Washington, DC. 38°12′, -77°10′. In the United States, the governor's race is heating up in Virginia, and we have a lot of talk about widening the I-66, the main artery that feeds DC from Virginia. I-66 is a freeway with a lot of history and today it is exactly that, just an old relic. The lack of space to expand on both sides within the beltway(along the lines of the ring roads in India) has made it a commuter's nightmare. The DC metro area is already one of the cities with the most traffic congestion in the United States. A lot of debate and open forums are being held in the capital to address these issues. Every time I open the local county newspaper (Loudoun county), I see big front page articles about town hall meetings, requests for opinions and other related items aimed at involving local people and communities in resolving this growing urban problem. What is more enlightening is that its not just people, but corporations that rally behind these initiatives and push the government into action. The corporates have a very vested interest which is perfectly alright in this case. A mall or hospital will lose business if traffic problems prevent access to their facilities. Despite all this, I still notice a certain lack of speed in the implementation of these proposals. I say that because living in this country you start expecting everything to happen at lightning speed. The culture of instant gratification has been perfected to utopian levels in this country. This is both good and bad at the same time. Read More...
Washington, DC. 38°12′, -77°10′. In the United States, the governor's race is heating up in Virginia, and we have a lot of talk about widening the I-66, the main artery that feeds DC from Virginia. I-66 is a freeway with a lot of history and today it is exactly that, just an old relic. The lack of space to expand on both sides within the beltway(along the lines of the ring roads in India) has made it a commuter's nightmare. The DC metro area is already one of the cities with the most traffic congestion in the United States. A lot of debate and open forums are being held in the capital to address these issues. Every time I open the local county newspaper (Loudoun county), I see big front page articles about town hall meetings, requests for opinions and other related items aimed at involving local people and communities in resolving this growing urban problem. What is more enlightening is that its not just people, but corporations that rally behind these initiatives and push the government into action. The corporates have a very vested interest which is perfectly alright in this case. A mall or hospital will lose business if traffic problems prevent access to their facilities. Despite all this, I still notice a certain lack of speed in the implementation of these proposals. I say that because living in this country you start expecting everything to happen at lightning speed. The culture of instant gratification has been perfected to utopian levels in this country. This is both good and bad at the same time. Read More...
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