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Feature Article Draft 1
Feature Article Draft 1
Feature Article Draft 1
transportation system
By Emily Mastroianni
day, Clevelands Cuyahoga River, which runs through Northeast Ohio and
feeds into Lake Erie, caught fire due to its immensely polluted water. This
event set the stage for how the city of Cleveland would be perceived for the
into the Green City on a Blue Lake. The goal being that by 2019, the 50th
We will work through these 10 years, so that when the media comes back to
sustainable way. With only two years left to go, Sustainable Cleveland has
2009, its night and day, and a lot of that progress is looking at it from a
sustainability standpoint.
Much of this progress has also stemmed from the initiative dedicating
each year to one particular action area, for example, this year is The Year of
Vibrant Green Space, and last year was the Year of Sustainable
Transportation.
transit is pretty crucial to the quality of lifeit influences how people work,
who they socialize with, what they do in their free time, and who they
connect with. Therefore, The Year of Transportation was a vital part of the
for cities and nations worldwide happened in 1987, when the United Nations
climate change.
the environment.
According to a CQ Researcher article on mass transit in the United
States, Public transit ridership has grown 35% between 1996 and 2015,
single day travelling to and from work, school and other activities, according
Report.
remaining population to rely upon their own cars as their primary means of
current system isnt the most sustainable system with a lot of people driving
alone in their own cars, says Gray, confirming that the availability of public
sector is one of the primary users of energy in the United States, and most
energy than private vehicles, the average amount of energy utilized per
fact, heavy rail transit, such as subways and metros, produce on average,
76% lower greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile than an average
single-occupancy vehicle.
emitted into the air, but also reduces the amount of wasted fuel. For
947 million gallons of fuel were saved solely from passengers using transit
passengers because it removes the distance and travel time spent sitting in
resulting cost of 3.7 billion hours of travel delay, and 2.4 billion gallons of
wasted fuel.
that owns one car and supplements this by using public transportation can
save around $6,000 a year compared to those families who use two cars, and
system removes cars from the road. If we didnt exist, you would see a lot
more congestion in Cleveland, and a lot more pollution, so by its very nature,
all public transit systems are good for the environment, says Jerry Masek,
In terms of changes made, Masek confirms that the RTA has recently
the rail cars run on electricity, the buses are fueled using either propane or
compressed natural gas, and one of the newer additions, the Bus Rapid
Transit, runs on diesel electric. In fact, Solomon adds, there are 93 buses in
In 2015 Solomon confirmed that the RTA set priorities and strategies
for sustainability efforts in upcoming years, aligning most of their goals with
truly believes that the City of Cleveland will be remembered much more
positively during the 50th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River Fire in two short
years.
Agency is because Cleveland and Chicago kept catching on fire, but I know
with it, and its efforts will be recognized nationally come 2019.
References