KROCKMALNIC

While studying the northeastern United States in the 1950s, French geographer Jean Gottmann published a book that described the 500-mile, metropolitan area stretching from Boston to Washington as one that “provides the whole of America with so many essential services ... that it may well deserve the nickname of ‘Main Street of the nation.’”

According to the 2000 census, that metropolitan area includes more than 44 million people or roughly 16 percent of the entire U.S. population. Also, four of the seven “consolidated metropolitan statistical areas” in the country are part of Gottmann’s “megalopolis”: New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, Washington-Baltimore, Philadelphia-Wilmington, Del.-Atlantic City, and Boston-Worcester, Mass.-Lawrence, Mass.

Over the years, this densely populated area has been quick to embrace innovative public transportation ideas. In the United States, the first horse-drawn omnibus service began in 1829 along New York’s Broadway. Placing the omnibus on iron rails was the next major step; such a development was made between Manhattan’s Prince and Fourteenth streets in 1832. That same year, commuter travel by steam railroad began in New York. And in 1897, Boston became the first American city to open a subway system.

In time, these pioneering ideas spread from the Northeast and were embraced by metropolitan areas looking to transport people in the most timely, cost-efficient, and secure ways possible. Cities used Northeast models as templates for their own systems, making the necessary modifications and enhancements to better suit their particular populations. Today, this trend continues, with metropolitan areas throughout the South, Midwest, and West Coast creating public transportation infrastructure based on concepts that frequently originate in the Northeast.

The concept of intermodalism

Intermodal transportation centers are versatile facilities designed to provide travelers with a variety of transportation options, including trains, subway systems, buses, ferries, and even water taxis. A key component is making certain the traveling public can conveniently transfer from one mode of transportation to the next. Of course, in addition to such transportation services, intermodal transportation centers must also provide sufficient parking for travelers. After parking their vehicles, travelers can then easily access whichever form of public transportation will provide the most convenient access to their ultimate destinations.

Originating in the Northeast, the existence of intermodal transportation centers is now quite commonplace throughout the country. Fort Worth, Salt Lake City, and St. Louis have constructed such facilities, while others are in the planning stages in urban areas such as Anchorage and Anaheim.

Intermodal transportation centers are an effective tool in encouraging greater use of public transit, and in reducing the amount of extra hours and gallons of fuel the population of that area spends each year.

High-speed train systems

In 2001, Amtrak began running Acela Express trains between Washington, D.C., and Boston. Acela trains run between 75 and 150 mph, making the trip from Washington to Boston in roughly 6 ½ hours. A tilting design allows the trains to travel at high speeds on sharply-curved sections of track and without lateral G-forces disturbing passengers.

Acela trains are the only high-speed trainsets in the United States. However, the U.S. Department of Transportation designated six corridors suitable for studies related to high-speed rails, including Sacramento-Los Angeles-San Diego and Vancouver-Seattle-Portland. Proposals for deployment were made in Orlando and in Texas.

Studies have found that high-speed train systems would relieve pressure on the air traffic control system in crowded regions like California and Chicago by getting passengers from city to city faster than air flights. High-speed trains also promote better air quality and are statistically safer than traveling by automobile.

Personal rapid transit systems

In 1975, Morgantown, W.V., unveiled the country’s first personal rapid transit (PRT) system. Connecting West Virginia University with downtown Morgantown, the system features cars equipped to hold 20 people. Riders arrive at a station, push a button, and within five minutes an electric-powered car arrives to take them to their destination, with no intermediate stops.

A PRT system combines the convenience and luxury of a taxi with the efficiency of subway and bus travel. Proponents of PRT systems say they’re an environmental improvement over automobiles, cost effective, and adaptable to city planners. Variations of the Morgantown PRT have been constructed in Miami, Jacksonville, Dallas, and Indianapolis (and are typically dubbed “people movers”), with a true PRT system proposed in Santa Cruz, Calif., and studies conducted in Cincinnati and Seattle.

Time will tell what the next transportation innovation will be, but chances are it will have developed in the densely populated Northeast.

Mickey Krockmalnic is a principal with the Boston-based architectural firm, Domenech, Hicks, and Krockmalnic. He can be reached at mkrockmalnic@dhkinc.com or (617) 267-6408.

If you have an idea for a column, please contact Viewpoint editor William J. Angelo at william_angelo@mcgraw-hill.com or 781-937-9265.