Public Parks..oasis for bottom 80% income level

I went to the National Gateway Park at Sandy Hood,N.J. today.I love public parks and spend a good deal of my free time walking around them.Today, I went swimming and walked along the shore for miles. While in the water, I had a conversation with a woman with a young child. They were so excited and constantly remarked how beautiful everything was. They were from Manhattan and took the ferry from Battery City Park to the Highlands, which is close to Sandy Hook.The ferry cost $80 for a round trip ticket.They didn't have private transportation so I was telling her about the N.J.Transit that travels along the coast to the shore points.I started to think about public transportation in the America.Did you know that in 1936,there was a consortium of oil,tire and truck manufactures that controlled the rail systems of 45 cities and 12 states.Before that GM started purchasing trolley and streetcars from railroad and utilities companies and converting electric transportation to the combustion engine bus lines.They bought so many train lines that by1960,that most of the lines were shut down and the cars scrapped or shipped overseas.Before this siege on the train lines,85% of the cities and towns in America had rail transportation.In the fifties,Eisenhower built 40,000 miles of highways that we ride around on today.The only problem is our population has doubled during the next fifty years,hence,the traffic jams each day.The petroleum industry and automobile manufacturers have left public transportation a mess for suburbia and rural communities.Everyone must use their products to get to work and interact with love ones in the majority of the country.I know the government has a funding ratio of 80%(highways) and 20%(rails).MAYBE THIS RATIO SHOULD BE REVERSED.Nevertheless,it was a delight to be at Sandy Hood today.I admire the foresight our parents had to create so many beautiful parks. It is a great tradition in America that is being continued by many communities.They are usually free to the public or a small fee to pay for the upkeep.The bottom 80% income level citizens (and other levels) are fortunate to have these treasures of America.(the other 20% has access to private facilities) Lets create more with higher taxes on those who can afford it.(1% in nearby Rumson,home of Bruce Springsteen)