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.

Categorical Exclusion

One of the provisions in the newly released transportation bill is a categorical exclusion on environmental impact statements for streetcar projects that operate in existing right of ways. Here is the language:

18 SEC. 3027. STREETCAR CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.
19 Not later than one year after the date of enactment
20 of this Act, the Secretary shall complete a rulemaking
21 process regarding light rail streetcars that are—
22 (1) located within an existing right-of-way with
23 in the classes of action identified in regulation by
24 the Secretary; and
1 (2) that are categorically excluded from require2
ments for environmental assessments or environ3
mental impact statements pursuant to regulations
4 promulgated by the Council on Environmental Qual5
ity under part 1500 of title 40, Code of Federal
6 Regulations (as in effect on October 1, 2003).

I hate the look and unreadability of legal documents such as this, but I guess it has to be this way. I wonder when we'll start seeing a modified definition of streetcar in existing ROW. Does this mean we'll see more rapid streetcars?

H/T E-Lo

New Tech & Electrification

If you were a city, would you want to be the first to implement an unproven technology whether it's hydrogen streetcars or super fast charging streetcars? I know that makes it tough for innovation but it seems like a lot of risks and on a political level it means career death if the program crashes. That being said, there are lots of interesting ideas out there that might deserve a look. In addition to the two above, the inductive motor looks interesting as well.

One thing though, I really really don't get the hate of overhead wires. They have been proven since 1888 and create no point source emissions. Get over your personal aesthetic people. If you were so concerned with wires, you should also be concerned with that smog stuff as well. As I've said before, it may look bad to you, but my lungs don't care.

On a similar note, some Railroads are considering electrification as well as allowing corridors to be used for wind power transmission. This idea has been around for a while and I'm glad they are finally catching on.

Drinking from a Firehose

Here's a few tidbits from the last few days. I'm sorry for the outage but I was in Denver for CNU. The next few weeks should be a bit more stable.

Beijing wants to be a transit city...that means not waiting for more than 5 minutes for a bus. That would be awesome.

In peak hours, the minimum departure interval for subway trains will be shortened to 2 minutes; the waiting time at bus stops will be reduced to 3 to 5 minutes; public transport will account for 45 percent of the journeys in downtown areas.

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Forclosure is hitting the Lindbergh MARTA development. The area is seen as a model, but apparently that doesn't help get or keep funding.

“We worked 10 years to get to this point and to make such inroads and transformed the entire neighborhood,” said Harold Dawson Jr., president of the Harold A. Dawson Co., the project’s developer. “And unfortunately these lenders can’t see the forest for the trees.”

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Carrollton looks like the place to be in North Texas when it comes to TOD. The New York Times gave them a nod. Though what is even more interesting is that they are looking at getting Korean investors to build some of it.

Mink hopes to bring Korean developers to prospect for business around the city's three Dallas Area Rapid Transit rail stops. Those transit stations are scheduled to open in December 2010.

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Winston Salem is looking to use energy grants to plan the streetcar. I thought that was rather innovative.

The city hopes to apply for a discretionary grant through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program from the U.S. Department of Energy as soon as funds are available. Winston-Salem would be in competition with other local governments for the money.

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The Ragin Cajun is stumping for streetcars in New Orleans.
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Salt Lake Mayor Becker hopes the US Conference of Mayors will be able to push harder for more streetcar money.
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Looks like we have another I-10 situation in OK. I don't understand paving over rail ROW. It just doesn't make any sense in these times.
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Why bar the car when you get the milk for... wait that's cow. Well why are people buying cars if they have the zipcar option.

Silo X: Single Project vs. Complete System

There's been a lot of talk over this study today. It comes at a perfect time for journalists to skim the abstract and form their own conclusions before actually digging in to the details. What the study does though is look into the life cycle costs of different transportation modes. As Jebediah states in his post:

What’s totally missing in their “complete” estimates for these various transportation modes are the virtuous effects of rail: creating denser communities where people tend to walk more, own fewer cars, live in smaller abodes, and spend less time stuck in traffic jams.

