Editorial Commentary

While I agree with Longhorn Liberties that “traffic in Austin has gotten progressively worse over the last few years”, I am not sure that creating a metro rail system in Austin would help.

I read an article by Amanda Haight where she explained that Austinites must first adopt a public transportation based lifestyle before millions of dollars are invested. Building a metro rail system in Austin would be difficult because it would have to be built around the city, whereas New York has had their underground subways since 1904. Cities like New York have been able to grow around their public transit system and there has always been room for it. Austin is constantly under construction and there is only so much it can fit. Building the rail in Austin would be very expensive and Austinites would have to be willing to give up their cars and use the rail. I think that if Austinites support the idea of making a metro rail system and actually use it, then the metro rails could be a good solution to the traffic problem.