Oh Come On! Viaduct Tunnel Back on Table

Apparently they just couldn't keep the tunnel option out of their minds. What a huge waste of money. We did it (surface only) here in San Francisco, though some would say it resulted in another tunnel that will be a waste of money in the Central Subway, but I'm thinking that would be much cheaper than what Seattle is planning. I guess no one learned anything from the last 50 years and decided that giving cars a through way is the answer to all ills.

Jan Gehl's Firm Critiques Viaduct Options

That's kind of a big deal. Jan Gehl can be credited with turning both Copenhagen and Melbourne into livable places based on his thinking about streets for people. He has also been highly influencial in New York recently. I was a little disappointed in some of the ideas that came out of the surface viaduct vision. It seemed like all this open space for nothing. People wouldn't really use it because it wasn't scaled correctly. And Matt and others called it as well.

So what's the solution to this "too wide" problem? Dan Bertolet suggests a new line of buildings on the east side of the plaza, which I think is a good idea.

What would be great is a new line of buildings, perhaps a true boulevard that creates streetscapes for diners, and restaurants and general activity that isn't only tourists. All of this instead of crazy huge open plazas. That and allowing buildings could create value for the space and creating transit and bikeways will encourage alternative transport. Don't need another huge open space.

Friday Night Linkfest

More requests for the Orange Line to be Light Rail. They even quote us. But please stop using the most recent light rail line in Los Angeles is the end all of cost estimates for light rail. It would NOT cost $150 million a mile to build light rail.
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Dan at HugeAssCity hopes for better urban design for the Viaduct replacement. I hope for a rapid streetcar instead of just the waterfront trolley.
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I don't see why they can't charge for parking at Metro Stations during inauguration. Perhaps that would pay for the extra rush hour service that's going all day.
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Good thing the opposition in Salt Lake didn't get UTA rolled into UDOT. From Transit in Utah:

UDOT puts $3.9B in projects on hold. While I have mentioned this over and over again, I must hammer this home. If a certain group of puppets from a certain so called riders union would have gotten their way and transferred UTA over to UDOT, transit funding would now moved over to highways and that is the goal of the people who run that organization.

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There are seven Tram companies in Poland. Seven. Some of the models look pretty sweet.

As many as seven companies are active in the tram building market in Poland, suggesting that competition may develop in the coming years. In many ways the market is quite open, as conditions are similar in the various cities.