Friday, June 15, 2012

Transportation Oriented Development - Sam W.

San Francisco's BART
Sam Wittmann
The Bay Area Rapid Transit, or BART is the system of mass transit in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, and is the oldest mass transit system in the country. It began as a concept in 1946, and ground was broken, after several setbacks, by the President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1964. BART is a system of subways that connect the entire Bay Area, with 44 stations and over 100 miles of track serviced. There are stations all throughout the area, making it easy to bike or walk nearly anywhere in San Francisco without driving or taking a taxi and using gas and energy. This cuts down on San Francisco's energy use and air pollution, and makes the population healthier and gives them more free time, since they do not have to actively drive on BART as they would if they were driving. In a BART station, the very first Library-a-Go-Go machine in America was added. This is a sort of "book vending machine" that functions as a library where people can check out books for reading on the subway system. The BART system is one of the most innovative transport systems in America and it's existence shows that San Francisco is a Transportation Oriented Development, and that the transportation system markedly improves the lives of the people in the city.

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