Jarrett Walker, a public transit planning consultant, argues that bus-only lanes, despite inconveniencing drivers, are essential for fair space sharing in dense cities. He explains that they address economic, environmental, and moral problems by improving access to opportunities, encouraging eco-friendly travel, and ensuring equitable use of scarce street space. The article highlights that transit priority tools, including bus lanes, are compromises designed by professionals to maximize city efficiency and benefit all users.
Opinion: Bus-only lanes can irritate drivers, but they help city dwellers share limited space
Opinion
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TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️Jarrett Walker, a public transit planning consultant, argues that bus-only lanes, despite inconveniencing drivers, are essential for fair space sharing in dense cities. He explains that they address economic, environmental, and moral problems by improving access to opportunities, encouraging eco-friendly travel, and ensuring equitable use of scarce street space. The article highlights that transit priority tools, including bus lanes, are compromises designed by professionals to maximize city efficiency and benefit all users.
Trending- 1 Ongoing: Common sight of buses stuck in traffic in Canadian cities; debates about adding more bus lanes.
- Improved public transit efficiency
- Increased transit ridership
- Reduced commute times for transit users
- Better access to opportunities
- Positive environmental impact
- More equitable use of urban space
- Potential for driver irritation and local business concerns (overestimated)
What: Jarrett Walker, a public transit planning consultant, argues for the necessity of bus-only lanes and other 'transit priority' tools in Canadian cities, despite potential inconvenience to drivers. He explains that these measures are crucial for fair space sharing, improving urban economies, addressing environmental concerns, and ensuring equitable access to opportunities for city dwellers.
When: Ongoing (common sight in Canadian cities, current debates).
Where: Canadian cities (general), Vancouver (Broadway mentioned as an example).
Why: To improve urban mobility and access to opportunities, strengthen city economies, encourage environmentally friendly travel (walking, cycling, public transit), reduce traffic congestion, and ensure fair sharing of scarce city street space.
How: By implementing bus-only lanes, signal priority, careful relocation of bus stops, and other transit priority tools. These are designed by traffic engineers and transit planners as compromises to give transit an advantage.