Saturday, November 1, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
San Francisco Fantasy Map & Investment
This isn't about one or the other, it's about both. Stop pitting HSR against the budget. Stop pitting HSR against schools. And stop pitting HSR versus better local transit. If we didn't pass this bond, it's not like the state will toss up $10 billion for a local transit bond. They have already stolen $3 frakin billion!!! in the last 3 years.
Then I started thinking about it. If the County of San Francisco asked me for an extra $100 a year for better transit, I would give it in a hearbeat. Heck I would give $500. Because it would make my life and everyone else's life in the city so much better. Think about it. If every citizen in the city gave $500 a year, this would be $41 per month. That's ~$383 million per year. Over 30 years, that is ~$11.5 billion. What could we do with $11.5 billion here? Well we could build 46 miles of subways at $250 million per mile. That is 4 north South Subway lines and 3 east west subway lines. We'd have a real freakin metro here! $41 per month is all it takes. That is one tank of gas per month. What could we get? Something like this:
Who would want anything like that? That's just a luxury.
Friday Night Linkage
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Pelosi for HSR. Major firepower will make sure that this project gets its federal funding in the next congress.
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A Streetcar for Middletown Connecticut?
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Is a DDOT Streetcar ever going to get built?
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More on Denver's property increases near light rail:
As I've mentioned previously, many of the people that I've talked with on my trip have mentioned that transit is not good where they are, and it's a deciding factor not just in what neighborhood they move to, but what city they move to. We don't have any data yet on the West Corridor, but anecdotally, I have seen a lot of competition for properties on the west corridor. We lost a bid on a property that was listed for around $100,000, even though we bid $25,000 over the list price.
Property Near Light Rail Weathers the Storm
Homes near light-rail stations along the southeast line, which opened in November 2006, have increased by an average of nearly 4 percent over the past two years, according to an analysis by Your Castle Real Estate. But the rest of the Denver market declined an average of 7.5 percent.
"I know that it's always been a good neighborhood, but I didn't think it was like that," said Humphrey, who doesn't drive and frequently uses public transportation.
The closer a home is to the station, the more its value increases, according to the Your Castle analysis. Homes less than a half-mile from a station increased an average of 17.6 percent, while those 1 1/2 to 2 miles away increased just 0.1 percent on average. The data varied widely among stations, however.
17.6% is no slouching in this economy. I'd love to see the study in more detail, but the initial findings reported look very promising.
Election Night Reminder
St. Louis - An election is being held to give Metro a half cent more in order to keep up with operating expenses and expand Metrolink, the region's light rail system. It's called Proposition M.
Santa Fe - A Sales Tax to extend Rail Runner into the city from Albuquerque.
Oakland/Berkeley - AC Transit is looking to raise the parcel tax $48 annually to pay for operations. This measure is called VV. KK is also on the ballot and would allow AC Transit to build BRT on Berkeley streets.
Los Angeles - This would be a half cent sales tax for capital expansion. It's called Measure R.
Sonoma Marin - SMART will go back to the polls to ask for an 1/4th cent sales tax to build a commuter rail line. It is called Measure Q.
Honolulu - Island residents are being asked whether they approve of a steel on steel transit system.
Kansas City - A half cent sales tax is on the ballot to build a starter light rail line.
Seattle - Prop 1. I'm not going to be covering this as much except for some crucial updates. I'm sure the boys at STB got it covered.
High Speed Rail - $9.9 billion dollar bond for a statewide high speed rail line. This one is Prop 1a.
Falling Off the Edge...
“The opponents of this light rail campaign are like the people of the 15th Century that were arguing that the Earth was still flat when people have already been around the world,” said Kansas City lawyer Pat McLarney.
Libertarian Backlash
I fully understand the idea that excessive land use regulation can raise the costs of home ownership. Smart Growth or anti-sprawl regulations, however, are just as much an implementation of greater flexibility in urban development, by allowing greater densities of housing, tenure and use, than it is a restriction on building. It is pretty well established that sprawl producing land use regulation is that which creates an artificial scarcity by requiring large lots, minimum square footage, and lower densities - driving up prices.HT PublicTransit.US
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Kansas City Opposition Flow Chart
HT KCLR
Hawaii Appropriations
Forshadowing?
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's $50,000, high-tech hybrid Chevrolet Tahoe SUV ... was put out of commission Tuesday when a Muni bus sideswiped it.What I mean is that I hope that transit takes over priority from the auto centric bill we have today. Especially SUV's. Isn't Hybrid Tahoe an oxymoron?