OH-14: A Conversation With Bill O'Neill on Transportation Policy
When David Potts and I were at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, the DNCC placed us in a hotel way out in suburban Aurora, CO. They provided media shuttles, however, those shuttles operated on fixed schedules that didn’t take into account any other events besides the DNC. Because of that, David and I ended up utilizing Denver’s light rail system every single day we were there to make the commute into Downtown. It was much easier and cheaper than trying to find a parking place, besides being clean, easy, and fast.
All this use of light rail in Denver reminded me of a conversation I had with 14th District Congressional Candidate Bill O’Neill. Bill O’Neill is a friend of this blog, and was gracious enough to sit down with me for a face-to-face chat about transportation issues.
You don’t have to talk to Bill for long to understand he is passionate about transportation issues in general and rail transportation in particular. “I believe the single greatest thing the federal government can do to rescue the economy is to give us commuter rail,” said O’Neill. At a time when gas prices are skyrocketing and family’s paychecks aren’t keeping up, O’Neill said, commuter rail can save family budgets, as well as improve quality of life. No longer must commuters sit in their cars burning expensive gas and wasting time that could be better spent. Rail passengers can do work, make phone calls without being dangerously distracted from driving, or just relax.
A study I unearthed provided some amplification of this point. While gas price spikes drive increased ridership of public transit, the study found that ridership tends not to go back down when gas prices subside. Commuter rail or light rail is especially valuable to commuters who have to deal with winter weather, as rail transit can operate at full capacity even during heavy snowfall while highway traffic is reduced to a crawl.
O’Neill makes it clear that if elected, he would be a champion for improved rail transit in Congress. “This is an exciting time to run for Congress because we need a sea change in Congressional thought processes when it comes to transportation. It’s time for us to stop playing by Dwight Eisenhower’s 1954 playbook, because it’s broken and it doesn’t work. Everyone needs to take a step back, and think about what a transportation system for the future would look like before we pour another yard of concrete,” said O’Neill.
Once Bill O’Neill gets elected to Congress, we can expect him to be an advocate for commuter rail, but not neceesairly for high-speed intercity rail, at least not yet. “People aren’t leaving their paychecks on the table trying to get to Cincinnati,” said O’Neill, “They’re leaving their paychecks on the table trying to get back and forth to work.” Then there’s also spin off development to consider. When riding Denver’s RTD light rail, David and I could see new condo buildings being built near light rail stops. We saw how bringing rail transit back to Denver’s Union Station revitalized Denver’s lower downtown or “LoDo” district. We saw apartments and condos being advertised as how close they were to light rail stops in addition to the highway.
Here’s hoping that Bill O’Neill gets elected to Congress and makes development like this a reality in the Cleveland area.
