But that takes me to a pet peeve of mine. To make public transport work well you need to accept high density housing. Unfortunately the Nimby attitude is alive and well among both blue and red America.
On the positive side I remember reading after the Nov. elections that Colorado approved a major commuter rail project for the greater Denver area. If it gets built I believe it will be the first large scale mass transit project to be created since the Washington Metro and that one I believe is the only post WWII one - i.e. the only one since the advent of the car culture.
The Colorado Springs area has about the population of Luxembourg, is incredbily densely populated (Luxembourg: 2586 sq km, CS: 482 sq km), and has pretty good public transport, considering its reputation.
Sure, we love our SUVs when an emergency arises and a trip is needed to the grocery store for ice cream. But we have bus service http://www.springsgov.com/Page.asp?NavID=1191 and point-to-point service for the disabled and a free downtown shuttle and a pretty comprehensive bike path system with around 500 miles of off-street and on-street bike lanes. http://www.trailsandopenspaces.org/trails/index.htm
No passenger train service, though. Just coal http://www.mtnwestrail.com/roadtrip/sept0499.htm (This last link worth looking at if you want to know what Colorado really looks like...)
And while not so "blue", Denver is indeed currently building a suburban extension to it's light rail system, and there's a proposal (that has bipartisan support) for a new passenger rail service connecting Cheyenne, Denver, CS, Pueblo, and Albuquerque.
And if you want to leave the city and get somewhere rural, you really have to have a car. You can take a train to the suburbs, but once you are there you still need a car. Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