Where could we get such a look into that community? Why Portland of course where they began preliminary calculations of these things in a basic way for transportation and building emissions.

This can and has been replicated (pdf pg 53) in other places such as Over the Rhine in Cincinnati. Hopefully other places will look holistically at the benefits of the whole package instead of just these news hopping studies that continue silo thinking. It is certainly good to look over the life of projects, but as mentioned, it's only the life cycle of that individual transportation project and nothing else related.

Oh Noes! Streetcars Go Slower!

The Salt Lake Tribune apparently doesn't get the point of Streetcars AT ALL.

According to the UTA's own study, capital investment for expanded bus service on 2100 South would cost only $10 million. The streetcar would cost $37 million. Buses are more expensive to operate, but you could run expanded bus service for 26 years on the difference in capital cost between buses and the streetcar.

Great, run buses on a private ROW that has a ton of development potential. No comments on the difference in development that will result or the benefits of electric transit. Also, they apparently also haven't even taken a look at Portland, Tacoma, or Seattle to see if people actually ride.

TRAX has shown that Utahns will ride trains when they won't ride buses. That might be another point in the streetcar's favor, except that Utah doesn't have experience with a slow-moving streetcar system.

Oh noes! Not a slower moving streetcar! It operates nothing like Trax in downtown Salt Lake!!!

Oh the Memories...

Anyone remember these comments in February?

Hartgen said he thinks ridership will drop further because uptown layoffs are only starting, and that the drop in ridership should spur CATS to consider halting its ambitious plans to build more rapid transit. “We should be saving for our operating budget,” Hartgen said.

Ridership seems to be doing ok to me.

The Lynx Blue Line averaged 15,121 weekday trips in April – surprisingly high ridership given the severe recession. Charlotte's light-rail line had been averaging roughly 14,000 trips for much of the year, and the Charlotte Area Transit System expected it to decline because fewer people are working. But the Lynx carried 380,186 passengers for April, up more than 10 percent over the same time a year ago.

That's good, because expansion is going on as planned, they'll just have to find more funding.

On a seven-to-four party-line vote City Council Wednesday kept the eight million dollars set aside in the budget for engineering work on the streetcar, which Councilman Andy Dulin wanted to strip from the project. Dulin wanted to use the money on road resurfacing. Others who voted for Dulin's proposal did so because they said there's no concrete plan to fund construction.

We've got to think long term and invest in the future. I'm glad to see Charlotte continues to look ahead, even amidst tough economic times.

Sugarhouse Update

Last year we posted on the Sugarhouse Trolley in Salt Lake City. Since I'm going to Salt Lake tomorrow, I thought this update from the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News was appropriate.

What's interesting is that in order to keep costs down, they are going with a single track leaving the option for double track on the abandoned rail ROW between the closest Trax Station and the Sugarhouse district, a denser part of the city. In addition to this gem, there was a hint that mayors would be pushing congress to streamline the funding process for streetcar lines with Salt Lake Mayor Becker taking the charge.

In two weeks, Becker plans to sponsor a resolution at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Providence, R.I., calling on Congress to streamline the funding process for streetcars nationwide. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, already has placed a cash request for the Sugar House project.

"We're hoping," Becker said, "that Congress will accelerate the investments."

Recently Congressman Blumenaeur wrote a letter to Secretary LaHood asking for smaller investments to be made in ready to go streetcar projects around the country. In addition to Boise, I imagine the small Sugarhouse project would be one of the many that could apply for the proposed $25 million grant that would be requested.

Next week, Crapo and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., will send a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood asking him to designate $300 million in federal stimulus money for streetcar projects like Boise's.

Below is the alternatives analysis map from UTA showing potential development projects on the corridor as well as possible places for crossover sidings where streetcars will be able to pass on the single track.


