by John Avault
I want to point out an aspect of the economic significance that new mobility
options can have for Boston and other cities. I see Boston’s strong economy as
a force for good, benefiting its residents, businesses and workers. Greater Boston is an agglomeration of cities,
towns and institutions that power a vast array of modern technology.
In Boston’s vibrant economy, space is precious and land use competition
is fierce. We need space to live and space to work. We also need means to get
from one place to another. Our various transportation systems and
infrastructures entail costs as well as benefits. The private automobile
provides a high level of convenience and flexibility, but at a very high cost.
We see this in the price we pay to own and operate a car in Boston, and in the
price we pay to park. There are other dimensions of this cost that are not so
obvious.
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| Density and porto-potties are going up in historic downtown Boston |
The number of jobs in Boston exceeds the city’s residential population.
These jobs pay, on average, significantly more than Massachusetts and USA
averages. Boston’s office buildings contain more than 35% of the city’s jobs. These
jobs require, on average, less than 250 square feet of building space each.
Hospitals contain about 12% of jobs in the city, and they correspond to an
average of 211 square feet of building space each.
Stuck on Parking
Compare those numbers to a single parking space in a multi-story garage
that requires about 350 square feet of floor area. Seen in this light, the
automobile costs us more than just the money we spend. We are paying with very
valuable limited land that we really need for jobs and housing. Because
buildings and infrastructure are long-lived, we are paying by mortgaging our
future.
A technology that both improves transportation access and
conserves Boston’s valuable land for more productive uses deserves our serious
consideration and our active investigation. PRT (or ATN,
automated transit networks) can compete with the private automobile for
convenience and access, and steer our land use investments to more productive uses.
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| Outside Boston's core, the streetscape can still get cluttered with guideways . |
Boston is an exceptional city in many ways. Millions of New Englanders,
students and visiting faculty and experts identify with the “Hub of the
Universe”. It has extensive but troubled transit services. Podcars will have to
fit in delicately -- much as in other cities across the USA and, indeed, the
world.
