Reactions to story from The Peoria Chronicle

Reactions / posts that link to this post

  • Author unknown

    High Gas prices

    http://peoriasubway.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/high-gas-prices...
    114 days ago in City without a Subway · Authority: 8

    CJ Summers, the king of the Peoria blogging community, has a cool post today on the high gas prices. As normal, he spent way too much time investigating the issue and actually had some sound thoughts. Rare for a blogger but he endeavors on. I guess that’s I like to read him. But I love the comments. Nothing like high prices to spark people lashing out at everyone. The City Council, urban sprawl, the Journal Star, probably me after this post. Nah, no one reads this blog. I am safe.  Mass transit would be great in Peoria (hell, I want a subway), but I don’t think the average person would want it. I have lived in big cities across the United States. People in the Midwest want their cars. Sure, it works in Chicago but it has to. The commutes are so great that you just need the “L” or bus. Here, you can get from Alta to Downtown or from Pekin to Downtown no more than 20 minutes. I have done it in 15. Parts of the city take less than five minutes. I wish the bus service would work better. I wish it ran like Washington DC’s. But I don’t think people would support it. There is too much negative perception about the buses and some of their clientele to get the people from the outlying areas to ride the bus. Plus, it’s not convenient enough for causal use.  And yes, there is sprawl but unfortunately or fortunately, it hasn’t reached the proportions of critical mass. The talk is that in 50 years or so, Bloomington and Peoria’s metro areas are going to merge with all the growth in Woodford County and Tazewell County. If that happens, you might see some more mass transit. Right now, I just don’t know.   I just look at parking in Downtown. People wouldn’t pay 50 cents to park but they will not blink at spending $3 on a bottle of beer. They wouldn’t walk a block or two but they will park at the far end of Wal-Mart’s parking lot, only after circling for 20 minutes, and just accept it. It’s perception. People want their cars.  So what could Peoria do? Car pool more? Put in HOV lanes? Figure out why gas costs more here than anywhere else other than Chicago? Force developers to build within the urban core and not on the fringes? I have no idea. I see it as it’s hopeless. As long as people have a love affair with gas, things aren’t going to change. So far, people have changed their lifestyles that much. Sure, they might not go out as much but most people I know aren’t choosing between gas and food, thank goodness.  When will things change? Frankly, I don’t know. If you had told me 10 years ago that we would be paying $4 a gallon and basically accepting it, I would have laughed at you. I remember paying 75 cents a gallon. Once I figure out that question, I’ll work on peace in the Middle East.