Perhaps the biggest positive from yesterday's presser is that Obama linked the idea of high-speed rail to local transit, center cities, and car-free transportation:
Imagine boarding a train in the center of a city. No racing to anairport and across a terminal, no delays, no sitting on the tarmac, nolost luggage, no taking off your shoes. (Laughter.) Imagine whiskingthrough towns at speeds over 100 miles an hour, walking only a fewsteps to public transportation, and ending up just blocks from yourdestination. Imagine what a great project that would be to rebuildAmerica.
Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.