My first experience with a transit system was when I was 15 years old in the summer of 1990. My parents decided to take me and my sister on a trip to New York and the east coast. I remember the trip clearly because I somehow sprained my ankle right before the trip and I was basically in pain for the better part of the first week into the trip.
We crashed at my aunt’s house–my parents are the kind of people that don’t believe in hotels–in a place called “Jamaica.” I thought (and still do think) that it was odd that there was a neighborhood of New York called Jamaica. But I digress…
After getting our bearings, my aunt explained how to get to the subway station. I hobbled down the street with my parents, hopped the bus (also a first for me at the time) and found our first subway station. After I picked up the subway map and hopped on board, I was hooked. New York’s subway system while a bit dilapidated is also one of the most successful systems in the world and I soon found out why. Basically, you could get within a few minutes walk of just about anywhere you wanted to be on Manhattan island by taking the subway. No traffic, no parking headaches, no worrying about your car getting dinged by the Minivan (SUVs weren’t popular back then yet) parked next to you.
I think at that point, I realized I was a total geek. Well, I knew this WAY before this moment but still…New York’s subway system solidified my undying love for all things related to transit, urban design, and moving people about their day. Ever since then, I’ve gravitated towards subways and transit systems of all sorts. Shanghai’s is spotless and efficient. Beijing’s is old and creaky but it works. Bangkok’s is comfortable, quiet, and offers nice views. London’s is crowded and awe-inspiring due to the sheer number of criss-crossing tubes there are. Athen’s is crowded and not-airconditioned (only some trains) which is a problem in Jul
y and August–those Greeks sure have a thing about not using air-conditioning. Los Angeles (“WTF??!–L.A. has a subway system??” you may be asking) is a little noisy, but comfortable and usually uncrowded seeing as how 90% of Angelinos barely know that buses exist in the city let alone an entire network of trains hurtling through underground tubes. San Francisco’s very own BART is LOUD and has carpet–CARPET!. There are probably a few others that I’ve left off the list but will no doubt wistfully remember at some future point I’m sure.
Anyway, if you’re looking for an interesting read or have a geek of your own in your care, I’m sure they’d appreciate this really nice and relatively inexpensive bit of mapping goodness.
|
||||||||
Popularity: 100% [?]
