Transit 2020

[Cotuit]

July 8, 2008

Today in history: The king grants R.I. a charter

On this day in 1663, King Charles II of England granted a charter to Rhode Island.

[Pseudo_Work]

Maybe they can revoke it and make us a protectorate.

[brick]

enjoy the rest of the state in peace as god intended.

[Cotuit]

Wait are you saying God likes strip malls, industrial parks, and asphalt?

I didn't realize he was from northern Jersey.

[JimmyGreaves]

Hmmm...first off, my heart sinks reading all of the news about the current state of transit. I ride the bus everyday, and I would be extremely disappointed if service was cut. And, it's clear that the governor has transit low on the priority list.

However, let's face it. The state has been on a general economic decline for many years now. The current economy stinks and the combination of items like falling sales taxes, unfunded federal mandates, the savings and loan crisis of the 90's, and years of ineffective government are coming to a head. Not to mention the fact that other taxes have been cut while government costs have continued to increase. The system is clearly broken, and unfortunately we may have to experience some short-term pain before we begin to make progress. The reality is that we have a finite amount of revenue in state and local government. RIPTA was able to balance its budget for a few years until the fuel costs skyrocketed. Also, the shortsightedness of the funding mechanisms used for its operation is obvious, and the way in which RIPTA's management seems to act with defeated resignation makes me wonder if the right people are in charge.

My point is that decades of decline will not be erased overnight. The system may be cut, but that does not mean that it can't be rebuilt.

[runawayjim]

i'm hoping all of this will get RI voters to open their eyes and stop voting for the same idiots. we need a complete turnover of politicians in this state.

[CtownMikey]

I doubt that will happen.. nono.. we need the more of the out of state graduates to return from the past to replace the grumpY old florida whores and lets get rid of the people who constantly complain about home as well.

[JimmyGreaves]

Because the amount of general operating revenue in the state does seem to be fixed, any discussion of increaseing transit funding will need to include where else to cut. Not a very pleasant reality given all of the funding needs in Rhode Island.

[Cotuit]

And, it's clear that the governor has transit low on the priority list.

[Lone Ranger]

Anybody care to comment this article? It's a little old. I found it while poking around ProJo.com. I must admit, I was taken aback by parts of it:

There are a number of myths that have been accepted as truisms concerning job creation. Many Rhode Islanders believe that business as usual makes good business sense. We need to debunk these myths.

[Pseudo_Work]

Anybody care to comment this article? It's a little old. I found it while poking around ProJo.com. I must admit, I was taken aback by parts of it:

The author is a URI economist. That was his lead-in. Among his myths was this:

In particular, I was thinking of the mayor's trolley suggestion when I read this. Now, one would assume that a trolley system would spur future development, and protect current development, within the city. This line of thinking, the economist says, is backwards. But given Providence's cramped confines, the small dense character of our urban area, and the auto-centric nature of the larger American economy, I can't see how our metro economy (led by Providence) can greatly improve without a wildly improved transit system.

Is this simply the difficulty of being a city built on the Old World model but trying to exist in modern America? In other words, can our economy really be compared to that of, say, Houston or Kansas City, and can economic truths applicable in those cities be applied here? And if not, then is it only possible for us to improve our economy by relying on charity from the federal government? That's idea, frankly, scares me.

Not that I don't think we deserve federal funds. fudge, this country was built on the backs of cities like Providence, Fall River, Lowell, etc. But do I trust the rest of country to see it the way I do? Not really. Not anytime soon, anyway.

Thoughts anyone?

[TheAnk]

I agree with that article, for the most part.. Its a little supply side biased (alot), but it fits RI.. We are a welfare state; whether its to the rich or the poor.. Its a self fulfilling prophesy; you pander, you get panderers and panhandlers..

In my opinion, RI can't be fixed, only managed.. RI is a like cancer or AIDS; you never truly get rid of it, you manage it.. Unless of course, you are Magic Johnson (20 years now? Maybe he eats people to boost his immunity)..

RI is the worst state in New England, which is like saying its the ugliest gal in a Miss America pageant.. Regardless, the benchmark is other states and we lag..

[Pseudo_Work]

Regardless, the benchmark is other states and we lag..

