Indy Should Quickly Consider New Mass-Transit System

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(INDIANAPOLIS) - The benefits of mass transit. That was the topic on the table at Thursday night’s public meeting of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization.

At a time when gas prices are as high as ever and people are looking for new ways to travel, without spending more on gas, at least one "smart growth" expert says the U.S., including Indy, seems to be moving that way.

Dr. Reid Ewing is a professor at the Center For Smart Growth at the University of Maryland. He told the audience that cities like Indianapolis will not be able to sustain urban sprawl and continuing to build more and more highways will lead to more and more pollution.

Ewing says a shift has to come at all levels from more roadways to more pedestrian areas. Ewing also says Indy does need to consider a rapid transit system and soon.

Ewing is writing a paper on the issue of urban sprawl and the future of mass transit for the environmental Protection Agency.

Indianapolis officials have considered implementing a mass transit system for many years.

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