Least and Most Favoritest Things about Living in Vermont! (Part of the Ramble Thing)

[dawn_felagund]

I'm officially behind in the ramble thing! BUT all of the SWG stamp stuff is up-to-date, so I should have a little more freedom this weekend to catch up.

Comments

[heartofoshun]

Sounds like a terrific place to visit or even have a vacation home. But how do people who cannot operate a car or afford to own one live in a place with no public transportation? Speaking as someone with a disability (vision) that prevents them from driving I cannot even imagine.

Interestingly enough, although I cannot say that this is still true now, there was no place in Mexico when I lived there, not even tiny rural hamlets in the mountains or jungles, that was not reachable by public transportation. Now shopping was another issue--but, like you, I don't like to shop.

[dawn_felagund]

We have Rural Community Transportation. A few of Bobby's students--who live in some of the more remote parts of our supervisory union--use it to get to and from school. Never having used it, I can't attest to how good of service they provide, but it's not like we're completely without options.

I wish the U.S. had better public transportation all around. That is not just a rural issue: Baltimore had one light rail line and one metro line (and they went to most of the same places). DC had a fabulous metro system if you didn't mind paying the price of a decent dinner out to use it. We can blame the auto companies for the lack of public transportation. They paid cities to pull up their trolley tracks. (Baltimore once had an extensive trolley system. One hundred years ago, we could have taken the trolley from Ellicott City--where we lived when we first got married--to Baltimore easily. Today? We'd have to drive.)

[heartofoshun]

It's bad everywhere. The town where I grew up does not even have a single taxi company in the entire town. When I was a kid, there were a few and if someone needed to use one (like my grandmother, at my age and with the same eye condition), it was generally a five minute wait.

There were also trolley, bus services, and railway services throughout that entire area. Now there are two long distance buses that stop there daily which might take one somewhere with a larger bus station. But no local transportation.

Transportation has kept me in NYC for at least the last five years and made me only able to consider other urban areas if ever seriously consider moving. There was an article in a local paper recently about older people who retired and left NYC and moved to Florida who are moving back because of transportation issues. Just my very narrow view of the world.

[dawn_felagund]

Likewise, there used to be a passenger train that ran to Newport, which is 12 minutes from our house. You know the dilemma: Waterbury (which is the most convenient Amtrak station to us) is over an hour away. The tracks that run to Newport are still in use--they run through the wildlife management area across from our house--but only for freight. A few freight trains go through each day, but I guess there is no demand for a passenger line to the northeast anymore.

It matters for you personally, of course, but it's an issue I think everyone should care about. Not only because a lack of reliable public transportation (as always) burdens the most vulnerable people in our society but because all these people driving places when they could take a train or a trolley or a bus is terrible for carbon emissions. I'd much rather ride a train. I detest driving and love having my comfy seat and x number of hours to read and play on my computer minus the hassles and indignities of air travel or driving. Maybe when we get a railroad lobby that

[heartofoshun]

I was riled up when I read the latest report by Stephen Hawkins that we only have 100 left to live on this planet. Cars have always been the scariest risk factor for me as the largest single source of air pollution and without air nothing else works. So I was sort of being a complete Chicken Little when I started this comment thread. I'm sorry! I did not mean to be obnoxious.

[dawn_felagund]

I didn't find it obnoxious. I think we agree, as far as I can tell. It's clearly possible to have a public transportation system that includes suburban and rural areas; we used to manage it here, and they manage it in Europe and elsewhere! I don't see how to make that happen, though, as long as monied interests control our political system. The best we can do are programs like RCT that are locally managed and supported by progressive organizations. (Now we're back to the local vs. systemic issue again! This is perhaps an illustration of why I don't think systemic change is possible under our current system, although I keep tilting at that windmill nonetheless. I doubt Vermont as a state would give a fuck about elders/people with disabilities in the NEK. Our statehouse sends frequent clear messages that they don't give much of a fuck about the NEK, and I don't see why this would be any different. Would the federal government care to implement a program to aid elders/people with disabilities access public transportation here? LOL OMG

[heartofoshun]

Would the federal government care to implement a program to aid elders/people with disabilities access public transportation here? LOL OMG that's funny.

OK. You made me laugh out loud! They did try that kind of thing once, my mother's generation, and worked really well--not transportation per se but Social Security, for example. So let's not try that kind of thing again!