It's a good thing I'm not in charge of public transit in Northwest Arkansas. I'd have gotten off that bus a long time ago.
It's not to say I don't think mass transit is important. Quite the contrary. As Northwest Arkansas grows -- if it grows wisely -- public transit will become more important, not less.
Being an advocate for public transit in the region, though, hasn't exactly been an easy ride. It's not terribly difficult to convince government leaders to nod in agreement that the region ought to position itself better for the future when it comes to mass transit. When questions of funding come along, though, it's harder to get people to come on board.
The real money, when it comes to mass transit in the region, is in printing, I suspect. Whoever has been printing reports about expanding the bus systems that serve the region, about the possibilities of speedy trains to move people around, has probably bought a lake house on the proceeds.
That is to say there's been a whole lot more written about having a robust transit system than the powers that be in Northwest Arkansas have ever come close to delivering.
Part of that is driven by the fact mass transit involves federal funding. Have you ever seen Little Shop of Horrors? The federal government is like Audrey II, the man-eating plant at the center of that show, except the government constantly cries "feed me" with reports.
The Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission knows how to feed the federal government. When it comes to transit and transportation, it's the federally designated metropolitan planning organization for the region, a sort of gatekeeper mechanism before projects can qualify for federal funding.
Right now, the agency is in the midst of an analytical effort called Connect Northwest Arkansas, attempting to figure out a 10-year transportation development plan that shows "what great transit looks like." The effort will eventually lead to community presentations and events this fall, with a goal of finalizing a plan for the next decade by the winter.
Nobody I know of believes Northwest Arkansas has anything resembling great transit today. That's no insult to the people who work hard running buses, but they're limited by what the region's leadership will support.
There's no question the region has the population to support at least a good mass transit system, but to develop a great one might prove too much for Northwest Arkansas to accomplish. Yes, we're a region whose leaders want to be perceived as rowing together in the same direction, but when it comes to mass transit, it seems some folks like to pull their oars out of the water.
Too much, mass transit is viewed as a last option, a system for the poor or disabled folks who don't have better transportation. That mentality is going to have to change if Northwest Arkansas' transit potential will ever be realized.
Likewise, the cities of the region need to take into account in their planning, zoning and development decisions whether the way they're growing contributes to the efficient operation of a mass transit system. Spreading population out all over kingdom come does little to create communities that can be efficiently served by mass transit. What that will get us -- whether 20 or 50 years from now -- will be the gridlock that has stymied big cities or regions elsewhere.
Advocates for better mass transit planning will tell you everything we can do today to plan for the future will make it far, far easier to deal with the coming growth. Ignoring it won't negate the need for a robust mass transit system; it will just make it much more expensive to implement.
Commentary on 06/23/2019