Written comments posted on The Brian Lehrer Show’s web site following the January 13th show with Steve Anderson, Managing Director, InfrastructureUSA, & PA Governor Edward G. Rendell. See The Infra Blog for more details.
Steve from Brooklyn
“I travel back and forth to Baltimore and Boston for work, and I prefer trains to planes. What’s going on with the high speed trains in the Northeast? When can I take a high speed train to Maine?”
Lorraine from Westchester
“Lots of talk about money for schools, but not so much about the buildings themselves. My school had has heating problems since October. Teachers and students are wearing their coats indoors and we are told to “send memos” to various administrators! It’s been a very cold winter.”
Linda from Upper West Side
“Wonderful and much needed discussion. I think about this all the time — you can’t help it if you live in New York City — and how many jobs there are waiting to be filled if we ever get serious about rebuilding America’s infrastructure.
And speaking of rail travel: I flew New York to DC one time; I never will again. I thought it would be faster. Technically it was, but the airport red tape and travel to the airport and schlepping at either end erased that advantage. Nothing compares in convenience to rail for most regional travel.”
Uos from Queens
“what’s the point of subsidizing high speed rail? the railroads have been losing money for a long time.. it’ll be another piece of infrastructure that will suck money from the roads, subways, trains that are already there. If it was sustainable, environmentally and economically.. businesses would put up the money.”
Hugh Sansom from Brooklyn
“…The fundamental problem is that Americans reject categorically the idea that public spending on public goods (water, transit, energy) is a good thing. The US may be alone in the world in this idiotic, self-destructive thinking.”
Kai from NJ-NYC
“Water infrastructure is one of the major – if often hidden and taken for granted – that we need to take care of in the U.S….”
Denise from Stony Brook, Long Island
“What percentage of this infrastructure would be going to public transportation (high speed trains/subways/etc.)? We are so far behind in this regard across the country.”
Tags: Baltimore, Boston, Brian Lehrer, Edward G. Rendell, New York, NY, PA, Pennsylvania, Steve Anderson, The Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC