Quote of the day: buy a car and quit using transit

User-generated crosswalk.

There is a thread in "progressive planning" about how the best way to deal with social inequity is to give people cars, so that they can better participate in the local economy, because increasingly lower income people live in places where jobs and other amenities are rarer. E.g., see "Auto-Mobility" from Washington Monthly.

In the CBS TV/Associated Press story about the Raquel Nelson case, "Mom gets probation in son's jaywalking death," the article ends with this paragraph:

"It's really cruel and a big waste of taxpayer money," said Sally Flocks, founder of PEDS, an Atlanta pedestrian advocacy group. "What is anybody going to learn from this? Raquel lost her precious son. The lesson she learned already is quit using transit and buy a car to get around. It's too dangerous to cross the streets here."

Her point is apt. Not unlike the idea expressed by GM car dealers in an ad in Vancouver, BC. I hope that transit and transportation agencies will look more closely at this issue--not by eliminating bus stops, but by creating more crosswalks and improved crossing environments as needed.

Roadsworth street art, Montreal. See "Roadsworth: Street art painted on actual streets" from Funnywebplanet.