In my city (Portland, Oregon, USA), consistent nagging finally got us improved bus service and frequency, road diets, and “express” buses that have signalling priority over cars. One of my friends’ father works for a local organisation that advocates against car infrastructure in favour of better public transportation and biking infrastructure. In the past ten years, we have had:
Entirely new light rail line extending south into the suburbs
Scrapped motorway expansion in exchange for improvements to a commuter rail line that runs parallel to it
“Frequent service” bus routes that run every 15 minutes or better during peak hours
Free public transportation for students during the school year and over the summer
Tolls on a major motorway to offset maintenance and improvement costs
“FX” express bus routes with nice bus shelters, signalling priority, and those long accordion busses
Big pay rise for bus drivers, up to $25/hr now I think
Road diet on a large arterial street in the southeast, adding bike lanes and a median
Lowered speed limits across the city
Designated “neighbourhood greenway” bike routes
Major downtown arterial shrank to 2 lanes, with a segregated bike path installed in the freed space
Improvements to the Springwater Corridor bike trail (use for commuting also)
In my city (Portland, Oregon, USA), consistent nagging finally got us improved bus service and frequency, road diets, and “express” buses that have signalling priority over cars. One of my friends’ father works for a local organisation that advocates against car infrastructure in favour of better public transportation and biking infrastructure. In the past ten years, we have had: