A Roadmap to a Better City

Background:

Transportation systems can help or harm a city’s growth and the lives of its residents. A successful transportation infrastructure can attract businesses, schools, tourists, and new residents. The transportation challenges that cities face are complex and intertwined. The various stakeholders (city residents, business owners, suburban residents, commuters, passthrough travelers, tourists, etc.) have different needs and priorities within those systems. Often one element or component of a transportation system favors one stakeholder over others therefore creating an interference with other needs of the system. Highways, bus routes, and rail systems can interfere with local city bikers and pedestrians and vice versa when vehicle drivers are delayed by city walkways and traffic lights. Sometimes, the biggest obstacle to effective transportation systems is the city’s geography – water (rivers, harbors, streams, drainage runoff) or landforms (hills, ditches, valleys, slopes). Even soil composition and weather conditions can be disruptive.