Monday, April 30, 2007

Seattle on a Space Race Rocket

Seattle is set to vote for 50 miles in extensions to their light rail line already under construction. All while trying to add more commuter rail lines, streetcar lines in adjacent cities, and an in town streetcar network. Soon they will be up with Portland, and sky's to the limit as to whether these systems can match Chicago or DC.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

The Buses Role and Roll

While staying in the valley of the sun for a wedding, I needed to get a haircut before the ceremony. Of course where we were staying was not very walkable. The city is sprawl with the exception of the north south light rail corridor that is under construction and even that is a stretch. I looked up a haircut place on Yelp and CitySearch and then decided that I would walk. It was on a main corridor road and it was 101 degrees outside. When I got to the haircut place I was red and needed to cool down a bit. I saw a number of bus stops on my way there but figured it wasn’t really far enough. Well, it was far enough and I decided to take the bus back to the hotel. There were no schedules on the post. There were no route maps and a next bus indicator would have been helpful to know that I would have had to wait 40 minutes for it.

Overall it was a disappointing look into why people don’t take transit. This isn’t a bus versus rail thing but rather a convenience thing. I’m sure that this corridor I was on will be turned into Light Rail when they extend the initial line to the Metro Center, and that will allow a service improvement, but what about all of those other places that aren’t going to get light rail. What are cities going to do about bus service? Are they going to be like Portland and use all the money they saved from operating costs to increase bus service? That should be the main goal of cities building new rail starts, improve the bus system as well, which seems to be the goal of transit agencies who are doing this, specifically in Houston and Seattle. Without it, the only people riding the bus will continue to be the poor and the advocates.

Friday, April 27, 2007

**** The Tram

The Urban Planning Overlord has some info on free speech and transit at its best.

On An Airplane

Going to a wedding in Phoenix this weekend i think i'll ask the nice taxi driver to take me by the new light rail line. If it was built i would be taking it, however this wedding is a year too early. Did anyone think 2008 would be here this fast? I certainly didn't.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

People on BART

I love riding transit. It's at its most interesting when people are cramped into the crush load at rush hour. A 10 car train comes every 4-6 minutes and people of all sorts rush on. There are people with crazy hair, nervous nellies that can't stop tapping their feet and little artists going to the city for inspiration yet live in the suburbs. It's a humanizing experience. Everyone has to compromise about where to stand and where to move and to let someone a little more fragile sit down. It's something everyone should experience.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

When Is a Streetcar a Streetcar?

It's a good question. Streetcars are a subset of light rail and can have a number of characteristics of larger light rail. They can be grade separated such as they are in Tampa, they cost less to construct because they are lighter and don't need as deep of excavation, and yet some light rail such as in Portland or Dallas run in the street. In designing these systems, perhaps we should start looking at designing for streetcars instead of semi-metro LRT. Rapid Streetcar anyone? We don't need the heaviest vehicles if we can couple lighter ones do we? Can't we have diamond lanes? or perhaps a streetcar toll lane. If you want to drive on the lane, you're gonna have to pay a price, and that could possibly pay for the line. Of course the price would have to be high to allow cars and streetcars to run with optimal efficiency. Hmmm...

Monday, April 23, 2007

Anachronism...

I have a book from 1917 named Design of Railway Location. The following quote is of some interest...

In future years, as the public highways become more and more improved, the automobile is destined to compete seriously for much of the short haul traffic that is being taken care of at present by the interurban. The greater comfort and convenience of the automobile make it a very attractive mode of transportation. However, for the longer rides, the automobile can scarcely compete on a strictly economic basis with the electric interurban railway. The initial investment is high and the rate of depreciation rapid, and the mileage covered per day is not large...automobiles that do a regular transportation business should be taxed additionally to defray the expense incurred in the extra maintenance of the highways used, and such taxation would add to the cost of this mode of transportation.
A user fee??? Never!

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Air Rights and Development

Transit agencies are seeing the benefits of TOD so why don't they allow their air rights to be developed over the stations? Here in the Bay Area BART stations that are above ground would be helped by an air rights scheme. If each station was an office complex (on the station, not around it) it would signal that these areas were hubs for other development to follow. It's beginning to and some of the parking lots have started to be redeveloped but if the air rights above stations and perhaps even a station makeover was made it might make a bigger impact. They sold the air rights above Penn Station.

