tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post4237455724636514686..comments2024-01-12T00:32:20.149-08:00Comments on The Overhead Wire: Neglected Cities Push Certain Transit Because Regional Agencies Won'tPantograph Trolleypolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17833159138533550544noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-19158565625876261382014-01-15T03:39:33.462-08:002014-01-15T03:39:33.462-08:00Great comments about agencies, I would like to hea...Great comments about agencies, I would like to hear more about god examples.Pildytihttp://www.vtranzitas.lt/lt/muitines-tarpininkai/t5-pildymasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-58211145863510478562013-12-18T10:44:08.825-08:002013-12-18T10:44:08.825-08:00I'm not sure TriMet is a good example of this ...I'm not sure TriMet is a good example of this phenomenon. There are many valid criticisms of TriMet, but accusing it of being suburban-dominated is not one of them. The lions share of service-hours in the TriMet system are allocated to the City of Portland.<br /><br />While it is true that TriMet was skeptical of the Streetcar (and still is), that skepticism does not flow from a "screw Portland" mentality within the agency. A lot of it comes from simple philosophical disagreement as to the role of transit in placemaking (TriMet is a bit more skeptical of capital-intensive-transit-as-neighborhood-amenity, as opposed to buiding it for more efficient mobility); there's also the system integration issues to consider. Also, Portland underwent a detailed streetcar planning exercise that was somewhat at a variance with regional transit planning, and approached it from the point of view of "we've got this cool technology (modern streetcars), where in the city can we put them?", rather than from the point of view of where-is-service-needed-and-what-will-work-best?<br /><br />The Streetcar (particularly the recently-completed CL line) also has the problem of partially-replicating existing bus lines--something that results in either duplicated service (which is what in fact has occurred) or the need to curtail perfectly good bus lines and force transfers.<br /><br />The good news is that TriMet and Portland do seem to have improved their working relationship--it wouldn't surprise me, longer term, if Portland Streetcar Inc. (having made its point) closes down as a separate entity, with its operations being merged into TriMet and its planning activities merging into the existing region-wide and city-wide planning organs. But that's a ways off; probably not at least until after the Milwaukie MAX line opens and the streetcar loop is completed across the new bridge.EngineerScottyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11005863528905991434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-71786971083798198952013-12-18T09:34:13.441-08:002013-12-18T09:34:13.441-08:00More needs to be said about this. Many streetcar p...More needs to be said about this. Many streetcar projects are not coming out of the transit agencies, but rather advocates and cities. St. Louis and Kansas City are two examples where the transit agencies are mostly on the sidelines.CMThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00741001592528653269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-90502108933008042702013-12-18T08:58:55.403-08:002013-12-18T08:58:55.403-08:00I think your thesis is compelling, but I wouldn...I think your thesis is compelling, but I wouldn't say that Minneapolis is the best illustration. The Met Council (the responsible agency for transit in the region) is taking on LRT only because the counties advocated it and brought it nearly to the point of construction. The counties are as bad or worse than the Met Council at ignoring the needs of cities due to their political structure, so you are correct that they come up with LRT alignments that favor suburban commuters. The Met Council (which is controlled by the state governor) dragged its feet on LRT for many years because of the right wing antipathy towards rail (Northstar was again pushed by the counties until the Met Council couldn't refuse it any more) but actually came up with an enhanced bus program that would do more for central city mobility than any other plan any other local agency has come up with since the 70s. Unfortunately the central cities are run by suburban elites who don't really know how transit works, so they've ignored or even worked against the Met Council's enhanced bus plans, possibly delaying implementation in at least one case by proposing a streetcar for the same corridor. So it's not as neat and tidy as 'cities have to develop their own transit because regional agencies ignore them' here.Alexhttp://gettingaroundmpls.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-84822723528593828152013-12-18T06:39:05.686-08:002013-12-18T06:39:05.686-08:00Abolsultely.
Are there any good examples of regi...Abolsultely. <br /><br />Are there any good examples of regional agencies that easily allow for a core city to 'add on' service or a project without resorting to an entirely new level of governance? <br /><br />Questions along the same lines here: http://www.humantransit.org/2013/02/what-if-a-city-wants-more-transit-than-its-neighbors-but-theyre-all-in-one-transit-agency.html<br /><br />Portland is a good example, but are there any examples of a Portland-like situation where they didn't need to create an entirely new, locally focused organization to push the project through?<br /><br />It's disappointing that it requires this. Alex B.http://alexblock.netnoreply@blogger.com