johnnymk

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/conten...x?RsrcID=48578


CNSNews.com) - Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told a group of reporters at the National Press Club on Thursday that he wants to “coerce people out of their cars.”

In Newsweek magazine last week, nationally syndicated columnist George Will published a piece critical of Lahood, entitled, “Ray LaHood, Transformed--Secretary of Behavior Modification.”

“He says he has joined a ‘transformational’ administration: ‘I think we can change people's behavior,’” Will reports that LaHood said over lunch.

LaHood, a former Republican congressman from Peoria, Ill., has become a champion of using the Department of Transportation and federal transportation spending to get people to take trains, busses, and ride bikes instead of driving cars.

At the National Press Club on Thursday he attempted to respond to George Will’s column and to explain his vision for using the power of government to change people’s transportation behavior and to change the nature of American residential communities.

“We want to really--and notwithstanding the fact that George Will doesn't like this idea--the idea of creating opportunities for people to get out of their cars--and we're working with the secretary of HUD, Shaun Donovan, on opportunities for housing, walking paths, biking paths,” said LaHood. “If somebody wants to ride their bike, if--to work or to the place of employment or to other places--mass transit, light rail--creating opportunities for what we call livable communities.”

The moderator of the press club event asked LaHood: “Some in the highway-supporters motorist groups have been concerned by your livability initiative. Is this an effort to make driving more torturous and to coerce people out of their cars?”

LaHood answered: “It is a way to coerce people out of their cars.

“Yeah,” he continued, “I mean, look, people don't like spending an hour and a half getting to work. And people don't like spending an hour going to the grocery store. And all of you who live around here know exactly what I'm talking about. You know, the dreaded thing is to have to run an errand on a weekend around here or to try and get home at 3:00 in the afternoon or even 5:00 in the afternoon.

“Now, look, every community is not going to be a livable community. But we have to create opportunities for people that do want to use a bicycle or want to walk or want to get on a streetcar or want to ride a light rail,” said LaHood.

Lahood suggested to the reporters that George Will is the only person opposed to using the government to promote mass transit and bicycling over driving a car.

“And the only person that I've heard of that objects to this is George Will. Check out Newsweek magazine,” said LaHood.

Lahood then made a joke about the fact that some conservatives believe that the way he wants to use the Department of Transportation represents an increased government intrusion in people’s lives.

“Some conservative groups are wary of the livable communities program, saying it's an example of government intrusion into people's lives,” said the moderator. “How do you respond?”

“About everything we do around here is government intrusion in people's lives,” said LaHood. “So have at it.”

mojo

americans have long had a love affair with the automobile. so, good luck with that.

i can appreciate taking public transportation. but i dunno when it's practical. i go for walks when i can, but riding the bus to work is out of the question. my work is miles from a bus stop.

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DarkFury

Main problem with this is, some cities are not properly built with a public infrastructure for public transportation.

At least that's the case here in Indy. Our public transit sucks... and good luck ever getting any "train or rail" service here. Unless they wanna elevate it (i.e. overhead monorail) I just don't see it happening around here.

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VTGreg

Exactly. It's one thing to add mass transit as part of a planned community but it is very painful to go back after the fact and add it. Charlotte is currently going through the process and, while it has been somewhat successful so far, it is going to take an unbelievable amount of time to make it accessible to the majority of the population.

I don't see making commuting or traveling by car as a viable option to forcing people out of their cars. That's just going to lead to more road rage. Spend time building bike trails and light rail but also continue expanding the roads.

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attgig

while this guy is trying to get people to abandon cars, his boss is giving money to the companies that would be adversely affected by this effort. hmmmm.

and on a local (to me) note, perhaps he can throw some money my city's way and convince the stupid people who are trying to put a new line in to make it an underground line instead of jacking up traffic patters by making the rail line an above ground line.

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