BIKE: Rails with Trails, Again

[David Foster]

Bike Friends,

I have been out of town for a few days and am catching up on lots of email 
on commuter rail and rails-with-trails. Rather than responding to al of 
them, I just want to point out a few reasons why RwT is more likely to 
happen with than without commuter rail. I will be out of town again 
starting tomorrow and not back till Wednesday but I look forward to the 
post-election analysis on this forum, and I hope discussion of how to make 
rails-with-trails work should the referendum pass, as I hope it will

1). Cap Metro will have more money if the referendum passes, and may well 
not be able to withstand the attack to roll back its sales tax and put the 
money into roads if it loses.  This means we could lose funding for RwT and 
the All Systems Go improvements to the bus system as well, and cripple the 
agency's chance to do any kind of rail system. This is of course what 
Skaggs and Levy want.

2) Cap Metro will have an incentive to do RwT if the referendum passes, 
namely to increase ridership by providing an easier and safer way for 
cyclists to access the stations and trains. Cap Metro has also agreed to 
providing bike access on the trains and lockers and/or bike racks at the 
stations, which will serve the same purpose of increasing ridership. A 
cyclist will be able to ride to the station, leave the bike there or take 
it along and ride to his/her final destination.

3) I do not believe that Cap Metro would commit the political blunder of 
backing out on this promise. Many of us worked to get Cap Metro to agree to 
RwT, including the bicycle advocacy organizations who issued the joint 
press release supporting the referendum (ACA, AMTG, TBC, and now too Trans 
Texas Alliance). Cap Metro gives every indication of wanting to go forward, 
including helping bring Mia Birk of Alta Planning in from Portland Oregon 
to give a presentation on Rails with Trails while back.

Thanks to all for the interesting and for the most part (compared with some 
of the other email forums I subscribe to) informed and informing discussion 
of these issues.

David Foster