What is the role of transportation in community-building initiatives? This was the question posed in a panel discussion entitled Trains, Planes, and What Sustains: How Transportation Builds Community, presented by the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service on September 17.

Brett Barker, Assistant Professor of History at UWMC, spoke about the history of transportation and in particular the use of railroads to move freight. Barker said the railroad depot has been the “front door” to American communities since its introduction on a national scale in the late 19th century. Railroads efficiently move more goods than any other mode of transport, and to Barker it’s clear they must be part of the answer to reshaping American transportation. At the same time, what the railroads are carrying may be part of the problem. According to Barker, approximately fifty percent of tonnage within the American freight rail system is coal, a natural resource whose mining and usage is at odds with initiatives aimed towards sustainability. If railroads are to be part of a sustainable vision of transportation, how will they respond when alternative energy sources reduce the need to transport coal? “I only wonder if they will be willing to make that shift,” said Professor Barker.

Gregory Thompson, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Florida State University finds it appropriate that the UWMC is looking for ways to be part of a community-building initiative, since many students commute from outside of Wausau. Thompson’s remarks focused on a history of the streetcar from it’s first appearance as a horse-drawn tramway to its electric successor. By the late 19th century, the streetcar was widely implemented in major cities owing to its efficiency and mass appeal. The rise of the automobile started the decline of the streetcar, and public buses rapidly took it’s place. Technical innovation gave way to new tramway designs such as the Presidents Conference Committee streetcar in the 1930s, whose quiet and smooth operation helped avert competition from the automobile. Still, problems such as poor integration with automobile traffic, long boarding lines, congestion, and the corresponding drop in patronage caused many American streetcar rails to be replaced with roads following World War II, according to Thompson. Some European communities were determined to overcome these new challenges and to allow the streetcar and automobile to co-exist. In Germany, a successful deployment of light rail laid the foundation for similar transit systems throughout Europe and eventually North America. Thompson suggests that the history of light rail can give us a better understanding of the difficulty and political resistance that must be faced before improvements to public transportation become a reality. Thompson is unsure if light rail would be viable in a community like Wausau, but argues that it is an essential part of building sustainable communities, especially in moderately populated areas where technological advances make light rail projects possible.

Mark Parman, Senior Lecturer in English at UWMC, has been using his bicycle as a primary means of transportation since he began teaching 19 years ago. He believes that bicycling should be a central component of any transportation model since it provides the most cost effective and environmentally conscious alternative. Parman emphasized that we can think of bicycling as more than just a means of transportation, but as a social activity that builds community. Compared to other cities, Parman noted that Wausau has less bicycling infrastructure, but recent projects, such as new biking paths in Rib Mountain, show the local climate is improving. Parman suggests that the major problem standing in the way of more widespread bicycling use is the effort needed to pedal.

A representative from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation was originally planned to have been part of the panel discussion, but was not in attendance. When asked by an audience member why automobiles were not included in the presentation, Professor Barker replied that the emphasis of the event was on transportation alternatives and to reinforce the automobile culture would be counterproductive. Barker believes not only have automobiles changed who we are as a people, but that our nation has paid a tremendous price as a result. Professor Thompson agreed, citing the need for new ways of thinking about transportation demands. “Having tasted personal mobility, we will continue to consume it,” said Thompson.

The Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service hosted the panel discussion as part of it’s “Building Community in America” program and “Commodities and Social Capital” theme, which examines how transportation, religion, food networks and housing play a role in building sustainable communities, according to WIPPS Program Associate Jean Greenwood. Two other themes included in this years programming are “Creating Community Through the Arts”, focusing on the role of art in the individual and community, and “Bringing it Home and Into the Future”, addressing how our efforts to build local economies fit into the global picture. The panel discussion fits into the broader mission of WIPPS whose purpose is to provide educational outreach, service-learning, internships, and public scholarship.