Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Fwd: Next to the highway

[Joel Woodhull (jwoodhull]

I would like to know which cohousers would be willing to give up
the right to roar past other people's dwellings in return for the
peace and tranquility they usually seek in cohousing.  Generally
speaking, the more tranquil the site, the more likely every
resident is to drive, and to drive past greater numbers of other
dwellings along the way.
 
The search for tranquility, coupled with the automobile that
makes living in distant areas possible, is the cause of the
suburban sprawl that many of us abhor.
 
In the specific case of the Peninsula project, the institutional
underpinning of the conspiracy is Caltrans, which persists in
adding more lanes to their highways rather than building the
soundwalls that most people would prefer.
 
The project is within walking/cycling distance of a downtown
frequently cited as a model for reversing suburban sprawl, a
Caltrain Station, and a future light rail station.  To make it
more desirable for people to live there and take advantage of
those more environmentally benign transportation alternatives, it
would be only fair that the rest of the people of California,
through their taxes, should contribute to those sound walls.
 
Good luck to the Peninsula Housing Partners in their difficult
and admirable endeavor.  I hope Rita decides that the noise
problems are manageable and signs up.
 
Joel Woodhull
Pasadena