All aboard for public policies that encourage transit

A blurb and online forum by Kathleen Ingley, editorial writer for the Arizona Republic. She writes:

Transit looks more and more appealing as big traffic problems hit Arizona's smaller cities and towns. Here's another looming problem: How will aging baby boomers get around when it's no longer safe for them to drive? If they're serious about finding a solution, communities must encourage transit-friendly development patterns. Including (gasp!) greater density.

Density is key. For bus-based transit to work well, I think you need aboutfive buses/hour at a minimum, that is having service every 12 minutes. (You can get away with four buses/hour but it's not the best.)

I don't have the numbers in front of me, but you need a fair amount of density to support such frequency. And you have to have other transit-supportive policies in place (no free parking, market pricing for parking, a quality transit infrastructure, etc.) otherwise the relative density doesn't matter, because people with mobility choices will prefer driving because much of the time, such a choice is the right choice for the individual, but at the same time is the wrong choice for the collective.

Speaking of which, yesterday's Baltimore Sun has a story, "T. Rowe Price to expand in county," about the expansion of T. Rowe Price's Baltimore County campus, which will add 1,400 jobs. But who gives a damn about the fact that the new buildings will be LEED Silver. Likely a minimum of 75% of the people who will get the jobs will drive to the Owings Mill location.

The expansion should have been targeted to a location where transit usage could be maximized, rather than treated as an afterthought.