[urbie]

Well yeah, we get all of that, but it doesn't really answer anything. The real question is: is that right? And if it's not right, does it really make sense to try to "live up to that" at all? If the system in question is broken, then why are we spending our time trying to figure out how to modify our system to fit into that? Shouldn't we be finding a way to use what works for us instead?

[runawayjim]

This is the point:

"Legislation is often introduced that adds new rules, regulations and fees for businesses without any real cost-benefit analysis taking place. If the state were a business, it would be out of business. The state needs to make tough decisions regarding the consolidation of services and departments and restructuring education, police, fire and other services on a county basis."

That, and public-employee unions. When I worked for the state of Arizona -- a state that had equally stupid legislators, but with less than a century to screw things up, hadn't done as complete a job of it -- when my boss was ordered to lay off some employees, he could pick and choose exactly which ones he wanted to let go. None of this "bumping" nonsense, where you lay someone off and they just keep bumping someone more junior, and so on down the line, until the person who actually loses his job is not the one that was actually wasting the state's money! My mom (the former SEIU shop steward) would kill me for saying this, but public employees should not be unionized. They already get better benefits than the rest of us in the private sector, plus a lot more job security -- that should be enough.

Urb

[numonex]

Anybody care to comment this article? It's a little old. I found it while poking around ProJo.com. I must admit, I was taken aback by parts of it:

The author is a URI economist. That was his lead-in. Among his myths was this:

In particular, I was thinking of the mayor's trolley suggestion when I read this. Now, one would assume that a trolley system would spur future development, and protect current development, within the city. This line of thinking, the economist says, is backwards. But given Providence's cramped confines, the small dense character of our urban area, and the auto-centric nature of the larger American economy, I can't see how our metro economy (led by Providence) can greatly improve without a wildly improved transit system.

Is this simply the difficulty of being a city built on the Old World model but trying to exist in modern America? In other words, can our economy really be compared to that of, say, Houston or Kansas City, and can economic truths applicable in those cities be applied here? And if not, then is it only possible for us to improve our economy by relying on charity from the federal government? That's idea, frankly, scares me.

Not that I don't think we deserve federal funds. fudge, this country was built on the backs of cities like Providence, Fall River, Lowell, etc. But do I trust the rest of country to see it the way I do? Not really. Not anytime soon, anyway.

Thoughts anyone?

[JimmyGreaves]

Its just more of the same old status quo thinking that heads up RI. The states is so darn broke that its difficult to do anything....dont do anything to improve the states economy and draw spending into the state....not invest in the states economy and infrastructure.

Its a viscious cycle that will not be fixed until we have some visionaries on smith hill. This transit 2020 thing has me excited because it could actually get people downtown and spur more development down there...maybe even enough to draw some spending into the state economy from outside which is what we need.

[Pseudo_Work]

PBN: Report calls for mass transit overhaul

[mental757]

PROJO: "Group urges a different road for RIPTA"

http://www.projo.com/news/content/RIPTA_SU...11.3cd0fa2.html

[Pseudo_Work]

Anything new on the inside about the mayor's old streetcar idea? Just fishing for good news. Any good news.

[FjmArch]

Anything new on the inside about the mayor's old streetcar idea? Just fishing for good news. Any good news.

[frymasterspeck]

I have not researched this thoroughly, but I'm guessing that one way to free up money for these type of projects is a statewide consolidation of municipal services. You have to think that with less bureaucratic layers there would be less expense, therefore less state money needed to aid cities and towns. Either that savings could be used for investments like transit, or tax cuts like reducing the sales tax to 6%.

[Cotuit]

Legalize and tax marijuana and prostitution, regulate and tax the sh!t out of it, then advertise heavily in the bible belt. Budget crisis solved.

We're already halfway there with the legalization, just need the regulation and taxation.

[CtownMikey]

Legalize and tax marijuana and prostitution, regulate and tax the sh!t out of it, then advertise heavily in the bible belt. Budget crisis solved.

We're already halfway there with the legalization, just need the regulation and taxation.

[Pseudo_Work]

Commercial Occupancy up in City, down in Suburbs

I wasn't sure where else to put this, but it's an important statistic related to the reurbanization of the state, so I put it in the transit thread.