Wojiz t1_ixhgxv2 wrote
It's a very "America in 2022" thing to be shocked at the success and viability of public works and infrastructural tools invented over one hundred years ago.
"Imagine this: An automobile with over ten times the capacity of your average sedan. It travels along major thoroughfares in your city, stopping intermittently. Best of all: It's free.
No, this isn't a fantasy. It's called a bus, and it's been a stunning success here in Richmond."
A few years ago, I was visiting one of the Smithsonian art museums in D.C. Big, gorgeous building, carved out of stone and marble. My friend said, "Do you think we're still capable of making something like this today?"
The answer is OF COURSE WE ARE. Of course we're still capable of making highways and libraries and train stations and post offices and town squares and bus lines and subways. It isn't like the secret techniques of early-20th century urban planners have been lost to the sands of history. We just need to re-realize that there's such a thing as a Public Good and devote our politically will to spending money on it.
I_Enjoy_Beer t1_ixhpu2o wrote
Turns out, some things we developed 100 years ago were, in fact, good but we took a wrong turn somewhere along the way. Probably right about the time WW2 was over and the U.S. had an abundance of labor, resources, and manufacturing capacity when the rest of the developed world was in shambles. "You, too, can have your own car!" "You, too, can own your own half-acre 10 miles away from the office!" Unsurprisingly, that kind of inefficiency doesn't work well outside of peak economic conditions, and the "old" ways are being rediscovered.
dalhectar t1_ixht900 wrote
People forget the history of the streetcar in Richmond and how it folded in 1904 after anti-segregation protests.
It was a early flashpoint in the Jim Crowization of the state.
goodsam2 t1_ixk28i6 wrote
Yeah I think it's underrated that white flight happened because racists didn't want to live next to another race...
tmos540 t1_ixjp7yw wrote
Reject modernity, embrace tradition.
AdvancingMind1 t1_ixtqguu wrote
The car era of urban/suburban development has been a dark time for many places
[deleted] t1_ixilirl wrote
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bkemp1984Part2 t1_ixi7lut wrote
I was just coming here to inquire why it's so surprising. It's free, doesn't stop every 50 feet, has priority at intersections, and travels along the main artery of the "city proper". I guess it's surprising in the sense Richmond did something right, and in some ways Broad St is a bit embarrassing now with the lengths we went to preserve parking, but the latter wouldn't really affect ridership and it's a fundamentally very sound idea.
bruxalle t1_ixhha1q wrote
Amen.
Asterion7 t1_ixhon10 wrote
Preach my brother/sister in infrastructure.
knife_hits t1_ixk1tr1 wrote
It's like when weirdos say shit like "the United States Postal Service is losing $XX million a year!" Like, no, it's not "losing" anything, it's a public service and it COSTS MONEY TO RUN IT. Not everything needs to exist to turn a profit, god damn
goodsam2 t1_ixk3a44 wrote
Well actually the post office was a service that cost a lot of money. (They actually had arguments because in rural areas the postal service only delivered to town and when people came into town they would buy something at the store next door but it would go to urban houses because it was far easier, this was a huge cost and a significant portion of the federal budget)
Anyway then people started sending a lot more mail back and forth. The post office then generates a profit, they decide they want to semi-break off from the government. Now less letters to and from people are falling and they are looking at downsizing in real ways. Since they made a profit they increased pay and pensions and such and at some point it's just another normal government position which is why the Republicans asked to prepay their pension because the post office finances look to be decreasing profitability. Which pushes them to look insolvent sooner but also makes the transition easier to when they go back as a full government agency.
But back to the topic, I mean think about all the land used for parking or driving that could be sold. I mean I heard there was a plan for 64 to be closed and I was just trying to quantify how much that would be worth. I mean nobody bats an eye when we increase parking in land that would otherwise sell for hundreds of thousands and then generate tax revenue.
OlGreggMare t1_ixv700r wrote
How much profit does the Dept of Defense make? I've been to exercises of just single brigade vs regiment that likely burned more fuel in a month than the entire USPS does in a year
goodsam2 t1_ixvdpom wrote
But the USPS was profitable and asked to be partially spun off is the difference maker here. The USPS was profitable and wanted to pay workers more but was stuck to federal government salaries but they wanted to spin off. Now the situation has changed and they need to be a government service at some point soon enough. That or they operate a bank which I think is personally a better option.
[deleted] t1_ixi9cyw wrote
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guptaxpn t1_ixhsp2q wrote
I've heard that we burned through our marble supply... So large scale marble projects aren't going to be a thing. That being said we can still do big beautiful public works projects!
tagehring t1_ixifag0 wrote
We are capable of it, if we choose to be. That's the hard part.
thinpancakes4dinner t1_ixj4rd9 wrote
Yeah, it's not like we've lost the technical ability to do those things, but I'm not sold we still have the political will to undertake projects of that magnitude.
tmos540 t1_ixjpql9 wrote
That's because the benefits are inversely proportional to income. Basically it benefits the poors more than everyone else, and we can't have that. They need to pick themselves up by their bootstraps and buy a car. /s
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