.com/mhu4nee

• Feb. 16 – The business benefits of better public transportation, which allows lower-income workers a cheaper, more predictable way of getting to work and also attracts higher-income workers who have lived in other cities with good transit: http://tinyurl.com/kqovcay"

Public transportation use up despite funding cuts

zanesvilletimesrecorder.com: "One of the biggest increases was in bus ridership. Since 1995, the report notes a 3.8 percent national increase in cities such as Zanesville that have a population less than 100,000.

South East Area Transport, commonly referred to as Z-Bus, has been seeing similar numbers. Year-to-date, SEAT has seen 473 more riders this year than in 2013, a 2.25 percent increase, according to a SEAT operations report.

Head dispatcher Linda Minter said this winter’s harsh weather has discouraged bus ridership and even shut down the buses for a day. Seeing an increase despite those conditions might be a sign of good things to come for the rest of the year, she said."

Why not make public transport free?

Mano Singham: "I feel that free public transportation should be the norm, especially in major cities with a lot of traffic where atmospheric pollution can be a real problem. Not only will it reduce pollution, it will also be a boon to poorer people who depend more on public transportation for work and daily living.
Of course, nothing is really free. We have to pay for it in some other way in the form of taxes. But there is no reason why taxes on gasoline, 60% of which currently pays for highway and bridge construction in the US, should not be used for this purpose. State and local gas taxes that pay for local roads could also be used to cover the cost of public transport."

Auto and highway system more deadly in snow - 50 cars pile up in Ohio

                                                              AP Photo/The Chronicle-Tribune, Jeff Morehead

montrealgazette : "TOLEDO, Ohio - A storm that swept through the Midwest and the Northeast just a week before the start of spring dumped more than 2 feet of snow on parts of northern New England and caused pileups on the Ohio Turnpike involving at least 40 vehicles, leaving three people dead and a state trooper seriously injured."

As long as Ohio has massive sprawl, fossil fuels will rule our life

New Evidence Exposes Gov. Kasich’s Role in PR Plan to Promote Fracking in State Parks | EcoWatch: "As reported Sunday, new evidence was released today showing Ohio Gov. Kasich’s involvement in the communications plan that detailed how the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) would “marginalize” opponents of fracking by teaming up with “allied” corporations—including Halliburton, business groups and media outlets—to promote this controversial drilling technique in state parks."

Urban planning should put people ahead of cars

Easy parking hardly is what makes great cities vibrant | The Columbus Dispatch: "Public or private officials might respond to parking complaints by building one or more parking garages in high-demand areas. An additional parking garage in the Short North or Downtown will accommodate a few hundred more cars.

This, however, is an expensive investment that will not solve parking problems because the demand for parking always will exceed the supply in any good urban area. Instead of asking how to accommodate more cars, we should be asking how to accommodate more people."