What will be interesting to see is if they can keep in the $50 million target for the two mile route. If they do, it will hopefully push others to try and keep costs low.

H/T Ed Havens

Links for Night Owls

I often wonder what proponents of BRT mean when they say BRT. Apparently so will people in Minneapolis.
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I haven't quite gotten my head around Yonah's funding idea but check it out.
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Shocker! Only 17% of downtown shoppers drive to San Francisco. Now can we stop playing the car game?
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Tucson orders 7 cars from Oregon Iron Works. More American Made Streetcars! Boise might have an order in soon too.
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Apparently the recession hasn't beaten down Charlotte's LRT too much. It might be that lunch crowd I saw when I was there.

Cheaper Than

Cincy Streetcar blog has had some interesting quotes lately:

“Streetcar,” says Donohue. “It will make development in Over-the-Rhine happen. I think it’s cheaper than subsidizing every single unit in the neighborhood.”

Now we all know that transportation investments create the impetus for investment in suburbs or cities. In the case of the streetcar, it will increase the pedestrian shed and create demand for greater density. But this comment seems out of whack to me. I can't quite place my finger on it but there is something not right about the inference that it might be an option to subsidize every unit explicitly. As if all urban development needs to be subsidized to happen. Maybe if they didn't have to build so much parking.

Connection Links

The most interesting finds of the day:

Train station revival in Redlands. Wonder if ESRI has anything to do with this...
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Peter Calthorpe is working in Toronto along the Subway extensions
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Streetcar expansion in the Big Easy?
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After the rocky start of the Music City Star Commuter Rail line, I'm really really surprised at this possible commuter rail expansion. It's in the long range plan but I thought long range meant 50 years.
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I love love love when I can go on a trip and not set foot inside a taxi. Fortunately a lot more cities are connecting their airports to downtown with transit. I do wish more places would think harder about the long term implications of not having a station in the terminal such as in Dallas or Phoenix. Yeah it meant some tunneling but it makes things so much easier! I know there are a lot of people that hate the BART to the airport connection, but I love it and use it all the time. If you need to charge me more, go for it. USA Today runs the story on rail from airports.

Sunset Streetcar Houses

Did you know that in the Sunset District of San Francisco there are houses made out of old streetcars? Yup. You can watch a whole CBS 5 segment on the Sunset here. The streetcar house piece on the district called "carville" starts at about 16:20. Fascinating.

Tucson Springing Up on Streetcar Line

Looks like things are hopping in Tucson. 30 projects, not bad in this economy.

About 150 of “riders” traveled the planned route, though this time it was by bus. The ride took us past 30 projects that are sprouting up from Mercado San Agustin, at West Congress and Avenida del Convento, to the Main Gate of the University. Rio Nuevo is indeed moving forward!

You Chose...Wisely

It's not even funded yet and already changing things:

“I chose this location so that we could be right on the streetcar line. If you want to start looking at a return on investment, for the streetcar, then you can look at us. We’re going in here with the streetcar in mind,” says Rose.

H/T Cincy Streetcar Blog

Portland Unveils First American Made Modern Streetcar

Portland Transport has the skinny with photos and a video. With the recent passage of the Eastside Extension, it looks as if there will be a lot more of these coming. I've also heard rumors that Tuscon could order from OIW as well.

As a side note but not entirely unrelated, the Wall Street Journal ran a piece on how places like Portland and Austin are hitting a mid-life crisis. They are getting such a huge influx of past college folks that there just aren't enough jobs for them. But why are people moving there? What makes these places cool?

Elections Do Matter

Even in the transit world...

But supporters of the Portland expansion as well as transit advocates nationally said that making the announcement so early in the new administration and allowing the Portland project to leap over other projects sends an unmistakable message of federal support for transit.
...

Wyden and DeFazio, both Democrats, were more direct.

"The real answer is, elections matter," Wyden said. "The priorities are different now, and they are very much more in tune with the needs of the people of Portland."

