Hunters Point Subway

I like it. Heck, give Lennar a density bonus if they help fund it. The line looks awfully familiar. Like something out of a fantasy map...

In the Dark

I guess there are still city officials who haven't read the High Cost of Free Parking.

When Fitness Centers are Like Catenaries

I never understood why developers waste their time building fitness centers or other extras no one really uses. I wouldn't want to pay rent for that. Seems like they might start to figure out that gold plating isn't getting them where they wanted to go. So who thinks that LRT needs to go through the same de-goldplating process?

“The frills are coming out,” said Tim Colen, executive director of the Housing Action Coalition, who advocates for housing in the city. “No concierge, no fitness room, and much smaller units. These are the coping mechanisms for the new era we’re in.”

And in light rail world, the quote would look like this:

“The frills are coming out,” said Some Guy, executive director of the Rail Construction Coalition, who advocates for transit in the city. “No rebuilding curb to curb, no gigantic catenaries, and much smaller station designs. These are the coping mechanisms for the new era we’re in.”

Via Curbed SF

Creative People Walking to Bowl

When do trends or catch phrases end? Does a good background idea like the Creative Class ever just go bad? What does this mean for Walkable Urbanism or Bowling Alone? Folks like Richard Florida, Chris Leinberger and Robert Putnam build up names for themselves around a central theme. The theme must be a good idea at some point, and why if it was so catching before, does something fade or not fade?

I think you have to look at the underlying facts and basic premises of it all. At the most basic level, every city has a creative class, but at what point does being a really lame city hurt you and the generation of big ideas? To me all of these folks have something in common in that they are trying to figure out why there are some places that people like to live more than others. But the boiled down answers aren't so simple as they make them out to be. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

A Challenge

I challenge any city to draw lines in the street and run a bus, then run a streetcar and see what happens. And again, why are we so worried about overhead wires? Lungs don't care about your aesthetic.

Transit Accessible Drinking

I wonder if on the DC cocktail circuit there is more drunk driving?

Neither of us seem to be on the Georgetown cocktail party circuit, but we’re both on the Green Line accessible beer ‘n Beam circuit.

Redundancy

State Street in Salt Lake is looking to bring a better place making game to the city. Though when comments about rapid transit along the street state that its not needed because of an existing parallel line, I worry about not seeing the need for redundancies at different scales. There is a need for quality transit, perhaps it's BRT, on parallel streets. Especially if its a shorter stop than the line a few blocks over.

So far, "high-capacity transit" means bus rapid transit. Anything else, such as streetcars, makes no sense, since most of the 16 miles of State in the study run parallel to, and only a few blocks from, the existing TRAX line.

Thinking of Market Street, there is BART, Muni Metro, Buses, and the F Line. Certainly one of those is not needed right? Wrong. All of these lines serve a different travel function. I'm surprised at how much this is misunderstood when you talk about transit in other cities. But there you have it. On the major streets in a region, redundant service types are necessary to get people where they want to go.

Connecting the Dots

For cities that are more advanced in transit connectivity, bigger plans are taking shape on how to connect regional rail systems. That is, making commuter rail connections such as the tunnel that would connect the Eastern and Western rail terminals under the Danube River in Budapest. This connection would connect subway and tram systems with existing regional systems much more intuitively. It's something I think a number of US cities should start thinking about including San Francisco and Boston.

In Boston specifically, the North and South Stations are not connected but a run through would likely make the system more efficient in my eyes. It would allow those on the North a one seat ride to places of work in the South and vise versa. Think about the way the Septa system does it, running trains through downtown to the other side of the city, all connecting at the central station.

As for San Francisco, it would be nice to see the second tube, where Caltrain could go to somewhere like Richmond and Martinez directly. Anyway, it's an interesting thought. But it also brings up a point that Paz made on the issue of sprawl and commuter rail. Though in my opinion, this is an issue of neighborhood design, such that people can walk to the grocery store, elementary school and other activities.

Saturday Sacramento Links

It was nice to see everyone at the NJudah shindig last night. I'm in Sacramento for a family reunion this weekend so posting might be light.

Looks like Phoenix is pausing its first extension due to funding issues.
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I think people like Barbara Boxer still don't get the climate, transport, land use connection. I am glad that folks are talking gas tax, but there has to be a better way.
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LA is building an Orange Line extension that connects the Chatsworth Metrolink station to the Warner Center, which is kind of like LA's Tyson's Corner. I think this is a great connection that obviously should be updated as soon as possible. With the Warner Center thinking about densifying, the connection to commuter rail is key.
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I like this quote from Rep. John Mica:

"if you're on the Transportation Committee long enough, even if you're a fiscal conservative, which I consider myself to be, you quickly see the benefits of transportation investment. Simply, I became a mass transit fan because it's so much more cost effective than building a highway. Also, it's good for energy, it's good for the environment – and that's why I like it."

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Some interesting information on traction motors in Europe. Kind of continues on our electrification theme of late.

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades

"Officials laud transit center, buses as ‘close’ to light rail"

Why don't you try and sell it a little harder...

The bus lines are designed to imitate light rail systems used in other cities. Many parts of the route have dedicated bus-only lanes and the buses will stop at raised platform stations, where passengers will buy tickets before boarding. “We’ve had a lot of discussion in this valley about light rail. This is the closest thing we can bring for the cost of a bus,” Snow said. “It is really a train-on-tires concept. It’s designed around the light rail concept. It looks like it’s a train.”

Total references to superior transit to the bus they are building in the article: 9 I'm not going to say whether this corridor should or shouldn't have had light rail over BRT. But it seems to me that people might be disappointed when they don't get the train you're promising.