Following World War Two, many Americans moved from cities to the suburbs for clean new houses and big lawns. The resulting urban sprawl eventually became a concern in eastern states because of their large populations and small land mass. But sprawl has only recently become an issue in the once land-rich Midwest. This spring, 135 people from Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana took a bus trip to the east coast to get ideas about containing development and protecting farmland. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Grant reports:
Tag: bus
ROOM FOR DEVELOPMENT &Amp; FARMING? (Part 2)
Some Midwesterners concerned that urban sprawl is eating up too much farmland recently took a bus trip to the east coast. They wanted to visit states such as Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Planners in those states have been dealing with the problem of too many people and not enough land for decades. The bus tour participants looked at different ways to preserve open spaces while still allowing development. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Grant looks at a program that doesn’t cost taxpayers money:
Riders Pay With Recyclables
The city of Seymour, Indiana had two problems: it’s low-income residents
needed public transportation, and like most cities across the nation, it
needed to reduce the amount of waste heading to landfills. Working with
state and federal government agencies, the city solved both problems,
with one solution never before tried in any U-S city: a public bus that
accepts recyclables as fare. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Janet
Babin reports:
The Cost of Alternative Fuels
While many motorists have enjoyed the lower gasoline and diesel fuel
prices the last couple of years… those lower prices have made
alternative fuels such as natural gas relatively more expensive. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports… the managers of
one bus fleet are wondering if running less polluting buses is worth the
cost:
Public Transportation Loses Constituency
Residents of large cities have relied on public transportation for decades. And in recent years, cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. have all seen ridership on their transit systems grow. But Chicago is an exception. And while many cities have succeeded in making public transit a priority, Chicago is still looking for the answer to its transit woes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel reports: