Differing Methods to Nudge Us Toward a Better Future in Transportation: Which is Better?
A friend and bicycling advocate in Greenville kindly sent me a detailed critique of the efficacy of an opinion piece I had written and published in a Greenville newspaper. My essay focused on my firm belief that the Greenville town center did not need more parking. I thanked my friend for his thoughtful evaluation of the usefulness of my essay.
I responded to him by pointing out that I was aware that he and I use different methods to nudge our community in a better direction regarding transportation. I pointed out that I don’t believe that one method is clearly better than another.
Instead, I think it is a good idea for him and me to use methods that leverage our strengths. It appears that my friends’ methods do that for him. I believe that my methods do that for me. I'm more of a writer and speaker than a one-on-one personal interaction kind of guy, for example.
By contrast, he is more attuned to meeting personally with individuals, or calling them on the phone, to discuss and debate issues.
That said, I'm increasingly convinced that Greenville and nearly all other cities in the world are past the point of no return regarding motor vehicle dependency and an almost complete absence of bicycling, walking, or transit use. There is no turning back. As has been the case for more than a century, it is certain that for the rest of our lives, we will continue to lose ground in this battle. Motor vehicle travel will continue to be overemphasized, ruinously, and conditions for bicycling, walking, and transit will get worse.
No matter what methods we use.
That does not mean I will give up. I will continue to write, give speeches, and talk with people I meet about the state of our transportation system and what needs to be done. I will do this even though it is almost entirely hopeless, because I remain a pessimist of the intellect but an optimist of the will.
To answer his question about whether I ever hear from elected Council members or staff in response to my published essays, I informed him that I do not.
I have, however, had conversations with various local and state staff members, and one or two local elected officials.
Let us proceed by leveraging what personal strengths we have for a better future, my friend.