Transit-Oriented America, Part 5: Wrap-Up

10:18 AM EDT on August 24, 2007

Thanks all for reading and commenting on our non-motorized honeymoon travel series (see parts 1, 2, 3 and 4). Below is a table Susan put together to briefly summarize some of our observations on the cities we visited.

	Transit	Bike Accesibity	Amtrak Station	Street life and art
Chicago	Loop El made all connections we needed	Pedicabs exist, but are limited; Lakefront greenway; Bikers are seen on most of the city streets too. Flat.	Great station, however the grand hall seems to be off to the side and therefore less used.	Bustling city; monumental public artwork.
Seattle	Many bus routes, some electrified	Lots of hills, didn't see many bikers.	Renovations to the ceiling will make this station a better place.	Pigs everywhere painted different colors; tech money allows for amenities
Portland	Modern light rail (two systems?)	Great greenway system and tons of on-street bike paths.	Classy bustling station. "Go By Train" sign on the clock tower was a welcome sight.	"Keep Portland Weird" is less a slogan, more a way of life
San Francisco	An amazing variety of buses and trains, some vintage	Hills, but cyclists persevere.	Amtrak serves the city only with buses; use Oakland, Emeryville or San Jose for trains.	Tons of performers, packed sidewalks, awesome walk-in fountain.
Los Angeles	Has light rail and clean new subway.	More time needed for additional study.	Amazing old station like a Hollywood movie set surrounded by palms with deco style, but some parts are closed.	Well-done graffiti and murals; few pedestrians.
New Orleans	Sexy vintage streetcars with big windows, grassy right-of-way	Flat. Lots of small streets and many bikers. Coaster bikes seem to be the regional favorite.	Functional but drab station right downtown. Service to Florida is suspended indefinitely.	Lots of street musicians, lots of tourists in French Quarter

For those of you who want some more U.S. transit-oriented travel stories, check out Twin City Sidewalks' visits to Chicago and Washington, Babylon, L.I., Savannah, Ga. and Durham, N.C., and also visit Dave KCMO, who liveblogged his 8,789 miles on Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada.

Aaron Donovan

Before he began blogging about land use and transportation, Aaron Donovan wrote The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund's annual fundraising appeal for three years and earned a master's degree in urban planning from Columbia. Since then, he has worked for nonprofit organizations devoted to New York City economic development. He lives and works in the Financial District, and sees New York's pre-automobile built form as an asset that makes New York unique in the United States, and as a strategic advantage that should be capitalized upon.

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