The Public Spaces Listserve is an open forum for people of all backgrounds to discuss the pressing (and sometimes not-so-pressing) issues concerning public spaces. Below are some highlights from recent discussions.

On HOW TO REGULATE TRAFFIC

Mass transit is underfunded and marginalized, thus service and safety are issues, so that becomes the great excuse to not use it and to take more funds away from it, etc. If perhaps there were less people driving and more people riding buses and trains, the riders would demand improvements in service, safety, etc. the same way drivers demand more lanes, less traffic, less bikes and pedestrians to slow them down. I'm not sure payment is the way, but it's not a bad idea. You drive, you pay... you don't drive, you don't pay.

- Jason King

There was an article in last week's New Yorker about traffic patterns in downtown Manhattan, specifically how they could be regulated in the not too distant future using EZ pass to adjust the amount charged depending on the time of day, whether you were going into or out of town, whether you lived in Manhattan or not, and a host of other possible variables.

The author even mentioned the possibility of creating special express lanes on bridges that cost more than the slower lanes. The stated advantage was possible reduced traffic and a lot of revenue for the city; the scary part would be that driving would become something only the very rich could afford to do. The author dismissed the concern over "Lexus lanes" saying that even for middle class commuters, the time they spend in traffic is so long that it would be worth it for them to pay the $10 or so because it would save them more than an hour. What seems unclear is that if the price is worth it to anyone, then will the traffic be reduced at all?

- Nick D'Avella

If driving into the City of London during peak hours is taken from a "right" to a "paid privilege" than how will the mass transit system handle the increased load, both with buses, the Tube and the trains? While new bike lanes and sidewalks are vital and necessary there also needs to be a quick and efficient mass transit system in big cities to move people around.

Ken Livingstone's concept is unique and I complement him on slowing down traffic. Trafalgar Square is as nice to be in as a pedestrian as is Piccadilly Circus. Yet let the masses have a sound and safe subway, train and bus system that is not riddled with crime and expediency problems. I understand that it is not uncommon for London trains coming into Waterloo station to be not just a few minutes late but much worse. So I hope that he is working on all of the transport system and working to get people and goods transported, not just cars and double-decker buses. Paris is also working on its system, which like London has streets which are not much wider than the car itself.

- Dick Schaffer

On PLANNING AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Maybe the time has come, the Walrus said, for local municipalities to do real Environmental Impact Studies of proposed development proposals...

There will still be plenty of money to be made - however, with good planning, the preservation of wetlands, "green buildings" that suck up less water and cost less to cool and heat, a sense of the natural topography of the area (with an eye to the aquifer) a sensitively developed area with a sustainable environment is less likely to become a wasteland or ghost town 30 years down the road.

I realize that Tony Soprano might want to pour a lot of concrete, but there's money to be made in plants and landscaping too!

- Adam Honigman

As someone who has prepared many EIS's, I don't have much faith in them, especially if consultants paid by developers prepare them. Too often the risks are minimized. Municipalities should do long-term planning to determine the population density they want to support, and how fast they plan to construct new schools and infrastructure. Water supply is a quantifiable scientific basis to manage growth which is easy for thetoughest "good ol boys" to support and will be hard to ignore.

- Melanie Hesse, RLA

On MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT

30 years ago a small town in the USA couldn't afford a new high school--so they did an 'En Charrette (a real one, not a pretend one, like 94% of so-called En Charrettes) and then they built a shopping mall with the school on the second floor over the retails stores. Not only did the retail rents pay for the capital cost and the overhead to pay for heat etc. for the mall and the school--it also covered part of the educational materials used in the classrooms. The Smart Growth approach to urban design is also pushing 'mixed use,' which makes sense from a livability point of view.

- Harry Pasternak