A new reality in reducing sprawl found

Sacramento Bee ^ | February 16, 2004 | Tony Bizjak

[farmfriend]

Any local planner can tell you: The vision of a better community - the plan on paper - is one thing; the reality on the streets is entirely another.

Ten years ago, when Sacramento County officials were putting together a new general plan, they came up with what they considered a revolutionary scheme for reducing sprawl and cutting congestion.

[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

[sauropod]

Reality intrudes on the urban planners! LOL!

[cyborg]

Lord have mercy.

[bigfootbob]

""But, if it gets to the point where that commute is so miserable that people are willing to compromise (on that suburban lifestyle) that's OK, too,"

That is the goal of transportation planners.

[jolie560]

Personal vehicles will never be replaced by light-rail, buses and subways. An effective urban plan is to supplement daily private-vehicle trips to/from work areas (commuting) by utilizing a strategic mass-transit formula that brings people to/from their work areas.

Vehicle-commuters going to work areas have the biggest effect on traffic volume. Check volume and accident reports on holidays and weekends and compare it to volume and accident reports during "normal" work week hours.

Urban planning is as much Art as it is Science. Every area is different. Where industrial park work areas are located is where a mass-transit plan can be most effective.

[SamAdams76]

Question about these "urban planners":

Are they among those who live in $300,000 homes and would never take the bus or do they walk the walk as well as talk the talk?

Whenever I hear the word "urban planner", a mental image of Mike Dukakis appears in my head, mowing his postage stamp lawn in Brookline in his wingtips with one of those push mowers. It's an awful image to have in your head. I may need professional help.

[2banana]

How to stop sprawl:

1. Stop immigration. The level of the US population (native born) is stable. We increase population due to out of control immigration.

2. Kick out the socialist who control most American cities so that people will want to move into them again. I know it seems funny, but people used to like to live in cities.

[NativeNewYorker]

The reference to buses that can regulate traffic lights is scary.

Obviously, the loonies will "punish" cars and favor buses time-wise using this. Also, like taxis following fire trucks in nyc, cars will queue behind buses to take advantage of favorable light timing.

[sauropod]

Lots of times, they are white-wine sipping, earth shoe wearing, NPR listening, PBS watching, Granola crunching, bedwetting holier-than-thou types.

Even being in the same room with them at a public hearing (as i have been) makes one wish to go shower several times.

The stench of the hypocracy with these folks is pretty bad.

[twigs]

Are they among those who live in $300,000 homes and would never take the bus or do they walk the walk as well as talk the talk?

Yes. I majored in city planning in college and this is exactly the major thing that finally convinced me that it was not for me. I didn't have my personal/political/social philosphy down yet, but I just knew that professionals who continually talked about forcing people into using mass transit, yet themselves lived well beyond the urban boundaries for which they planned--and necessitated personal transporation that always seemed to be the largest gas-guzzler currently on the market--just wasn't for me.

The theory rarely took into account the reality of what people wanted and how they wished to live their lives.

[enraged]

Damn you nailed that one good!
I work with a bunch of them, watermelons all!
I used to have a cool picture of the 38th parallel in Korea that I labeled "Urban Growth Boundary" hanging in my cube, got my butt chewed by the boss and had to take it down.

[Issaquahking]

ping (barf alert)

[sauropod]

I've got a picture of the UN headquarters with a projectile speeding toward it on the wall outside my door at work.

Waiting to get my butt chewed...

[Interesting Times]

Central planning doesn't work?

Geez, who knew?

[jpl]

Translation: "We don't want the upwardly mobile riffraff moving into our cushy neighborhoods."

[B4Ranch]

Years ago, when I first started having business discussions with city officials I noticed that the word "dollars" didn't register with them unless it was followed by the word million.

So, during one meeting I mentioned that I was going to changed all financial references to 'their language'. If I was referring to $200,000.00, I would say "point two million dollars ($.2 million). This initially, drew some smiles (because they knew I could be a smartass when I wanted to) but it also was a term they actually understood. Everything cities do costs in the millions of dollars, ie. $7.56 million. You and I would say 'seven million, five hundred sixty thousand dollars', this is NOT their language!

Remember this tact when you are discussing potential or actual costs with your city or state reps.

[blackie]

Civilzed Americans don't ride mass transit ~ that's what SUV's, pickups and motorcyclces are for! :)

[mewzilla]

Reality intrudes on foolish urban planners.