Olympics Update! Track is Back! (Spoiler Warning)

After a dismal day on Saturday where my buddy Leo got DFL in his qualifying heat of the 1500 and the Jamaicans destroyed us in the sprints, we came back Sunday with a vengeance going 1-2-3 in the 400 hurdles. The Marathon is going to be a good one with super whiz kids Ryan Hall and Dathan Ritzenhein.

A National Expansion Strategy

Since the FTA and the federal government are always looking at ways to judge projects based on how they fit into a national strategy, it might be good to think about funding transit in this way. Not because we want to be forced into the frame of the FTA, but rather it might get more interest and importance if it ties into a national strategy. Much like the 1950 federal defense highway system, this could be the national defense transit network.

The idea is that if you hop on a plane and go to Columbus, you can get to the major destinations within Columbus and then hop on a train to Pittsburgh or Cleveland and get around in those places without a car. It seems to me that if you made it easy for people from outside of the city to operate without a car, it would make it easier to operate inside of the city.

There are two components, good metro networks and good city high/moderate speed networks. The larger network should connect cities together that are larger but probably don't get as good of airplane service and major cities that generate a lot of short flight trips. The smaller networks should connect, as said before, the major destinations in a region. For example, Denver's transit network is connecting the Federal Center, the Tech Center, Downtown, and Boulder together with transit. To me, making all of these connections should make it easier for creating transit villages where people can walk or bike for many of their trips and make intercity travel easier as well.

NYT Streetcar Article Makes Impression

After articles in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today about streetcars didn't generate a lot of buzz, the NY Times article rocketed up to the 3rd most emailed article on NYTimes.com at one point yesterday. This was brought to my attention by Frank over at Orphan Road.

But in the last few days, that one article set off a flurry of streetcar articles around the country.

Los Angeles - Downtown business organization sets up Streetcar Non Profit.

Over its first eighteen months, LA Streetcar, Inc., would look to raise just under $400,000. The money would be used to advocate and coordinate the streetcar effort.

Pasadena - An editorial in the town paper on beginning to consider streetcars

And the thing about such momentum is that streetcar building is so much simpler than other kinds of transit, with tracks that don't require deep digging, that city blocks are just closed down to auto traffic for a few weeks. And Seattle's line was up and running in December of last year just four years from the time it was conceived. That's unheard of in the transit world.

Minneapolis - The city has a streetcar network plan, they look towards Seattle and Portland for ideas. Also check out this "new to me" blog Twin Cities Streets for People.

An investment blog, Common Census, has an interest in the investment opportunities around streetcars. This is the first time I've seen this outside of the transit blogosphere.

As major cities look to build new streetcar systems and extend additional lines, investors should be aware of the potential opportunities these new public transportation lines could bring.

Treehugger makes the point about dedicated right of ways and calls Randall O'Toole full of %$!*

I would politely suggest that Mr. O'Toole is full of crap- I live in a streetcar city and the lines do not all go downtown, they do connect with the subway which does, but are used to go in all directions by all kinds of people. Drivers hate them (they are hard to pass and definitely slow down automobile traffic) but riders love them. When dedicated rights-of-way go in, they become fast, dependable and have huge capacity.

The Chronicle of Higher Education makes the case that streetcars and transit in general are good for student populations and school coffers.

And while streetcars can save hundreds of dollars a year in commuting costs for students and others, the lines save millions for universities that would otherwise have far more serious parking problems — and many more costly garages and space-hogging lots.

Wow. Ridiculousness Reaches New High

You have to read it to believe someone actually said it: A Vote Against Rail is a Vote for Freedom and Prosperity.

Bob Jones almost had it right. Allow me to edit. A vote against rail is vote for the freedom, mobility, economic prosperity and a cleaner environment that busses and automobiles bring. A vote for the rail system brings urban jungles, more taxes, more government control, and more pollution.

A Logic Disconnect

We discussed the moves by the Dallas Ft. Worth region to move forward with a regional transit network but some skeptics still don't understand how things work as it pertains to automobiles. In a Fort Worth Star Telegram article, the following is mentioned.

