BIKE: commuter rail in Mudville

[David Dobbs]

Once again fellow cyclists it's time for a reality check.

At 05:52 +0000 10/9/04, Jeb Boyt wrote:
>After the failure of the 2000 light rail initiative, Cap Metro put a 
>good deal of time and effort into analyzing possible alignments 
>through the University and Downtown.  They did not identify a 
>feasible solution.

To which at 13:23 -0500 10/9/04, Patrick Goetz replied:
>That's because they didn't try very hard.

Reality.

Jeb is right here.  Capital Metro spent the better part of two years 
in numerous meetings negotiating with the stakeholders in that area, 
The State of Texas and the University of Texas, to identify a 
possible alignment solution.  Neither one of those entities was 
interested in monorail.

At 13:23 -0500 10/9/04, Patrick Goetz wrote:
>I've been told that Cap Metro CEO Fred Gilliam is anti-rail.

Reality.

Fred Gilliam built the the Memphis Streetcar in 1993 designed from 
the beginning to become light rail.  That transition is in progress 
and the orginal 2.5 mile line is now 6.5 mile with 4 more miles under 
federal review.

At 13:23 -0500 10/9/04, Patrick Goetz wrote:
>And the chairman of the Cap Metro board, Lee Walker is an Aggie.  Is 
>it any wonder that they couldn't identify a feasible solution?

Reality.

Mr. Walker is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School and a 
professor of in the UT Graduate School of Business Management, and a 
highly respected leader in the business, environmental, and 
neighborhood communities.

At 13:23 -0500 10/9/04, Patrick Goetz wrote:
>And no, the fact that hundreds of cities have successful urban core 
>rail systems doesn't bother them in the least.

Reality (NOT)

And these "hundreds of cities" are using monorails for their "urban 
core rail systems, right?"

At 13:23 -0500 10/9/04, Patrick Goetz wrote:
>Just because everyone else does it, doesn't mean that it's not 
>impossible in Austin.

Reality.

Well, after struggling through the syntax here I guess you mean we 
could have rail in the urban core, but first you have to have 
agreement of the stakeholders involved.  Because UT and the State 
wanted a campus/government complex circulator (sometimes referred to 
as the "Longhorn loop"), while folks farther out all the way to 
Leander wanted light rail to be more of a commuter service, an 
appropriate compromise within the projected budget could not be found.

Remember, by being Casey ("That ain't my style," said Casey) you and 
your monorail fantasy friends can claim credit for defeating the 
light rail initiative that would have created an "urban core rail 
system."  That 1800-vote loss for LRT out of a quarter million votes 
cast in the 2000 election leaves us where we are; i.e., win an 
election this November for our bike trail and commuter rail or see 
the only significant source of alternative transportation funding go 
away.

Urban rail in the core will eventually happen, but that's not what's 
on the ballot this year.

At 05:52 +0000 10/9/04, Jeb Boyt wrote:
>Now we have before us a commuter rail proposal that is more 
>affordable than light rail and that won't require that the streets 
>be torn up nor will it displace cars from lanes.

To which at 13:23 -0500 10/9/04, Patrick Goetz wrote:
>Do you see the absurdity of what you're saying?  More affordable is 
>not always better.

Reality.

Although light rail displacing cars from lanes greatly increases the 
actual capacity of a street, most people don't understand that until 
they see it.  Political reality says do what you can do when the 
opportunity presents itself.  Vote for the rail with the trail or--at 
the risk of repeating myself--see nothing but paving for the 
foreseeable future.  Affordable and off the streets is the the only 
politically  acceptable alternative at this time.

Dave Dobbs
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Texas Association for Public Transportation
9702 Swansons Ranch Road
Austin, Texas 78748
Ph 512.282.1149

Visit our website at  http://www.lightrailnow.org
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



>Jeb Boyt wrote:
>>
>>After the failure of the 2000 light rail initiative, Cap Metro put 
>>a good deal of time and effort into analyzing possible alignments 
>>through the University and Downtown.  They did not identify a 
>>feasible solution.
>
>That's because they didn't try very hard.  At least one completely 
>feasible solution was staring them in the face and they chose to 
>ignore it.  No, wrong:  they actively shunned it.  I offered to have 
>a Carter-Burgess engineer do a free lunchtime seminar on modern 
>monorail technology for Cap Metro staff and even offered to provide 
>lunch for anyone who showed up.  A Cap Metro staffer then informed 
>me that an order came from high up in the organization forbidding 
>them from having the lunchtime seminar.  And no, I'm not making any 
>of this up or exaggerating in the slightest.  Apparently technical 
>knowledge falls in the category of censored information at Cap Metro.
>
>I've been told that Cap Metro CEO Fred Gilliam is anti-rail.  And 
>the chairman of the Cap Metro board, Lee Walker is an Aggie.  Is it 
>any wonder that they couldn't identify a feasible solution?  And no, 
>the fact that hundreds of cities have successful urban core rail 
>systems doesn't bother them in the least.  Just because everyone 
>else does it, doesn't mean that it's not impossible in Austin.
>
>
>>Now we have before us a commuter rail proposal that is more 
>>affordable than light rail and that won't require that the streets 
>>be torn up nor will it displace cars from lanes.
>>
>
>Hey, great.  I'd like to offer a suggestion which will make the 
>commuter rail proposal even more affordable and even less disruptive 
>for automobile traffic:  why not run the commuter rail line from 
>Leander to the Northwest Park & Ride and stop it there?  This way 
>major intersections won't be blocked during rush hour and it wil 
>cost even less to implement without compromising the utility of the 
>system much. The Red Line riders are going to have to tranfer to a 
>bus eventually anyway, why not just have them transfer at the 
>Northwest Park & Ride?
>
>Do you see the absurdity of what you're saying?  More affordable is 
>not always better.  A cardboard refrigerator box would be more 
>affordable than a house or apartment, but I'll bet you're not living 
>in one.  A set of rollerskates would be more affordable than a car 
>or bicycle, but I'll bet you're not using rollerskates to get to 
>work every day.
>
>_______________________________________________
>Get on or off this list here:  http://BicycleAustin.info/list

==================
Dave Dobbs
ddobbs
Austin, Texas
==================
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