All About Oil

So they finally admit what we knew all along. The Iraq war is about oil. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone but it does bring up an interesting question. I've stated before how much capital the money from the Iraq War could have generated for transit. By today's count, it's $440 billion. At $50 million per mile on average, that's 8,800 miles of light rail or 220 miles in each of the largest 40 cities. As i've said before, its an oversimplification of costs but the idea of comparison gives me an understanding of what is being spent. I think we could have reduced our oil dependency by electrifying our railroads, even freight and building extensive transit networks in every city. Instead we decided to go on the path of war. Why we are still pursuing these policies to drive our cars on cheap oil is beyond me. Was it worth it?

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July. It was an exciting day as all of my trips today were either on Muni Metro or walking but I wonder how everyone else did their traveling on our nation's birthday. My day included going to a movie, going to get dinner from the grocery store and going to watch fireworks. My sister and I took Muni to see Ratatouille. walked to the grocery store to get burgers to grill and took Muni to Duboce to see the fireworks.

Every time we walked out of my door I saw my car sitting on the curb and smiled. It's a great liberating feeling to know that I can get around without having to get in the car. I don't have to do the driving meaning i can chat with my sister about how good the movie is without worrying about hitting people while using hand gestures. We could walk to the grocery store and stop in shops along the way that sold wine, cheese, beer, shoes or whatever else. We could also listen to the little kids talking about Star Wars and Pokeman. It's pretty cool, I'm not gonna lie, I just wish everyone had the same options.

Feel Free to post your own transit-oriented Independence Day in the Comments.

Transit Network: Fort Worth

Fort Worth is fun to draw on. Specifically because it has a lot of vacant properties and unique places outside of its downtown. Another bonus is that there are a lot of freight rail lines that converge in downtown. Given that lawmakers in North Texas are looking for a special option transit tax, I thought I'd throw out some ideas to connect the dots. One line, the Southwest to Northeast Commuter line is already under planning. Purple is LRT or Streetcar and Red is Commuter Rail.

The Rapid Streetcar

In light of recent high costs related to light rail and advancements in construction, a new option for building rapid transit networks are available for cities worried about costs. The Rapid Streetcar concept is gaining popularity and cities around the country are looking into ways to build starter light rail lines. But what is the rapid streetcar?

Streetcars are cheaper because of their lower infrastructure requirements. Often there is no need to relocat utilities, right of way does not need to be purchased and the stops are smaller and the vehicles more pedestrian oriented. Streetcar stops are also closely spaced if the goal is to be a circulator or short line transport mode. However if a longer distance transit mode that mimics light rail is what you're looking for, but your city is on a budget, the rapid streetcar might be your choice.

Many cities have taken up the mantle of the rapid bus to be their cost effective alternative to light rail, but only do this based on cost, not because its what the citizenry wants. Recent Rapid Bus movements in Oakland, San Francisco, and Charlotte have shown that people really want light rail on a budget but haven't been able to engineer their systems to reduce costs and are therefore left with an inferior transit mode for their stated goals.

But by using streetcars in center lanes with single tracking and passing sidings at stations you can get the same performance as light rail on 10 minute headways. Streetcars aren't single vehicles either. Skoda streetcars have couplers on them as well that would make them multiple car consists. The lighter vehicles are about 66 feet long as opposed to 90 foot LRVs yet you can still get increased passenger capacity and lower infrastructure needs. You can see in the picture below from Skoda.

This fascinating development in value engineering is nothing new and has been rarely used in the United States if at all. A recent extension of the Portland Streetcar to Lake Oswego might be its first test. Literature on the subject has been presented at TRB by Lyndon Henry and has been extensively covered by Light Rail Now! Recent publications including Raise the Hammer in Canada as well as the folks in Kansas City have been looking to this option. This technology and engineering arrangement is a smart way for cities to get rapid transit and build the system they want and can afford, not the system they settle for.

California High Speed Rail

Anyone Want to See an HSR Video? I can't wait to take it to see my sister in Bakersfield more often! Hat tip to Orphan Road.

Building a System: Portland's Legacy

In 1986 Portland began light rail operation. The line was built instead of a freeway which would have ripped through neighborhoods and allowed for the sprawling monster to continue. However, today we see the fruits of Portland's labor and the results of what the construction of a transit network can do for a community.

21 years ago nothing was certain. However, the Portland region banded together to decide on their future. In 1986 Portland Tri-Met had 162,500 average weekday boardings, 19,600 on rail and the rest on bus. Fast forward to 2006, we see that 307,200 rides with 99,000 of those rides coming from rail. The May ridership for Portland was 110,000 average weekday boardings. What is important is that this rail push has saved gobs of cash. With a 72 cent required boost from Tri-Met versus a $1.92 for bus, you can see why the investment has paid off. 23% of Portland's operating cost is for rail yet rail makes up 32% of the ridership.

