Sorry Henry
Henry Ford made Detroit the motor capital of the world. As a Detroiter, I admire him. It was his assembly line that provided the breakthrough in producing automobiles in such staggering quantities. So I am not blaming Henry for what happened; he couldn’t have known what his invention would do.
After the Second World War production lines weren’t needed for making tanks and war materials so they returned to producing cars. At that time street-cars, our name for trolleys, ran on tracks down the middle of most major streets in Detroit. They were cheap, clean, frequent and punctual, but not conducive to selling cars. So the automobile industry bought up the city’s street-cars and ‘retired’ them! I remember feeling frustrated at the time, because I was too young to drive and there was nothing to take their place except inefficient, smelly buses and, of course, the automobile.
And so it continued. Cars were the catalyst that created suburbs, destroyed the inner city, polluted the environment, and seriously damaged family life. Long commutes use time and energy that could otherwise be spent with families. The change was differently destructive for those who couldn’t afford a car or suburban living. They were stranded to fester in slums, all the while losing hope - a situation that the aftermath of Katrina so vividly showed the world.
So what does this have to do with Jordan? When the predictable subject of traffic came up recently, I was told that there are 65,000 more cars in Jordan now than there were last year. Sheer volume clogs our streets. I wish that Jordan hadn’t followed the seductive American dream. I wish Jordan had the public funds, the planning, and the political will to follow the sensible urban growth patterns in Europe. Europe kept its trolleys, trams, trains, and underground transportation systems. Their ‘inner’ cities are alive and well. But we have cars, cars, and more cars, and suburbia, and longer commutes. Tragically and paradoxically there are also more assembly lines world wide. We know that tanks and war materials, not only cars, continue to roll off them. So much for my wishful thinking, and again, sorry Henry.
ASH
After the Second World War production lines weren’t needed for making tanks and war materials so they returned to producing cars. At that time street-cars, our name for trolleys, ran on tracks down the middle of most major streets in Detroit. They were cheap, clean, frequent and punctual, but not conducive to selling cars. So the automobile industry bought up the city’s street-cars and ‘retired’ them! I remember feeling frustrated at the time, because I was too young to drive and there was nothing to take their place except inefficient, smelly buses and, of course, the automobile.
And so it continued. Cars were the catalyst that created suburbs, destroyed the inner city, polluted the environment, and seriously damaged family life. Long commutes use time and energy that could otherwise be spent with families. The change was differently destructive for those who couldn’t afford a car or suburban living. They were stranded to fester in slums, all the while losing hope - a situation that the aftermath of Katrina so vividly showed the world.
So what does this have to do with Jordan? When the predictable subject of traffic came up recently, I was told that there are 65,000 more cars in Jordan now than there were last year. Sheer volume clogs our streets. I wish that Jordan hadn’t followed the seductive American dream. I wish Jordan had the public funds, the planning, and the political will to follow the sensible urban growth patterns in Europe. Europe kept its trolleys, trams, trains, and underground transportation systems. Their ‘inner’ cities are alive and well. But we have cars, cars, and more cars, and suburbia, and longer commutes. Tragically and paradoxically there are also more assembly lines world wide. We know that tanks and war materials, not only cars, continue to roll off them. So much for my wishful thinking, and again, sorry Henry.
ASH
posted by joladies at Tuesday, August 22, 2006
2 Comments:
I was in D-town last night and the only thing we have close to the Tolleys is the dreaded People Mover. There are the SMART buses, which connect the city to the suberbs of Farmington Hills, Pontiac, Birmingham, but they cost taxpayers $100 per rider, per ride...one way. Yep, it would be cheaper to buy every rider and new car. That that pathetic state of public transportation in Southeast Michigan. Workers who live in suberbia, drive 1 hour into the city and many are they only occupants in the gas guzzling vehicles and they are willing to pay $20 per day to park. That is the mentality here. There has been talk about a regional rail system but it hasn't moved forward. Even the Amtrak Chicago - Detroit route is more expensive the flights and takes much longer than the 55 minute plane ride.
I got a chance to ride the single trolley car in 1985 on a class trip to Detroit....probably more of at tourist thing than anything else at that time. It went from near the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, past Hart Plaza towards Cobo and up towards Lafeyette. If I remember it ran soley on electric power, but gone are rails and overhead wires.
I've read about a rail system being considered to link Amman to QAIA. That would be awesome if they actually build it!
JoLadies,
Sorry if this might sound offensive and rude, but Detroit is the last city I want to live in. The crime rate is extremely high, the city is dirty and polluted and it is so expensive. It needs a lot of work to get better. I went to Birmingham which looked nice but I was told it's so expensive to live there. I'm sure Michigan has a lot of nice areas to go to but there aren't many attractive things about Detroit.
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