Get Around Town

"When a city gets public transportation right, it gets so much else right. So much is made better simply through the ability to get around."

So says my friend Gerry, who recently moved to Chicago after many years as a Baltimore City resident. During his last few years in Baltimore, he frequently live-tweeted his experiences using Baltimore public transit. It wasn't pretty. Now that he's in Chicago living the big city life, he's reveling in all the opportunities that decent transit affords him.

I thought of Gerry this week when Governor Hogan unveiled the shrouded mystery vehicle in Baltimore to announce his plan for better buses in Baltimore City. Would my friend, with painfully in-depth experience in using local public transit, think this was enough? A drop in the bucket? Too little, too late? I don't know. I haven't asked him yet.

Surely he would find Bryan Sears' vignette from the big event a delicious bit of Baltimore local color.

As Columbia continues evolving and moving towards a more lively community with a vibrant Downtown core, I believe the issue of transit is crucial. Connecting people to where they want and need to go will take us from suburban backwater to a place people actively chose to live, work and play.

I know there are some people who believe that Columbia is just fine as a suburban backwater but the fact is that the next stop on the line after that is suburban ghost town. Decent transit is not just for people who have no choice. We want to make it an option that people seek out to enhance their quality of life. We want it to be so appealing and reliable that people can count on it as a given.

"When a city gets public transportation right, it gets so much else right. So much is made better simply through the ability to get around."

What would Columbia look like if we could say this about ourselves?