Another idea I had to fund streetcar or light rail lines was for a private company to buy underutilized large parcels along a corridor they want to develop and redevelop them to create a fund for building transit. If this corporation or development partnership were to fund most of the line, perhaps it would be much more transit oriented and built right given they have a higher stake in its success.

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Salt Lake City and The Space Race

Salt Lake City development and the Trax system got some attention for the New York Times this weekend.

Murray City and Hamlet Homes are taking advantage of growing buyer interest in living and working near the regional TRAX light rail system, which has operated in the Salt Lake Valley since 1999. The Murray North station, one of three TRAX stops in Murray City — population 50,000 — serves as the centerpiece of Birkhill at Fireclay.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

St. Louis and The Space Race

I decided it might be time for a space race update so lets take a look at St. Louis. Often this Midwestern city is overlooked but it has frequently showed its thriftiness and ability to attract riders. The most recent success is that of the newest metro link line, the Cross County or Shrewsbury Line which opened in 2006. Ridership along the new line rocketed the total system ridership up to 63,000 and plans are for further expansion.

The first light rail line opened up in 1993 and fortunately was able to take advantage of an abandoned freight subway. An expansion opened up in 2001 into Illinois. In 2003 the Illinois line was expanded further and surpassed 2015 ridership projections upon opening.

An interesting thing about the Metro-Link is that it is a true light metro. It operates with very few grade crossings and has a subway segment through the city.

Now expansion plans are slated for a north south line that would bisect the existing east west axis. Studied in 2006 this line is supposed to receive funding for further study. Officials are also considering a tax hike in order to pay for expansion to the system.
The timing of any tax proposal will depend on whether Metro gets $20 million this year from the state. When the time comes to go before voters, officials believe more MetroLink — not just maintaining current operations — needs to be included. "We don't think you can talk in the county about support without talking about expansion," said Jones. "The opportunity to expand is critical to the support of the existing system."
While not as high profile as some of the other Transit Space Race entrants, St. Louis has quietly and methodically expanded its transit network. Some might have the glory, but this system has guts, pulling the system ridership out from the gutter and bringing new people to transit. If you get a chance, check out the expansion advocacy page of Citizens for Modern Transit.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Did You Know?

Curitiba along with its intense zoning has social service and cultural hubs at its bus transfer stations. The City also has a transfer of development rights program. Read more about this history here. Don't get me started on BRT though...they will be building a metro shortly, apparently with a world bank loan. It should be ready they say by 2009. Translate the article here. Portuguese to English. It's from 2003 and has been around a while, still interesting though even if i can't find any information on it.

Mayor Cassio Taniguchi announced, in the tuesday, that Curitiba will implant a system of light subway in the narrow channels of the axle North-South highway. For the proposal, the passage of the subway will have 19,5 kilometers and will be same praticamento of the current biarticulated buses.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Cargo Trams

They're back. Hardly a new idea, the Cargo Tram was once a mainstay of the railroads and interurbans. Three European cities are up and running with three different types of cargo service and it will be interesting to see if this is possible in the United States. I think though we needed better networks than we have now.

Zurich - Kind of a Good Will Trailer on rails. People drop off disposable items and electronics and it's taken to the recycling center to be disposed of properly. English Translations can be done here.

Amsterdam - City Cargo will use trams and electric vehicles to distribute goods in the city. This is a really promising idea for the United States if we ever rebuild some of our interurban lines. No more big delivery trucks with diesel emissions...

Dresden - Volkswagen built a spur off of the city tram line to transport car parts across the city. The tram line takes 3 trucks off the road per trip. Fascinating Stuff.

A Discussion at Portland Transport about Cargo Trams...and a Swiss Blog is following the trend.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Still No Computer

Still don't have a home computer, its supposed to be coming next week. But it has allowed me to enjoy a bit of San Francisco transit. Last saturday i took a nice little jaunt into the Inner Sunset District from my home in Noe Valley using the J Church to the N Judah connection. There is a little place i recommend called tart to tart with awesome fudge sundaes.

