[stevenleeg]

What about an Ode to the MTA? Or an Ode to Amtrak? Or an Ode to MUNI? An ode to the bike lane!

I think the last thing the United States needs is more people glorifying the horrendous car culture that has been built up in this country.

[mdszy]

Let people enjoy things.

[empath75]

It’s hard to reform a thing if you don’t understand why people like it.

[helipad]

I suspect 'Ode to Amtrak' is one of the Led Zeppelin songs the author was referring to.

[jaywalk]

People like you are exactly why this ode is needed.

[OrangeMango]

Here you go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XyRdJr4LSc

FYI, the reason that song means something is because this is the train line that Abraham Lincoln signed legislation to create and has been running daily service almost uninterrupted since the end of the Civil War.

[AnimalMuppet]

You seem to be referring to the Pacific Railroad Act. But that created the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, not the Illinois Central.

Now, the Illinois Central was a land grant railroad, but it received the land grants in 1850, under President Fillmore, not under Lincoln.

[OrangeMango]

Interesting, thanks. I'll look more into that :)

[swimfar]

And here's one for the M.T.A (although it's not glorifying it):

The Kingston Trio - M.T.A. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Jw_v3F_Q0

[infecto]

Ode to needles on Bart?

But seriously. You cannot ignore the the importance that cars have played in America. Ya ya ya, cars are terrible, Europe is better but also much smaller. I am definitely looking to the future and hope we design smarter cities but we cannot ignore the past. None of the options you listed are part of Americana imo.

[danans]

> we cannot ignore the past. None of the options you listed are part of Americana imo.

To the contrary, commuter rail transit systems, primarily streetcars, were very much a feature of American cities from Cincinnati to San Francisco in the period from the late 1800s through the mid-century. Ignoring them is, as you yourself say, ignoring the past.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetcars_in_North_America

[infecto]

But for better or worse I would argue anything before 1900 is not really Americana, probably earlier. I think it holds true across the world. We are talking about nostalgia from childhood or your grandparents, popular media that you consumed. I am not saying to ignore the past but I have never heard of street cars romanticized like car driving in America is. Hell, tourists will come and rent a motorcycle or a car and drive across America. Sorry I confused you.

[ohples]

Maybe if we didn't have to spend billions of dollars per year maintaining an unsustainable highway system we could maybe do something about those needles.

And we not just talking gas tax, billions has been stolen from the general fund to prop up the highway trust fund: https://www.pgpf.org/budget-basics/budget-explainer-highway-...

[infecto]

I mean sure but honestly it stems from the constituents and nobody wants to deal with the fix. People love to praise public transportation but nobody wants to accept the costs associated with it. That's the Bay Area.

[Aloha]

Quite arguably in our mythos, the car effectively replaced the horse.

[criddell]

This probably wouldn't be a great time to sing the praises of crowded public transportation...