Transportation
The Issue
Blessed with an abundance of open space, most American cities sprawl outward from a town center. In a sparsely populated state like Wyoming, regional centers can be separated by great distances. A consequence of this pattern of growth is that most people rely on an automobile to travel to work—often at significant expense. Given the high cost of vehicles, fuel and insurance, a substantial percentage of worker income goes directly back into transportation—and a broken-down car can quickly translate into a lost job. In addition, underdeveloped local and regional public transportation systems do not yet provide a practical and adequate alternative to automobile travel.
Our Plan
LCCP members continue to plan and advocate for local and regional transportation solutions that will allow more workers to use public transportation to commute to work. We are also expanding our efforts to publicize and develop carpool and ride-share options, so commuters have more ways to share costs. We are engaging with large employers to investigate models of worker mobility that focus on efficiency, convenience and safety. Finally, our efforts include making urban areas more pedestrian and bicycle friendly, so that people have safe, well-marked and well-lit corridors by which to move by non-motorized means.