Also, i attended a webinar on google transit. It's a really cool program that i recommend to everyone. Hopefully at some point we can merge it with something like Zillow to see true affordability and the connections to work from home through transit. Keep your fingers crossed.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Federal Gravy Train

It's often the federal government that's giving out money for transportation. Well they aren't really giving it out, we paid them taxes and they give it back to us. In places like the Bay Area we get back less than we pay in. Why is it that regions who pay the most money act as welfare areas to the other parts of the state or country. I certainly don't want my money going to build Don Young's Alaska bridge to no-where. But how much extra money would there be if there was a regional system instead of a state system? It's an interesting question that might get an interesting answer if i had the data.

So yesterday two bay area congressional members, one of them is my Gramma's congresswoman, asked the congressional transportation overlord for more money back. I think its great but I'm wondering what types of projects it would go to. Freeway expansion? I don't care about that since i don't use the freeway often, and if i do, it's on Wednesday night when no one is on it and I still pay the bridge toll, which brings me to my next point...freeway o holics love to say that highways are paid for by user fees. But what about those of us who pay gas taxes but don't drive on the freeway, or drive on the freeway that doesn't get any of that money. I hardly call that a user fee. It sounds like subsidy to me given that none of my gas tax money goes to my street.

I think M1ek touched on this at one point but when are suburbanites gonna realize they are just freeloading off the people who use surface streets? I'm all for tolls and perhaps if people had to pay the true cost of suburbanization, they might realize, well of course we should build more transit and collectively ride it, it would save us a ton of money. I know i know, wishful thinking.

Anyways, perhaps we shouldn't have a federal gravy train at all. Transportation monies should go to regional entities rather than national ones. Then we'll get the money the region needs and it will be spent on regional problems. I dunno. Thoughts?

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Border Towns Looking at Light Rail

I was interested to see this article this morning discussing a possible light rail line in the Valley. The Valley is what Texans call the Rio Grande Valley just across the border from Mexico. Now I don't doubt that it will turn into a BRT bonanza after the consultants come in due to cost effectiveness criteria, but hopefully that will change.

Monday, April 9, 2007

Did You Know?

The city of Vancouver has barely a freeway touching its edge. A book i've been reading called Dream City discusses Vancouver's transit and its interesting to see how that city's streetcar lines weren't quite radial. The city grew up with the car, but the car didn't quite have the same pull as in American cities .

Friday, April 6, 2007

A Good Charlotte Kick in the....

The knuckle draggers in Charlotte trying to redo the 1998 referendum should be paying attention to whats said in other cities. Basically they're trying to ruin Charlotte rumors (whether true or false) that they are going to pull business away from Atlanta. Say it enough times and it becomes true, just like Austin being the Live Music Capital of the World. Charlotte's version is that they are going to take Atlanta's biz because they are being progressive about transport, too bad the Reason foundation type folks don't get it.

From the AJC...

Moreover, as Atlanta ignores mass transit planning, it will be outpaced by other urban areas that have the foresight to put a brake on road-driven growth. Charlotte, with its ambitious inter-modal transit planning, stands poised to seize business opportunities from us, its chief rival as the Southeast's principal business and banking center. Even the Denver region, itself no model of sound mass-transit planning, last year demonstrated its commitment to pursue a new path when voters approved a bond issue for an innovative light rail system.
And the Transit Space Race moves along.

Or Regular Property Owner

Apparently they still have to pay taxes.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Houston Metro: Property Owner

I'm not sure what i think of this move by Metro to buy a developer's land then sell back when they are ready. I'm guessing this is to give the developer time to come up with a TOD plan without incurring the costs of holding land year to year. Perhaps the city should have come up with a way to do this without having Metro purchase the land and make it available for all properties that are going to develop TOD. In that sense they would be able to provide more density and community benefits with the money they saved. Heck perhaps this is a way to fund new light rail lines? Buy the land along a corridor and sell it back to pay for the infrastructure. It could work right? It would be a LIF. Land Increment Financing.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

TGV Rivals Maglev

The Fench TGV made by Alstom has broken its own record. It almost broke the record held by Maglev technology. So why are we spending tons of money on maglev development went current rail lines could go as fast and perhaps for cheaper.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

New Features

Google News is integrated into the blog now. If you click on a topic down on the bottom right it will give you the headlines for it. Pretty cool huh?

Tampa Close to Space Race Entrance

The mayor has pledged her second term to transit. Let's hope it doesn't turn into BRT. More from David Pinero.

Monday, April 2, 2007

Crashing Hard Drives

In case folks were wondering why no updates, my laptop died. It's still dead so until it is resurrected there will be limited posting.