The vision of the original Lutraq plan and the network of rail lines and city centers is being quietly implemented all the time. Expected next week is an FFGA from the federal government for the I-205 Light Rail Line. Planning is underway for the Streetcar to Lake Oswego and Milwaukie Max. This plan shows that when cities put their will and collective mind into doing something it can get done. The expansion of Portland's system can be replicated but it takes time and planning. Hopefully more cities will wake up and realize the cost savings as well as quality of life improvements brought by this way of doing things.

The Next Earthquake

What could be more devastating than a huge earthquake or atomic bomb hitting San Francisco?

A proposal to have 1:1 parking ratio in the city outside of downtown among other provisions. Just about the dumbest idea I've ever seen or heard of. Idiocy knows no bounds. Here are some other crazy provisions from a the comments...

The ordinance does NOT leave the recent C-3 (downtown) parking controls as is. In fact, it guts them. And it doesn't gut just the recent changes. It guts the fundamental controls that have existed in downtown for decades, and were the core of the City's renowned 1985 Downtown Plan, on which the Financial District we know today was built. The biggest change is not just the residential controls. The biggest, and most drastic change is the complete elimination of the limitation on commuter parking for commercial (office) buildings. The initiative would more allow (via changes to Section 151.1) more than 650% of the commuter parking currently allowed downtown! Where 100 spaces are now allowed, this initative would allow 667 spaces! This is a fact, and the math is simple:

The current controls place an absolute parking maximum equivalent to 7% of the gross floor area of an office building. 500,000 sf office = 35,000 sf parking = 100 parking spaces. Under the initative, a builder could build up to one space for every 750 square feet of office space. 500,000 sf office = 667 spaces. The words drastic and dramatic don't even begin to capture the magnitude of this change for downtown. The entire downtown has been built on a limited parking model, and only because of that reason (and only) the commute to downtown SF has the highest share of commuters taking transit outside of lower manhattan.

BART in 50 Years

Recently there has been a lot of news about the next 50 years at BART. Many projects are discussed but it's interesting to note some of the big ones such as a new transbay tube. The new tube hopefully would carry commuter rail as well as BART trains. It might also be worth noting that this past year carried BART's highest ridership ever. Below is a really fascinating iteration of a regional rail plan at SF Cityscape. I really like how it goes up Geary and South on 19th Avenue towards the Daly City Station. That would be huge for riders in the Sunset and Richmond districts trying to get to downtown San Francisco. But the question is, should it be Muni or BART? Also, a line through Emeryville would be awesome too. I wouldn't mind living there if there were more transit options.

A Visceral Response

Visceral in the dictionary means not intellectual or dealing with crude or elemental emotions. This is the response that often comes when you talk to people about their opinions on politics and in fact transit. Some folks hold some deep seeded feelings about roads and others about transit. Right now the road folks are winning in most parts of the country because thats all that people know. They go with whats in their gut and what they know, whether its right or wrong.

So for places like San Francisco and New York, it isn't a question of does transit work or not, its how much more should we invest in to make it better than it already is. On the other side of the pale are these road oriented communities which are fighting hard to get transit off the ground such as Charlotte and Milwaukee. The road folks know they have a slight chance to kill transit in these places so they are throwing the kitchen sink because they are the last front in the road wars. The Anti's fight hard but in order to beat them back like we have for the last few decades we must not back down from their constant barrage of misinformation and misdirection.

An article in Newsweek suggests that politics is as I mentioned before, a visceral decision that leaves behind rational thought and that progressive minded folks shouldn't back down from a good fight. I see this as an ideological fight and when we get the chance we should sock it to the opposition Karl Rove style. Frame the issues in the most passionate way possible and set up decision makers with the facts they need to beat back the opposition. A mix of options and a vision for how all modes will work together. Cars are not the answer to everything. This is how we win.

Saluting Legends of a Different Track

In my former life before urban planning was even on the tip of my mind, I was a runner. It ruled my life and I threw my whole self into the experience. So to hear today's news is a bit sad. A few years ago I got to meet and eat with the most prolific track coach that the world had ever known. Arthur Lydiard's runners won many gold medals and he was an inspiring man. However a few days after I drank a Shiner Bock with him, he was gone.

Today we have lost another friend to the track community. J. Fred Duckett was an amazing announcer. He knew everything about the sport and always had a smile on his face. His booming voice could be heard blocks from the stadium and I can vividly remember him announcing the Texas Relays, the Kingwood Relays and specifically the State Track Meet. It's sad to know that the familiar voice that I grew up around on the track will not be there anymore. I got a chance to thank him after a race once, I told him I appreciated his knowledge and his announcing. I'd like to thank you one last time J. Fred. You will be missed. Rest In Peace.