Introduction  |  Conclusion   |   Speakers  |   Sponsors

Columbus and surrounding communities must develop a transportation policy that promotes the use of many modes of transportation, such as rail and bus transit, bicycles and walking, and provides realistic alternatives to increasing auto use. Many parts of the Columbus metropolitan area's automobile-based transportation system are turning into permanent rush hours and unending costly construction zones, with long delays likely at any time. It is impossible for the city to build its way out of this problem by constructing more highways or highway lanes.

Speaker Paul Weyrich reminded us that our transportation problems have not come about by accident: "The current domination by the automobile does not reflect a free market in action. Massive government intervention has so skewed the market toward the automobile that many consumers do not have the option of a high-quality transit system. The current dominance of the automobile in the United States would not have arisen without public policies that directly and indirectly encourage Americans to use the automobile."