For many who have heard of Medellín, Colombia, the name brings to mind the drug-related violence of the 1980s and 1990s, when it was often described as the most dangerous city in the world.
Over the last decade, Medellín has worked hard to change its image. The local government is investing in education and social programs, and the city recognizes the importance of providing an integrated public transportation system as the backbone of these projects.
Read more at Streetfilms.
Nice to see that Medellin has rebounded.
But this is what irritates me about RI. We are so damned short sighted. Note the streetcar line – you’re not hearing ANYTHING about that now. RIPTA just can’t get it’s act together.
Hopefully I’ll get good news, a job in a real city with real public transit infrastructure, not the sad excuse we have here.
Its very unfair to blame RIPTA that no funding is available to build the streetcar being proposed. They do not even have the revenue needed to keep the current system going, would Tony prefer to see the current bus service slashed for its users in order to build this line?
I think RIPTA has done everything possible to promote the idea of a streetcar with all the interest groups, but neither the city, the business community, the state, or the adjacent property owners are able or willing to put up any real funds.
I also do not agree with the negative “sad sack” assessment of our transit system. For a city of only 160,000 or so, we have a relatively good system, It cannot be compared to Medellin which has 2.7 million people. Compare us to Hartford, Worcester, not Medllin, Boston, NY, and such. RIPTA has good service to important destinations like Newport, Roger Williams Park, RIC, TF Green, Pawtucket, Centerdale etc. I think the best way to improve it is to talk it up where the service is good and try to get more riders and thus more supporters.
Medellín, Siempre Mejorando!