Streetfilms: Bill Lind, a Conservative Voice for Transit

At last month’s Rail-Volution conference in Boston, Streetfilms was able to grab a few moments with William Lind, a politically conservative transit advocate. Lind aims to provide "liberal transit advocates" the language to build support for public transportation (okay, just rail) in terms that conservatives can relate to. Some of Lind’s arguments don’t reflect our views here at Streetfilms, especially his disdain for buses (which we don’t cover in this video), but he makes a thought-provoking case for transit investment. Streetsblog readers won’t want to miss his critique of highway spending as a massive government intervention.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Bus vs. Rail: Transit’s Quiet Culture Clash?

By Elana Schor |
The question of running buses or building rail has preoccupied transit planners in many an American town, with Maryland’s Montgomery County being the latest locality to choose between trains and bus rapid transit (BRT), which tends to be the less expensive option. Bogota’s Transmilenio BRT has won praise for its roomy coaches and well-designed stations. […]

How Can Transit Backers Sway Conservatives? Oberstar Joins the Debate

By Elana Schor |
In the years before partisan warfare became the norm in Washington, transportation tended to unite both ends of the ideological spectrum. Can rationality return to infrastructure policy debates that have become subsumed by culture clashes between cyclists and drivers, urbanists and suburbanites — and, of course, Democrats and Republicans? Highways and transit, side by side […]

Voices From the Rail~Volution

By Clarence Eckerson Jr. |
Streetfilms was out in Portland at this year’s Rail~Volution conference, putting our finger on the pulse of the sustainable transportation world. We spoke to a healthy dose of this year’s attendees, including advocates, bloggers, planners, transit industry reps and members of transportation agencies across the country. Among those we heard from was Congressman Earl Blumenauer, […]

Winning Votes for Transit: Lessons From a Conservative

By Angie Schmitt |
The work of a transit advocate is never done. That’s the story taking shape in California, where the establishment of a high-speed rail network, approved by voters in November, 2008, is facing legal challenges from a number of city governments near San Francisco. A rendering of the proposed California HSR line, via The Wall Street […]