Proposal for #freetransit in Austin, Texas from 13 years ago. Still relevant.

Bus Riders Union of Austin, Texas: "Urban sprawl results from the real estate-intensiveness of a transportation system that relies on the single-occupancy personal auto for most metropolitan trips, particularly peak-hour home-to-work trips. Roughly 75% by acreage of Austin's metropolitan developed real estate is now occupied by the transportation system, by roadways and parking lots. This is the sole reason for the low densities found in newly developing areas. Absent the parking lot, the modern regional mall is a far denser concentration of retail activity than was ever found in the Central Business District, and homes in new residential subdivisions are likely to sit on smaller, not larger, lots than are found in older neighborhoods. But while a neighborhood such as Hyde Park can be served by a two-lane Duval and a two-lane Speedway, the roadway systems serving newer subdivisions comprise 5-and 7-lane arterials. Only by reducing the sheer volume of vehicular traffic can sprawl be reversed."