Today’s Headlines

There’s another really interesting (and exciting) part of the Ireland story:

Once people there began to notice that the DWI checkpoints were seriously harming a deep-rooted, important part of society that the rural pub is, many people, including politicians, began calling for an expansion of night-time bus service, or the creation of free taxi service, in Ireland’s rural communities. Most of the suggestions were conceived specifically with relatively isolated pub-goers in mind.

The discussion appears to be ongoing, and different models of expanding rural transport are entering that debate (and, sadly, there are some who want to do nothing), but it is a fairly newsworthy issue over there:

http://www.athloneadvertiser.ie/index.php?aid=3451

(Also, a google news search of the subject will bring a bunch of other hits.)

Two things about this really fascinate me:

1. that national transportation officials in Ireland’s government recognize that the ability for community members to gather and socialize is important and healthy, and possibly worthy of government effort and financial subsidy.

2. also the more obviously streetsblog-related issues of how communities are laid out geographically (and how they got that way), how they’re served by public/private transport, and driving safety issues.

Hillary?

Ha!