For those of you so inclined to toss away a couple hours of your Saturday afternoon/evening, there will be a meeting at the City-County Building located in downtown Indianapolis in room T-260. Per the release,
“Congressman Mica is holding listening sessions and other meetings around the country to inform the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s drafting of a long-term reauthorization of the nation’s surface transportation programs.
The Committee is seeking input on how to consolidate and improve the performance of programs, cut government red tape and streamline the project delivery process, increase private sector investment in our infrastructure, identify creative financing alternatives, and other ideas for writing the legislation. The previous multi-year law (SAFETEA-LU) expired in September 2009”
I would suggest RSVP’ing but I tried this morning and all the seats are full. However, standing room is available. I plan on getting there early to make sure I have a standing room spot in the room. The meeting is from 4-6pm, and located in room T-260.
Meanwhile, Mitch dished out more future dollars to extend his driveway in southern Indiana!
fyi – I heard that if you have not rsvp-ed, you will not be allowed in the room. Unfortunately, not a true public meeting.
I inquired by phone and they said that all seats were already claimed via RSVP. However, we would be allowed to stand in the room.
Below is the US News top 10 Transit Cities:
http://www.usnews.com/news/slideshows/the-10-best-cities-for-public-transportation
I thought that you’d find this interesting…the best transit cities list doesn’t include many mid western cities, however it does include my hometown of Minneapolis. Indianapolis is really missing the boat (or has missed the boat) on light rail from the airport to Union Station as a base to build from…that was a no brainer and complete missed opportunity. In Minneapolis, the airport to downtown Hiawatha line is widely popular with business people and leisure travelers alike.
Indianapolis has great potential and I would encourage city transit planners to visit other midsize cities to study just how effective and viable it could be here.
Another interesting point is that Minneapolis is one of the most bike friendly cities that I’ve ever lived in…and yes even in cold temperatures.