Robert Moses Quotes
Cities are created by and for traffic.
Robert Moses, 1888-1981, Chairman, New York Port Authority, New York Gubernatorial Candidate (Republican), Quoted on PBS The American Experience: The City and the World: New York, October 1, 2001
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The mayor had resisted the rebuilding of a major downtown elevated highway when it was discovered that it was badly in need of repair. Typically, local officials accede to almost any pressure from AAA and the commercial interests wanting to see traffic flow maintained and improved. But a large proportion of the citizens preferred to have the downtown open to the waterfront and wanted the highway torn down despite the negative impact on vehicular traffic. Typically the traffic interests would prevail but Nickles refused to “pander” to the traffic interests.
Nixon was the last Republican President in the 20th century to favor public transportation and mass transit. By the beginning of the 21st century, there were almost no Republican member of Congress would was interested in public transportation and most opposed all efforts at such.
Robert Moses was an American public official who worked mainly in the New York metropolitan area. Known as the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and was one of the most polarizing figures in the history of United States urban development. His decisions favoring highways over public transit helped create the modern suburbs of Long Island. Although he was not a trained civil engineer, Moses's programs and designs influenced a generation of engineers, architects, and urban planners nationwide.
