This morning our friends over at Transportation for America are launching a new site called My Commute Sucks,
designed to give people around the country a place to vent their
frustration over the nation's overburdened and inefficient
transportation systems. Commuters can share their tales of commuting
woe, upload photos and videos, and also take action by contacting
members of Congress to ask for a more sane and sustainable approach to
transportation policy.
Already the stories are starting to pile up. Here's one from a New Jersey commuter named Betty:
The Garden State Parkway in New Jersey is a nightmare, just like Jersey's other main arteries.
Iwould love to bike to the train, but the town of Little Silver doesn'thave safe cycling roads. Pedestrians are also at risk on some of thevery busy, sidewalk-free and shoulderless roads.
Finally, the trains are a mess with many discontinuous lines, requiring bus/taxi/light rail connections between stations. ugh
Build bikeways and we will come! Fix the trains and we will ride!
Brian Fellows asks:
Whyshould we tolerate 1- and 2-hour commutes? Think how much time wespend away from our families, burning fossil fuels, and gettingstressed out -- every day, every month, every year. The quantity isstaggering. Even now, just 5 months after the start of our metroarea's light rail system (which people are flocking to!) it still takesme an hour to get to work. Building more lane-miles simply inducesmore people to drive -- and there you have it: even more traffic. Iwould like Congress to attach requirements to highway money thatmandate recipients/states to design higher-density and mixed-usedevelopment along the highway corridors.
Go
ahead and add your own story. The site has lots of interactive
features, including a Twitter feed for micro-rants (tag with
#mycommutesucks). You can also follow them on Twitter, they're
@mycommutesucks.
