This has been a generational mistake. Transit makes it possible to capture the benefits of density - a diversified economy and thriving neighborhoods - while mitigating the bad stuff, namely congestion and its attendant maladies: pollution, car crashes, injuries, fatalities, property damage, noise, road repairs, and more. Any city that hopes to grow its tax base by adding population and jobs without expanding its physical footprint needs a high-capacity transit system that enables anywhere-to-anywhere connectivity without succumbing to density's negative attributes.
Our friend Chris Dunn, formerly of the New York Civil Liberties Union, had a Daily News op-ed demanding that the next mayor restore City Hall to the people, who had it stolen from them by Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Kudos to NY1 for covering the massive traffic impacts of the remaining casino proposals. And hat-tip to Sara Lind of Open Plans for breaking it down.
I'm happy to present today, SB 71 on behalf of Senator Wiener, which will extend the statutory CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act] exemptions for transit and active transportation projects which significantly advance the state's climate, safety, and public health goals while improving access and mobility options to January 1, 2040. SB 71 will also make clarifying changes to existing law and provide exemption parity between ferry and other transit modes.
In the book you're talking about, in that kind of mindset anyways, we have all these subsidies that go towards, you know, extending the subway, the utilities, but also that it's kind of like some gasoline is put on, during the New Deal, but also afterwards when you get all of the HOLC loans and the FHA and all these subsidies to homeownership, right?
"As someone who works in government, I see a person who isn't just throwing things at the wall. I didn't get the impression that he was not open to changing his mind. And that's a characteristic that's important in someone who's in public office."