Now Boarding, the 5:15 express - Essay Example

rticle also reminds one about the facts Levy points out in his book because this shows how the city has managed to tackle various challenges through the new system. Along with this, other similar success stories of Albany to Schenectady, and Pittsburgh are provided to show that this system can replace light-rail as an effective alternative. Admittedly, the most important attraction is the start-up costs. As it is pointed out in the article, a light-rail system would have cost nearly $800 million instead of the present $200 million (Youker).

That means the first point that strikes ones mind is the low cost involved. Similarly, it is rather interesting to note the planning phase of the project. It is seen that during the design phase, the authorities spent considerable amount of time interacting with various people including ‘businesses, churches, and residents’ along the route in order to answer their queries and to listen to their concerns (Youker). Thus, necessary changes were made in order to accommodate the reasonable demands of people.

Thus, it becomes evident that when this new project was introduced, it was done with the active involvement of the people. Evidently, this project has proved that city buses can be an effective alternative to light rail. Admittedly, as the article points out, light rail is these days considered as the only way to reduce city traffic. However, this project has proved that it is possible to reduce traffic using city buses. This effort can be considered as a way of reducing waste and utilizing the existing resources to the maximum possible extent.

This is so because according to the article, the work was easy because it utilized the existing roads and converted it into a four-lane road for the purpose. Thus, it becomes an example of sustainable development as suggested by Levy. Evidently, this development will change the way city planners think about controlling traffic congestion. First of all, it proved that it is possible