Transit Space Race 202: Who's On Top?

Every once in a while we have to review where the TSR is going. Today let's take a short look at the leader board. Previous TSR update for the whole race can be found here. Keep in mind legacy cities are expanding transit as well, but the cities in the TSR are those which have pushed off transit until recently and are trying to bring it back.

The leaders are far ahead of the other cities, many of which are either just building as funds come available or still in the initial stage of denial. That doesn't mean there's not time to catch up, but these leading cities are still the reason I started covering the space race. Because they were accelerating expansion far beyond the line at a time doctrine and capturing the hope that things can change and people are ready for it.

Denver - Fastracks is still the granddaddy of expansion. The West Corridor has begun construction and the 119 new miles of rail are expected to be completed by 2016. That seems so soon, so awesomely soon in fact that folks are starting to look at the next round of possibilities.

Houston - While not as publicized as much as the Fastracks expansion, the Metro Solutions expansion was actually voted on before Fastracks. However it wasn't seen as such a big deal until it was looked at in the context of all these other expansions. It's more of a central city circulation system but works with existing HOV bus lanes to allow people in the dense core of Houston to get around. I wonder what the weighted Density is inside the loop. AC?

Salt Lake City - Fast on the heels of Denver and Houston, Salt Lake City passed a sales tax measure to expand on the initial success of their first line, which opened in 1999. The expansion is called Front Lines and will build 70 miles worth of rail in 7 years.

Minneapolis - While there isn't a plan in place for expansion like the other cities, there are lines that will get the money when it comes. The DFL party in Minnesota passed a sales tax expansion for capital transit expansion and overrode a veto by vice presidential hopeful Gov. Pawlenty. This doesn't include a possible center city streetcar network under discussion.

These four cities are in the fast lane. Other cities are building network expansions but at a slower pace. Charlotte passed a half cent sales tax in 1998 but is expanding their 5 line system slowly. There are considerations for further tax increases for expansion in other cities as well including Seattle, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Dallas and Sacramento among others. We will be watching as gas prices goes up and the call for expansion increases. It wouldn't hurt either to have a more friendly administration in the White House.

Oh, and let's not forget the godfather, Portland. 4 lines and a streetcar exist. Two lines are under construction while three other lines are in waiting with a center city streetcar network looking more likely. They are still the leaders and set the standard but the next generation is gaining.

Transit Space Race Update: Dallas

Gas prices up, the Space Race is hopping. An editorial in the Dallas Morning News is pushing local leaders to get on the ball. Recently they've been discussing in addition to the light rail network a feeder commuter rail network from the outer reaches of the Metroplex. Every city in the United States is dragging their feet yet cities like Dallas and Portland keep building line by line. This would be a valuable addition to the network and when combined with Fort Worth's planned rail lines, light and commuter, it will form a fairly comprehensive network.

The last time we talked about Dallas in the Space Race was in Feb of 07. Since then there have been some potholes and push back from the Texas legislature and the business community. After these spikes, this might change. The Green Line has started construction but cost estimates on the Orange Line to DFW airport got a little out of control. Inflation is a problem for all construction projects, not just rail. But this points to a larger problem which has been discussed recently in our spending on infrastructure. It might cost a lot to build this project, but its going to cost a whole heck of a lot more later. We'll see how this all pans out but Dallas looks to be in a good position going into the oil price spike.

Toll Road Conundrum

It seems to me that if gas keeps going up and VMT goes down, how are toll roads and congestion pricing on new roads at the periphery going to add up. The formulas that say whether a road would be a good investment for private companies seems to be determined by models with low gas prices, so how will this add up in the future with less driving? I'm not sure how all this works, anyone have some insight?

Who Knew...

the answer to congestion was more cars. And the answer to obesity is more food right?

Taking Light Rail to the Speedway

So it's a Sunday and I'm watching a Nascar race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. I'm not sure if I'm a part of that demographic but to me its better than Golf as a background while I'm surfing the news on a Sunday afternoon. Mostly because its similar to my former life as a distance runner and I can relate to the strategy.

But the point of my post is that people in the county in which Lowe's is located want to extend light rail to the track (blue line extension map here). It would be an interesting juxtaposition and show a lot of people who probably don't take transit what rail can do. If the track pays for a spur from another route to the mall it would be helpful for pre and post race traffic. That is if there are races and with oil cheap enough to race.



The one thing however I find discouraging is that they are saying if it does happen, it wouldn't be till 2020. Give me a break. We need to move much faster than that on all of this stuff. I'm finding that this country moves way too slow. Think about the time between 1950 and 1970 and how much of the interstate system was built. We're going to have to get at it if we're going to keep up with the demand, especially when gas is $10 a gallon.

