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With a post-1900 P.O.D. it seems to me that the rise of the automobile and the construction of the Interstate Highway System are both inevitable and (to an extent) practical with the way that the U.S. have developed. That said, was near-total dependence on the automobile an inevitable outcome?
  • The interstates were originally intended to connect cities, not bisect them. Is it possible to keep them out?
  • Can more Americans be convinced that commuter rail should be municipally operated/subsidized prior to the 1970s? Some cities had started as early as the 1950s.
  • Many major streetcar networks were converted to bus operation under municipal ownership, independently of the alleged GM scandal. Can cities be convinced to spend money moving the tracks out of the streets rather than ripping them up?
  • When did cycling become considered a "serious" form of transportation as opposed to leisure or sport?
Somehow lessening the political influence of the automobile & petroleum lobbies as well as public distrust of the interurban & street railway industry (the "traction trusts") would also be necessary.
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