Traffic congestion in the US getting worse

[allthumbs]

smart asses that run their mouths get what they deserve

[lummox]

scott_harpell said:

lummox said:

i dont mind riding public transport. but wtf is that brown bathtub-ring looking smegma stuff on some of the seats?

 

public transit kicks ass! i use it everyday is is raining. saves so much agitation by shitty traffic , constructions, seeing SUV and flipping them off, and generally just nice to meet some nice meth-freaks. trippay!

an its a great place to hookup with teenage chicas from broken homes.

favorite pickup line: do you smoke?

[scott_harpell]

hahha shit! works ev'ry time!

[scott_harpell]

vegetablebelay said:

I commute, in a SUV, 20 minutes in the morning, 45-60 minutes in the afternoon. I'm not complaining. I smirk a little when I see you waiting for the bus, on someone else's time.

 

but i beat you there.

[klenke]

mattp said:

Be careful there, Jon. A bike racing friend of mine was training on Lake Washington Boulevard one time, and he angered some kids who came back and whacked him with some kind of bat.

Yeah, I bet whiner Dave Schuldt gets beat up all the time. Probably that's why he doesn't come to more pub clubs. Too busy licking his wounds. Whaddya say, Dave?

[rbw1966]

20 minutes each way by bike through a bird refuge.

[scott_harpell]

rbw1966 said:

20 minutes each way by bike through a bird refuge.

 

yeh when it is sunny adn i am riding my bike i beat my roomate to school while he shits bricks driving to school for 20 minutes for only 5 miles.

[Thrashador]

Just wait until China gets it's car culture on.

[Dave_Schuldt]

Realy glad I live 1.5 miles from work. i feel sorry for those stuck in traffic all day.

[lummox]

Thrashador said:

Just wait until China gets it's car culture on.

passenger car sales are up over 20% from last year in bejing. coal usage up 7%.

[klenke]

The best way to avoid the daily traffic accordian is to be unemployed.

 

My morning commute takes about zero minutes. In the afternoon, because I'm lazy, it takes twice as long.

[Dave_Schuldt]

scott_harpell said:

i say tripple the gas tax, build a light rai from say tacoma through evertt and call it good. better for the envoronment, better for commutes and the fuckers in the SUV's get it in the ass.

 

Great plan.

[Ursa_Eagle]

klenke said:

The best way to avoid the daily traffic accordian is to be unemployed.

 

My morning commute takes about zero minutes. In the afternoon, because I'm lazy, it takes twice as long.

 

[Ursa_Eagle]

scott_harpell said:

i say tripple the gas tax, build a light rai from say tacoma through evertt and call it good. better for the envoronment, better for commutes and the fuckers in the SUV's get it in the ass.

 

My ideal plan would be to add that tax, and have the funds from that tax go specifically for green-energy research.

Unfortunately with our current politians, I ain't holding my breath.

[scott_harpell]

Ursa_Eagle said:

scott_harpell said:

i say tripple the gas tax, build a light rai from say tacoma through evertt and call it good. better for the envoronment, better for commutes and the fuckers in the SUV's get it in the ass.

 

My ideal plan would be to add that tax, and have the funds from that tax go specifically for green-energy research.

Unfortunately with our current politians, I ain't holding my breath.

 

fuck research, just put in a light rail and double the gas tax. fewer people drive. slowly make it more unafordable to drive. that is as green as it gets. research doesn't mean shit unless it is practical. i see all this theoretical bullshit out there. lets do something real like make it cost $$$ to pollute. big business, big cars and the like. dont need research to do that.

[EWolfe]

I crawled home from the bar the other night

 

Does that count as alternative transportation

[b-rock]

i'm all for an increased gas tax, but as far as taxes go it's pretty regressive, dunno.

[scott_harpell]

MisterE said:

I crawled home from the bar the other night

 

Does that count as alternative transportation

 

good on ya mate!

[catbirdseat]

Let's see who votes for an increased gas tax. Nobody that's who. It ain't gonna happen. We're doomed and there isn't anything we have the will to do that will change it. Can we change the subject?

[ChrisT]

climb back into that test tube from whence you came cbs

[scott_harpell]

catbirdseat said:

Let's see who votes for an increased gas tax. Nobody that's who. It ain't gonna happen. We're doomed and there isn't anything we have the will to do that will change it. Can we change the subject?

 

wanna do some more research for another 30 years until you are fucked in the bunghole and then finally do something about the situation? raaaahght.

[mattp]

We'd probably vote for that gas tax here in Seattle sometime, Catbird. I never saw a tax levy I didn't like.

[scott_harpell]

scott_harpell said:

catbirdseat said:

Let's see who votes for an increased gas tax. Nobody that's who. It ain't gonna happen. We're doomed and there isn't anything we have the will to do that will change it. Can we change the subject?

 

wanna do some more research for another 30 years until you are fucked in the bunghole and then finally do something about the situation? raaaahght.

 

what we need is a pre-emptive strike!!!!!!! bwa ah ah ahhah ahah! rooooah hah hah hah ha

[scrambler]

This whole argument about how to solve the traffic problem reminds me about something I heard about health care. The Gross Domestic Product goes up every time someone is hurt due to a social or personal disaster. A car accident produces work for the insurance man, the health care industry, the auto shops, etc. Safety measures, which would have prevented the accident, limit the expenditure and transfer of money.

 

Disaster means that money will be spent. Consider a house that burns down. The things that can be replaced are replaced. Money, goods, and services are exchanged. Multiply that on a national scale and GDP goes up. Conversely, consider the savings that could occur if health care money were spent primarily on the preventive end rather than after the fact. With regard to spending money treating symptoms, it’s been suggested that over 80% of the total money spent in health care is spent in the last six months of terminal patients’ lives. The vast amount of money that is exchanged translates roughly into number of jobs, which also promotes social cohesion.

 

Will the reduction of number of personal cars sold, reduction in gasoline consumed, etc. result in a smaller economy and consequently, a lower standard of living? I don’t know. Maybe just stating the obvious, but any solution to a given problem only raises other problems. I can see the energy crisis addressed when the petroleum multinationals solve the problem of transporting and using hydrogen power safely, but I don’t believe that the issue of congestion will be effectively addressed by reducing the number of personal vehicles. Reduction seems to make the most sense but at what cost?

 

A gas tax is promoted as a solution by increasing the cost of usage but I’m skeptical that it will be promulgated at a rate that will be effective. A bad case scenario of the Middle East situation may be the most likely catalyst in the way that the 1973 Arab oil embargo prompted energy efficiency. So a solution to the traffic congestion problem may arrive involuntarily.

 

[jon]

trask said:

smart asses that run their mouths get what they deserve

 

Can I quote you on that later?