Others argued that technological improvements to cars might improve the region’s air pollution, making commuter rail unnecessary. "It’s likely that by 2011 we’re going to see a lot of electric automobiles on the road," said Dave McElwee, president of the Tarrant Alliance for Responsible Government. "Ridership will go down."

I'm constantly amazed by the technophiles that are hoping some magic electric car will rise making transit useless. The problem with this is even if you built a car like that, the roads still need to be expanded to accommodate them. Also, with the increases in VMT expected from hybrid cars making people more mobile, energy consumption still continues to rise. So while there might be electric cars at some point, mobility still creates issues. The human condition causes a problem in that for work people need to be close to each other but the dispersed living arrangement causes a need for greater infrastructure to accommodate mobility.

I also don't see what people have wrong with transit. The narrative in this country has been driving for so long by suburbanites, it discounts the feelings of urban dwellers. In places with well run transit, movement is so easy, and city life is their choice. When I was in Budapest and Vienna, I couldn't imagine having a car in that city. The Metro came every 3 minutes and urban form made all trips convenient by walking. Even here in San Francisco, I can get where I need to go easily by walking or using transit. It's silly to think about getting in my car, yet there are still car driven policies, pushed by those might as well be living in the suburbs.

Olympics Update! Shalane Flanagan!!!

A bronze for the distance crew already! Shalane Flanagan gets an American Record in the 10K and a bronze medal. This is huuugee!!!! Even bigger when you consider she had food poisoning only a few nights before.

Name This Place

I'm a sucker for urban form. This place could use some transit...

Rail Ridership in LA Up Again

I'm always curious when people such as the BRU pit themselves against better mid and long range transit. What seems missed in the arguments over bus and rail is the network is the reasons for each mode. Just like the circulatory system in your body, you wouldn't ask capillaries to do the long distance blood moving that your veins do.

But another interesting development is the recent skyrocket in rail ridership and slightly lower bus ridership increases in Los Angeles. The Gold Line in particular is moving up, taking a 39% increase over the same time last year, with all rail up 20%. But the Orange Line and the LA Bus system were up 8% and 6% respectively. Not that 75,000 new riders is anything to to sneeze at on the bus tip, but with only 4 lines, rail ridership increased 53,236 total riders. That is a lot of capacity on four corridors that just got soaked up. Imagine if there were more rail corridors and more possible network connections.

Space Race Update: Houston & Dallas

Yesterday there was a commentary by DART president Gary Thomas on the anniversary of the agency. Not satisfied with the huge expansion plan they have going on right now, the region is looking for more.

Although DART's own plans call for more than 40 miles of new rail lines along with more bus and HOV service by 2030, it's not enough. Our region, already the nation's fastest growing, will double in population by then. We are already hard at work exploring new ways to design, build and finance rail services. And more cities, bolstered by DART's success and challenged by their congestion needs, are working with us to find solutions.

That solution is a 9 billion dollar regional commuter rail plan. Now all they have to do is figure out how to pay for it.

On the South side of the state, Houston is looking at Commuter rail expansion as well, planning a massive commuter network. This one estimated to cost about $3 billion. This is on top of an expansive light rail program where they are expanding on the most successful new light rail line in the country. Five new lines, all in the heart of the city.

It's interesting to note the difference between the two core systems. Houston is geared towards circulation within the first ring road of Houston while Dallas' light rail base works like a feeder system. It shows the multi-faceted approach that cities can take with the technology. If the two were to learn from each other, Houston would see that they need perhaps a bit more mid-range transit moving people faster between districts, while Dallas could use a bit more circulation like they get to a small degree with the McKinney Avenue Trolley. It also proves the need for multiple transit modes to work together in a network. With the addition of these commuter rail networks, these cities are on the right track to a more sustainable region.

Edmonton High Level Streetcar

Interesting how things turn out. This is quite a restoration. The high-level part is very cool. Now though, they have a light rail system.