Even Mad Men Agree: High-Speed Rail Awareness Levels are Too Low
Though President Obama is seeking to allocate $53 billion to fund a high-speed rail system that would eventually be at the fingertips of up to 80% of Americans, there is a startling lack of knowledge regarding the subject across the country.
A recent poll that was conducted on the matter showed that only slightly over one third of Americans (35%) living in areas of proposed high-speed rail corridors are aware of the possible projects in their areas.
More unsettling, relative to Michigan High-Speed Rail (HSR), was the unawareness of high-speed rail projects among those living in the Midwest. While more than 60% of those who responded to the poll in California and Florida were aware of possible HSR projects in their areas, a meager 31% interviewed regarding the possibility of Chicago becoming a hub in Midwestern HSR indicated awareness of a possible project. The lack of awareness among us Midwesterners might leave one wondering: Why?
Well, one may venture a guess that some cause for the majority of Midwesterner’s lack of knowledge on would-be HSR projects in their states can be attributed to the unwillingness of Wisconsin's and Ohio's governors to accept federal funding for such projects. Even so, that only makes Michigan's adoption of HSR all the more important as we can become the midwest's hub for rail.
The lack of knowledge among Americans regarding the prospect of modern, efficient transit connecting some of our nation’s most vital cities leaves many advocates of such a rail system with a fear of missing out on the opportunity for high-speed rail in America.
Among those in fear of missing out on high-speed rail in America include Vincent Kartheiser and Rich Sommer from AMC’s hit series Mad Men. Today, a skit was posted to the popular website Funny or Die with the two actors playing their characters in Mad Men (Pete Campbell and Harry Crane) conversing about high-speed rail from the standpoint of 1960’s Mad Men. As the Mad Men characters might say, any publicity is good publicity, but this type is particularly easy to forward to friends and family --- and we hope you will do so. You can find the video here.
As Americans and Michiganders, we have to realize our transportation infrastructures are starting to lag as compared to the rest of the world and that the investment in high-speed transit in this country will make us more competitive, as well as provide cleaner transportation alternatives
