What planning fads of today will be looked at as possible mistakes in the future

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

the US seems to have taken it ffrom a transportation option to the only option.

While I think the way that many US cities have implemented rail is a legitimate topic, this statement is just patently ridiculous. Light rail and streetcar projects are a tiny, tiny portion of US transportation spending. There is no city in the country in which light rail mileage exceeds road mileage or bus route mileage. I doubt there is any state in the country where capital spending on light rail exceeds capital spending on roads, much less dominates it to the extent it would be necessary to claim it is something like the "only" thing being done. BRT and bus priority projects are active in many cities around the country, as are commuter rail projects and other progressive transportation ideas like bikesharing and carsharing.

Maybe you mean to say that with a couple of notable exceptions in the largest/densest cities, heavy rail subways aren't generally considered very often? But that's a far cry from "light rail is the only transportation option being considered in America".