The lowering of recent gas prices have given many people a new sense of economic security in which they seem to have forgotten the $4.00 a gallon price just four or five months ago. In my area, you would hardy see a Hummer on the road back then, now they are popping up everywhere again, more and more everyday. It is like drivers parked them in a garage waiting for them to be affordable to drive again.

It is the same with our local utility companies. They kept the larger Ford F550 work trucks and other big vehicles in the parking fence and limited their use in the summer and early fall. Now the trucks are gone during the day showing they are being used again. It is a water company in Florida so there may be other factors than just fleet fueling costs, but I am sure it did have something to do with their budgets and fleet plans.

Most concerning of less driving, while we do need to do so, is the majority mindset that has totally forgotten about alternative fueling sources, smaller vehicles, and other transportation forms. The talk around the water cooler, the local coffee shop, and the lobby at church was about the new technology being created for fueling our cars and trucks to get us off of imported oil and gasoline in general. Today, many of these same people I come in contact with say they have other things to be concerned about since they can “afford” gas again at $1.65 a gallon than the Pickens Plan, batteries for cars, or giving up size and comfort of a larger vehicle.

It seems that as American’s more forward, we seem to forget about the past. It reminds me of the 1980′s all over again when my father went from driving less during the oil shortage to buying hot rod sportscars that drank fuel like a jogger drinking water. What a shame……..

The lowering of recent gas prices have given many people a new sense of economic security in which they seem to have forgotten the $4.00 a gallon price just four or five months ago. In my area, you would hardy see a Hummer on the road back then, now they are popping up everywhere again, more and more everyday. It is like drivers parked them in a garage waiting for them to be affordable to drive again.

It is the same with our local utility companies. They kept the larger Ford F550 work trucks and other big vehicles in the parking fence and limited their use in the summer and early fall. Now the trucks are gone during the day showing they are being used again. It is a water company in Florida so there may be other factors than just fleet fueling costs, but I am sure it did have something to do with their budgets and fleet plans.

Most concerning of less driving, while we do need to do so, is the majority mindset that has totally forgotten about alternative fueling sources, smaller vehicles, and other transportation forms. The talk around the water cooler, the local coffee shop, and the lobby at church was about the new technology being created for fueling our cars and trucks to get us off of imported oil and gasoline in general. Today, many of these same people I come in contact with say they have other things to be concerned about since they can “afford” gas again at $1.65 a gallon than the Pickens Plan, batteries for cars, or giving up size and comfort of a larger vehicle.

It seems that as American’s more forward, we seem to forget about the past. It reminds me of the 1980′s all over again when my father went from driving less during the oil shortage to buying hot rod sportscars that drank fuel like a jogger drinking water. What a shame……..

We still drive cars to go to work and to buy groceries, but we only put about 20K miles a year combined on two cars, with about 15K put on by my wife as a small business broker. In the 1990s, I’d routinely run up 25K miles in a year by myself.

Given this, I can’t help but wonder if the best “transportation infrastructure” for the buck is superfast internet for all.

We still drive cars to go to work and to buy groceries, but we only put about 20K miles a year combined on two cars, with about 15K put on by my wife as a small business broker. In the 1990s, I’d routinely run up 25K miles in a year by myself.

Given this, I can’t help but wonder if the best “transportation infrastructure” for the buck is superfast internet for all.

We still drive cars to go to work and to buy groceries, but we only put about 20K miles a year combined on two cars, with about 15K put on by my wife as a small business broker. In the 1990s, I’d routinely run up 25K miles in a year by myself.

Given this, I can’t help but wonder if the best “transportation infrastructure” for the buck is superfast internet for all.

I hear that all the time but find it pretty difficult to believe. In the case of your example, until recently I lived in one of those outlying Dallas suburbs (Frisco). Nearly all of my neighbors worked at Legacy Business Park (about 3 miles away), the remainder somewhere outside 635, mostly north of the GBT. The situation is similar in the outlying burb I live in now – 40 miles from city center, I am not aware of a single neighbor who works more than 10 miles away except me, but I only go into the office once a week – and was when I lived on the west coast as well, leaving me very suspicious of the general criticisms of urban sprawl.

On the public transportation issue: the area I live in now has an outstanding rapid transit system that is grossly underutilized. I hear one massively expensive idea for increasing ridership after another, when one simple, relatively cheap (by mass transit standards anyway) measure would, I’m pretty sure, massively increase ridership in an instant: put a police officer on every car (the same was true of th DART rail system in Dallas, by the way). You will never get people to use public transit if they believe doing so puts them in danger.

I hear that all the time but find it pretty difficult to believe. In the case of your example, until recently I lived in one of those outlying Dallas suburbs (Frisco). Nearly all of my neighbors worked at Legacy Business Park (about 3 miles away), the remainder somewhere outside 635, mostly north of the GBT. The situation is similar in the outlying burb I live in now – 40 miles from city center, I am not aware of a single neighbor who works more than 10 miles away except me, but I only go into the office once a week – and was when I lived on the west coast as well, leaving me very suspicious of the general criticisms of urban sprawl.

On the public transportation issue: the area I live in now has an outstanding rapid transit system that is grossly underutilized. I hear one massively expensive idea for increasing ridership after another, when one simple, relatively cheap (by mass transit standards anyway) measure would, I’m pretty sure, massively increase ridership in an instant: put a police officer on every car (the same was true of th DART rail system in Dallas, by the way). You will never get people to use public transit if they believe doing so puts them in danger.

I don’t care if you think I’m a “jerk”, nor am I bothered by any of your other insults. I’ll simply point out that it is you who call names. Every comment from you on this site is an attack on someone with a dissenting opinion.

As editor you are responsible for choosing what gets printed on your site, as well as how that content is presented. I’ve done my job. I think now you’ll be more careful about spreading stories that are potentially harmful to your own goals.

I’ll leave you now. Apparently name calling is what passes for intelligent discourse. Over and out.