Holy Conversation Change Batman: Walkscore

The walkscore widget flew through the transit and planning blogosphere in about July of last year. There's even an evil twin called drive score which Transit Miami covered in January. Now that gas prices are high, its getting some attention in the larger progressive blogosphere. This might show a tipping point in the transit and planning discussion whereas it becomes more a part of people's consciousness. It's on Barack Obama's mind at least.

Atrios
Yglesias
Kos

Oh, and my score is 92. I'm not sure what else I need to get 100, but there is no bonus for transit. Since BART is a half mile walk and the J-Church streetcar is half a block away I think I might have a higher score.

Giving Transit Expansion to Those Who Plan For It

There was an article in the Ottawa Citizen a few days ago that I didn't get to write up until now. Well Public Transit in Ottawa covered it and Peter discusses the plan to not give neighborhoods new transit unless they agree to more density rules. Seems fair to me, given taxpayers are funding service, they should get the most for their money and a mode that reflects the corridor needs.

One day after the city's transit committee agreed to support the much-discussed Transit Option Four, they added a special note for any suburban constituents or councillors hoping for expansion of the light rail tracks outside the Greenbelt: you'll have to prove that it's a worthy investment by demonstrating greater demand and higher population density.

The only place in the United States I can think of that has this type of rule is the Bay Area and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The MTC is the local MPO and they have set up a system that mandates certain densities for cities to get funding for new transit expansion. And cities take it seriously. A Contra Costa Times article yesterday discusses transit officials in Antioch that are worried they won't make their intensity benchmark if they leave the station in the place for which its planned.

The median location near Hillcrest Avenue would constrain transit-oriented development because of the existing PG&E property, thus making it difficult to reach a Metropolitan Transportation Commission mandate for residential units within a half mile radius of a station, city planning officials said.

I wish more MPOs were as progressive as the MTC. Most of them are just highway money distributors. Here is their policy summed up:

Each transit extension project funded in Resolution 3434 must plan for a minimum number of housing units along the corridor. These corridor-level thresholds vary by mode of transit, with more capital-intensive modes requiring higher numbers of housing units.

Now that residential units are down, there needs to be a jobs policy, because as we noted in a post on jobs, its great to have residential density, but unless it connects to where you want to go, it doesn't really help much.

Betting on the Wrong Horse

Switchback is a great Boston transit blog. A recent post discusses how the MBTA bet on the wrong mode with gas prices on the rise. Some of the line is run on electricity with dual mode buses, but much of it is diesel buses.

The city bet on the wrong horse, or rather, bet on the wrong bus. Within the past ten years the T has sacrificed the A line tracks and half of the E, while pushing for a “bus rapid transit” system where residents demanded light rail. A light rail network that would ultimately cost less in infrastructure than the BRT network. All of this has been prompted by a fierce anti-rail ideology at work in both the MBTA and mayor’s office.

The anti-rail, pro-bus, pro-car agenda ignores basic logic and economics. Trains hold more people, run at faster speeds through tunnels, and offer comfortable, single-seat rides to anywhere in the urban core of Boston. They do this in vehicles which can operate for forty years as opposed to the ten to twelve of their rubber-wheeled counterparts. And they’re cheaper to run.

Personally I think building a subway for buses is insane especially when you have to destroy two perfectly good light rail tunnels to do it. You can't go as fast with drivers in the tunnels and you still get that awful bouncy jerkey bus ride and low capacity vehicles. Boston will increase its budget deficit operating these schemes. Perhaps the rise in oil will change some minds. It's not too late.

GDP and Transit

I just wrote a note on Diamajin's post on infrastructure underspending over at STB.

The article he quoted discusses spending on GDP:

...in 1960, the U.S. spent 12 percent of its gross domestic product on infrastructure and now spends 2.4 percent. Japan spends 10 percent, China 9 percent and India 4.6 percent...

I keep wanting to put the GDP thing into perspective. So lets say we spend 10% of GDP on Transportation. Let's say 20% of that goes to transit. Where would that leave us? $262 Billion based on $13.13 Trillion GDP(2006). Now APTA says that we spent $42 Billion in 2005 on capital and operations. That is a big difference! 523% increase.

Which when held against the $3.4 billion per year that will be promised in the climate bill for transit spending makes it look sad and small. I'm glad we're starting to turn the ship around when it comes to the transportation conversation in this country. But right now it feels like we're trying to reverse earth's orbital rotation.

Chicks Dig Low Carbon Footprints

So Wired has a story on how females are more willing to start conversation if you own a hybrid. I wonder if it goes one step further and you get even more attention if you promote transit. I'm not holding my breath.