DeFazio agreed. "The Bush administration had set up a black box test that no streetcar proposal would have ever been able to pass," he said. "They were not following the law, and this administration is."

It's interesting to see how the cost-effectiveness measure will be used by the Obama FTA. Considering the problem is that there isn't enough money for all projects, there will have to be a way to figure out which projects deserve funding and which don't. Will it be now the lack of livability planning with transit?

Charlotte Leaders Want Money for More Roads

Ughh. Don't they have enough roads already? It's really upsetting to see that knowing what they saw happen along the south corridor, they are still looking to build more roads. What about sidewalks? What about bike lanes? What about real expanded transit. Charlotte itself knows what happens when you invest more in service. You get more riders! But never give a single family developer (who is the chair of this group) an inch, or a few miles of highway, cause they'll take it. From the Transport Politic:

The argument goes something like this: Charlotte approved a 1/2¢ sales tax for transit back in 1998, and the business community helped work successfully against a repeal vote in 2007. Now, though, whatever the needs of the transit system, roads need to be better funded, because the region’s highways are not keeping up with demand. The development community - focused mostly on building single-family houses and office parks entirely designed for the auto-dependent - is adamant in its push for more roads.

Designing Oakland Streets for Streetcars

They were built for Streetcars, why not bring them back?

Image courtesy of Greg Thompson.

Thursday Linkfest

H Street Streetcar tracks going in ???
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It looks like some electrification will make the difference between Zurich and Munich. About an hours difference. That's a lot of time.
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Some twists to the NAACP vs the Streetcar story in Cincinnati.
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Certainly the repeal folks in Charlotte would have given up by now. They got shellacked 70% to 30% in the last repeal try but gosh why not come back for more pain. Anyone want to explain why these folks get a voice at all after such a drubbing? Especially when the highway overruns were far worse than the LRT line that is performing beyond expectations.

But I did find out why it will cost so much:

The Lynx extension's 50 percent cost escalation from the 2006 estimate is largely because it's become more complicated. The original plan called for 10 bridges to separate the train line from roads. The plan now calls for 16 grade separations, including burying 36th Street under rail lines in NoDa. Despite the higher costs, the success of the Lynx Blue Line (between uptown and south Charlotte, along South Boulevard) still makes the project viable, CATS said.

In other words, the improved ridership from the South Corridor allowed the line to enjoy a "rail bias" in the ridership model that was demonstrated by the first line. Also, 16 grade separations is really going to bust any budget, though I still don't think $100 million per mile is low enough.
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Sign of the times: Edinburgh won't move forward with a tram spur due to the economy.

Streetcars in New York? Ask JSK

A visit to exchange ideas could possibly spark the New York Streetcar renaissance. Janette Sadik-Kahn will visit the city to talk about bikes and the big changes in New York but might come away excited about streetcars, something Toronto never left behind.

Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner of Transportation of the City of New York, is in Toronto tomorrow to celebrate Earth Day and to see a Toronto icon that she wants to bring back to the Big Apple: the streetcar. “I’m very jazzed about my visit,” Ms. Sadik-Khan said today from her New York office. “The streetcar program is something that I’m looking at here. We threw away our streetcars, and you kept them. I think it’s a great economic development tool.”

I don't think that New York should adopt the streetcar model of Toronto exactly. For one thing the single cars are more like buses instead of the sleeker more comfortable european trams that can be of greater size due to modular designs. You would lose out on some of the benefits of greater capacity and energy usage. Toronto is currently looking to replace the existing vehicles so we'll probably see them make the switch soon as well. Also it's likely that a dedicated lane for streetcars will be necessary to make the lines even more efficient, something Toronto is starting to do.

Perhaps we'll see some sort of study soon. And perhaps New York can look to some of Scott Bernstein's ideas on using funding from electric companies to bring them to scale. Not everywhere, but on a few key routes that could use the capacity.