The Marketing Technology Blog

Chris Katterjohn wrote a fantastic article in the IBJ yesterday on Urban Sprawl. He highlighted how the Indianapolis region has really done a poor job of planning transportation in the region. I couldn’t agree more. What concerns me most is that our regional planners don’t appear to have the insight to go see where it’s been done correctly and follow other cities’ lead. Efficient public transportation is not a mystery, there are tons of examples out there of cities who do it best.

Public transit is seen as an expense here in the region and not an investment. I went to High School in Vancouver, B.C. and recently visited some friends there while on a business trip. They own a condominium in a building downtown that is a converted warehouse. It’s a fantastic building overlooking downtown. The city has doubled in size since I lived there, but the roads all appeared to be the same size… with no additional highways. The only traffic we ran into was getting from the outskirts of the region into the suburbs and city. Once we were in, though, we didn’t hit any traffic.

I believe a key to Vancouver’s success has been their focus on transportation. I have not yet lived in a city (and I’ve lived in a lot of cities) that had the efficient transportation that Vancouver had. A combination of bike routes, bike racks on buses, student rates, light rail, and electric buses make moving about the city incredibly easy. Additionally, ‘Smart Cars’ are now making a huge impact there in the city. These are 2-seater cars that get 100 miles to the gallon but are illegal in the United States because they don’t meet safety standards. As well, on the occasions I took a cab - every single one was a Hybrid.

A few years ago I lived in Denver and I wrote a letter to their Public Transportation department encouraging them to visit Vancouver and meet with their regional planners. I would encourage IndyGo to visit both Denver and Vancouver. In visiting Denver they may find out what Denver did right and wrong… in Vancouver they will find out how to truly build a transportation infrastructure that is prepared for tomorrow rather than the demands of today.

We all know that building roads is a key to a thriving community; however, using those roads efficiently is even more important in maintaining growth, economic development, and a thriving downtown.

I look forward to the day I can park my car and take the light rail into work! It was always pleasant in Vancouver and in Denver. I was able to catch up on work and my reading and removed much of the stress of a long commute to work. As well, the transit system worked with local businesses efficiently. My company actually paid for our annual transit costs in order to avoid parking costs and reimbursements.