The Cynical Idealist

I want to talk about Bus Rapid Transit on Broad Street. First, I’d like to take a second to regroup and get clear around what we’re talking about when we talk about BRT on Broad Street. We’re talking about improved quality of life for Richmonders that depend on public transportation for their livelihoods when an efficient rapid transit system shaves 7.5 minutes off of their commute door to door. We’re talking about greater job security for those same individuals will no longer risk being fired because missing 1 bus made them over an hour late. We’re talking about making a shift from auto-centric infrastructure to multi-modal transportation systems that increase access to public spaces, bricks and mortar businesses, and each other. We’re talking about less congestion as a viable and increasingly convenient alternative to cars becomes available. We’re talking about opportunities for increased regional cooperation and interaction. We’re talking about an investment in our city that will benefit the city for decades to come.

Unfortunately, these are not the conversations Richmond is having. The conversations we’re having are about losing left turns on Broad Street or losing parking spaces in dense neighborhoods. We’re having conversations about not in my back yarders’ imagined possible worst case scenarios and losing sight of the bigger picture. Local business owners are understandably concerned about the long term effects of extended construction and changing traffic patterns on their ability to stay open, but we’re turning to torches and pitchforks too soon. We’re having conversations about returning funds for the one of the largest TIGER grants awarded to a municipality in 2014. That’s a conversation about turning down $24.9 million of federal money to invest in our city’s infrastructure, a decision that could diminish our ability to receive federal transportation grants in the future. We’re having these conversations because we are (understandably) skeptical of the leadership we’ve seen in our City Hall. For every thoughtful committed public servant Richmond has, we’ve got a doofus who also turns out to be some kind of criminal. Still, we can be as skeptical as we want about the city’s leadership, but we can not translate that skepticism into blanket opposition to any kind of change.

The root cause of of this narrative derailment seems to be fear. Tuesday night, I went with a few friends to the Fan District Association’s meeting about BRT on Broad St. Our experience at that meeting was frustrating and disappointing in so many ways, largely because of the level of fear in the room. When we’re afraid, it means that we aren’t hopeful and we aren’t considering projects with a mind toward our collective future beyond the borders of any one neighborhood or socio economic class. Fear means we’re so bent on leaving the hardships of the past behind that we become comfortable with “good enough for me right now” and stop imagining the best future we can. Fear means we count “stopping projects and ideas and plans” as achievements even if we never follow up with better ideas in their place (for context: the FDA consistently touts city projects they have halted as their primary achievements). Fear means we stop trying and stop growing and stop accelerating. If we do that we’re going backwards.

Earthen cabin in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland.