Pantograph

End of the line

2010-09-22T22:06:00.002-04:00

So I am way too swamped with school work, interning, Studio, and preparing to study at the Bauhaus next semester to make any attempt to update this blog anymore. I'm not adding any more posts this year unless a light rail bond issue miraculously appears on the ballot this November. Otherwise, I plan to get all this work done and then take lots of fun transit pics in Europe next year. See ya!

Cincinatti, parking mandates and transit

2010-06-22T08:39:00.007-04:00

The Transport Politic yesterday reported that the Cincinatti, OH planning commission has decided to reduce the number of required parking spaces at residential and commercial buildings within 600 feet of the new streetcar line downtown. It isn't a done deal because their city council needs to vote on it in order to change the zoning code. Nonetheless this shows a solid commitment to making streetcar transit work rather than just being "a trophy piece to parade around."

Minimum parking requirements are destructive to urban areas. They drive up the cost of construction because every new building requires a shadow building for car parking. Then they drive up the cost of living for people who have to pay for the shadow parking structures after construction. They reduce the city tax base because every parking garage replaces businesses or housing that isn't operating there and bringing tax revenue to city coffers. They stifle new business creation when locations that might otherwise work can't provide "X" number of spaces per 1,000 square feet. They destroy the very urban fabric that defines the city by creating vast dead spaces that are hostile to street life.

Parking minimums also have a deleterious effect on transit by incentivizing car driving. Each new 400 space parking garage that goes up downtown represents 400 drivers who have no reason to take transit to work. Every new city housing unit is required to provide one off-street parking space so potential transit riders now have parking on both ends of their commute. Even grocery stores in urban areas are required to provide vast parking lagoons for their customers. Why would people take transit anywhere with so much "free" parking to be had?

If we're going to revive our urban areas (and we will have to in coming decades) we have to make them dense again and that means utilizing all available space for humans- not cars and SUVs. The surface parking lots or "missing teeth" have to be filled in with human-scaled buildings. Maybe we will even be able to reconfigure some of our parking garages for living or work spaces. But we can't do this with our current regime of parking requirements. We also cannot support transit as long as we continue to subsidize car driving to the degree we have over the last 70-80 years. The Natti realizes this, I hope other American cities follow suit (ahem, Richmond.)

Die Partybahn!

2010-06-04T12:38:00.004-04:00

I will be studying at the Bauhaus-University in Weimar, Germany next year so I am in the process of learning all I can about Germany. Weimar is in the state of Thuringia in central Germany, about 2.5 hours east of Frankfurt and 3 hours south of Berlin. Naturally the first thing I looked up about Weimar was if it has a tram- sadly it does not. But the next town east is called Jena, and it does have a tram. Not only a regular transit tram, but an older charter tram called Die Partybahn! I will be in Germany during the occurrence of my 32nd birthday, and I fully intend to spend it aboard Die Partybahn!

I ran some text from their website through Google Translate:

"The party can also train you for the pleasure of own party. Book Birthdays, stag parties, weddings, Semester parties, class reunions, school introductions, youth harriers and confirmations - the party has to train every occasion the very special atmosphere.

You ask by mail (marketing@jenah.de) or by telephone at 03 641 41 41 29 to see if your preferred date is free and set start and destination stop and the duration of voyages.

The hourly rates for the rental of the party train are:
1 hours: 152,00 EUR
1.5 hours: 218,00 EUR
2 hours: 285,00 EUR.

Find out about the food and drinks."

And here is Die Partybahn! in action:

Can't wait to get on the party train!

Video of Washington, D.C.'s new streetcar

2010-05-08T14:29:00.002-04:00

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcwashington.com/video.

It's strange that the overhead contact wires are so controversial. Tram opponents argue that they will ruin the viewscape of the city, and indeed DC's original trolley system collected power with a scoop from a trench. But overhead wires aside, I think there's a legitimate argument that the streetcar will still have a decluttering effect on the streetscape by way of taking cars off the congested city streets. Like they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

47 Bleicherweg, Zurich

2010-04-09T12:37:00.002-04:00

Take a look at this "complete street" in Zurich, Switzerland. Wide sidewalks are sheltered from the elements; a curbside bike lane set off with yellow paint; a single lane for vehicles; a sheltered platform island for tram passengers; a lane for the tram; another tram platform; then two tram lanes; then the opposite sidewalk. Can you think of an American street with three streetcar lanes, a bike lane, and only one lane for cars?

A couple bright spots in VA's new budget

2010-03-16T22:44:00.003-04:00

It's not all bad news for the Commonwealth under the new biennial budget passed by the General Assembly this week. As reported by the Times-Dispatch, there are a couple bright spots for transportation.

-The budget allows the state transportation board to steer money from construction projects to mass transit funding.

-Authorizes new funding for new rail service between Richmond and Norfolk, as well as funding for service between Lynchburg and Washington, D.C.

At this time I can't find any more details about what the first item may mean for transit. I hope it means that money allocated for road construction could move to transit funding, because every transit system in the state is suffering. HRT needs more money for their light rail project, perhaps that is what negotiators had in mind. But that short bullet doesn't make clear if other transit funding is being reduced and this is supposed to cover the shortfall.

Follow the link to a brief discussion of the budget at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

About the budget

HRT's LRV security detail

2010-03-04T20:51:00.002-05:00

Baltimore MTA Light Rail pics

2009-12-17T00:02:00.004-05:00

My buddy Will visited Baltimore, Maryland recently and sent me these pictures of their light rail system. It is a one-line operation with 33 stations and short spurs to Baltimore's Penn Station, BWI airport and Glenn Burnie. The LRV's were manufactured by ABB Traction circa 1991 with a capacity of 85 seated and 91 standing passengers. Also check out the cool bicycle shaped bike rack.

USDOT announces $280 mil available for transit projects

2009-12-02T10:45:00.001-05:00

U.S. Transportation Secretary Announces $280 Million for Streetcars
First Funds for Administration's Livability Initiative Will Create Jobs

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the availability of $280 million for urban circulator projects such as streetcars, buses, and bus facilities to support communities, expand business opportunities and improve people’s quality of life while also creating jobs.

The money represents the first batch of funding by the Obama Administration for its Livability Initiative, a joint venture of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“This represents a significant effort to promote livable communities, improve the quality of life for more Americans and create more transportation choices that serve the needs of individual communities,” Secretary LaHood said. “Fostering the concept of livability in transportation projects will stimulate America’s neighborhoods to become safer, healthier and more vibrant.”

Press release continues at DOT site

Long Beach looking at streetcars

2009-11-24T10:34:00.001-05:00

From the Long Beach Press-Telegram:

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Second District City Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal envisions a downtown crowded not with cars, but people - pedestrians who arrive by bicycle, bus and, perhaps, even streetcars.

Electric-powered streetcars such as those used in San Francisco and Portland - connecting Long Beach's neighborhoods, fostering pedestrian movement and spurring development - are an integral part of Lowenthal's vision.

Last week, the council heard a report on a feasibility study that had been commissioned in 2007 about installing streetcars in Long Beach, and other city officials seem to be warming up to the idea.

"We are at a fantastic time in our city when more and more people want to leave their cars behind," Lowenthal said last week. "People are looking for ways to exercise their right to different modes of transportation."

making conservative arguments for transit

2009-11-22T16:43:00.002-05:00

DDOT's LRV's leave Czech Republic for USA!

2009-11-19T14:33:00.003-05:00

DC's three LRV's produced by Skoda in the Czech Republic in 2007 are officially on the way to the nation's capital!

Read more at BeyondDC blog

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As an administrative note, I apologize for blog inactivity this fall. My first semester of grad school has been very busy!

Norfolk takes delivery of its first LRV's!

2009-10-08T09:21:00.004-04:00

from PilotOnline:

"Locals were introduced to The Tide light-rail cars today when the first two arrived in Norfolk. The cars traveled cross country by freight train from Siemens Transportation Systems Inc. in Sacramento, Calif."

Follow the link to see video of the new vehicles arriving on location.

VIDEO: Light-rail cars arrive in Norfolk

Va. lawmakers question ignoring local road funding

2009-09-18T13:46:00.001-04:00

from Forbes.com:

Va. lawmakers question ignoring local road funding - Forbes.com

RICHMOND, Va. -- Some members of the Virginia Senate's money committee questioned Thursday whether it's wise - or legal - to sacrifice the state's local roads in order to secure federal dollars to maintain and build highways.

Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer told members of the Senate Finance Committee that revenue reductions of $4.6 billion over the next six years have forced the state to choose to go after federal highway funding instead of repairing and improving other roads and bridges.

To qualify for federal funds that contribute $4 for every $1 the state pitches in, Virginia must meet minimum construction requirements. In order to get those, Virginia has reduced funding to maintain state and local roads by 25 percent.

Tea Party Protesters Protest D.C. Metro Service

2009-09-17T10:23:00.002-04:00

From the Wall Street Journal-

Tea Party Protesters Protest D.C. Metro Service - Washington Wire - WSJ

Evidently the Teabag-Birfers feel their 9/12 unity protest was derailed by sub par service on Metrorail. Some complained that Metrorail didn't increase capacity beyond normal weekend levels to accommodate the tens of thousands of protesters who came out. They didn't plan on requiring such a high level of government service for their anti-government rally. Of course none of them will walk away from this thinking Metro deserves a dedicated funding mechanism. Because that is socialist.

Tide Light Rail begins station construction

2009-09-09T09:01:00.006-04:00

from PilotOnline:

Norfolk light rail stations' look is built on flexibility

"...City officials have decided on a neo classical style for the 11 light-rail station shelters that is designed to fit in historic neighborhoods, including Freemason, as well as more suburban settings, including Ingleside.

"The shelters' appearances will vary, with heavier columns and finishes downtown and lighter, more airy features in the outlying neighborhoods, planning director Frank Duke said. Their size will vary as well, with larger shelters at stations that are projected to carry more passengers.

"Each will have benches, trash cans, lighting and a ticket vending machine.

"They're nice, considering we went at it with a bare-bones perspective," said City Councilman W. Randy Wright, who has championed the rail project.

"The original design was very basic, but council members agreed to enhance the look at the city's expense. Hampton Roads Transit is now advertising for bids to build the stations."

********

I think this neoclassical station design is really unique. I'm not aware of any other US light rail systems that have tried to blend station design with surrounding historic buildings. Largely because existing light rail systems in the US are few and far between, but also because many are in the West where there isn't the same stock of antebellum neoclassical buildings we have in the East- particularly in Virginia. Also, many light rail systems have little to no infrastructure in the way of stations, rather they are simply signed areas on the street for boarding and deboarding.

So it seems that Norfolk may soon have the world's only modern-neoclassical LRT system!

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By the way- why did the sketch artist for the above illustration choose to draw an SUV in front of the train station?? I guess if they can use bikes to sell SUV commercials they can also use SUV's to sell light rail?

"High-Speed Boondoggle" by Robert J. Samuelson: the Urban Workshop Re-mix

2009-08-27T21:26:00.001-04:00

"The ~~Obama~~ Eisenhower and every subsequent administration's enthusiasm for ~~high-speed rail~~ endless highway and road building is a dispiriting example of government's inability to learn from past mistakes. Since 1971, the federal government has poured ~~almost $35 billion~~ $1.89 trillion in subsidies into ~~Amtrak~~ air and highway funding with ~~few public~~ benefits that favor a few over many."

read on at St Louis Urban Workshop blog

VA applies for $75mil for NoVa third track

2009-08-25T10:53:00.006-04:00

from the Dispatch:

Virginia seeks $75 million for high speed rail

Virginia is seeking federal stimulus funding for a $74.8 million high-speed rail project in Prince William and Stafford counties.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced yesterday that Virginia has submitted an application for funding for a third set of tracks along an 11.4-mile section of the CSX Corp. rail line between Richmond and Washington.

"The Federal Railroad Administration set very specific criteria for states to compete for this first round of historic federal investment in high-speed rail," Kaine said.

"Virginia has submitted a strong project application and we are ready to begin construction as soon the federal funding is awarded," he said.

The application deadline yesterday was for "ready to go" projects fully supported by both the track owner, CSX in this case, and the service provider, Amtrak. The third set of tracks would stretch from Powell's Creek in Prince William to Arkendale in Stafford.

Virginia intends to compete in October for a second round of high-speed rail projects funded by federal stimulus funds.

******************************

Sounds great! This is an interesting section of the route because there are at least three bridges and most of the track is along the Virginia bank of the Potomac River. The train passes some marinas, Possum Point Power Station and goes right through Marine Corps Base Quantico. Virginia Railway Express also uses this entire section of the track so this will increase VRE efficiency as well.

Take a look at this Google map of the proposed $74.8mil track work.

Also, Transport Politic has posted a complete list of the specific Phase I plans the states have applied for.

Bob Samuelson writes an ugly anti-rail piece in the Post

2009-08-24T12:37:00.002-04:00

Robert J. Samuelson - High-Speed Rail Plans Defy Experience - washingtonpost.com

"HSR won't work in the US because our population density is 86 people per square mile vs Japan's 880/mi2." Wow, if that's not the most stunningly dishonest factoid about density than it is surely the most naive or ignorant. Read the whole piece for a well-rounded array of strawmen, lies and distortions about passenger rail.

High floor, low floor, bus floor, tram floor!

2009-08-20T13:38:00.003-04:00

Greater, Greater Washington reported last week that DDOT and Metro planners have run into an interesting problem with DDOT's planned high streetcar platforms on their H Street corridor. They have planned 15-inch from top of rail platforms so that streetcar users will board level with the vehicle. This design improves accessibility for all streetcar riders. Meanwhile, Metro is operating low floor buses on the route with doors lower than the planned streetcar platforms. This would create a situation where riders exiting the bus have to step up onto the platform. Or if the bus gets too close to the platform, the doors would be damaged by hitting it; too far away and a dangerous gap is created. So Metro has asked DDOT to revise the design either by lowering the platform seven inches, or by changing the length of it so that buses can pull all the way past.

The photo below shows a San Francisco Muni high platform to illustrate the design problem the two agencies face. Imagine riders climbing up on the platform from a low floor bus.

R&CB Rwy Richmond terminal then and now

2009-08-11T15:49:00.006-04:00

As the station originally appeared in 1907

Appearance 1974-2009

August 10th, 2009

Richmond and Chesapeake Bay Railway

2009-08-11T15:10:00.002-04:00

The fascinating story of this former passenger interurban that connected Richmond and Ashland. All that is left today is the former terminal at Laurel and Broad streets, and a car barn on Brook Road. A mile-long concrete trestle existed here, but was torn down in the 1950's and 1960's.

It says here that the line was constructed for high speeds- up to 90mph!

From the National Register of Historic Places:

Statement of Significance
The Richmond and Chesapeake Bay Railway car barn is significant because it is one of two surviving buildings associated with the independent electric railway that provided service between the City of Richmond and the Town of Ashland from 1907 to 1938. The only other surviving building, the terminal, has been heavily altered and is no longer recognizable as a terminal building. Utilitarian in nature, the car barn incorporates industrial materials of the time – steel structure and corrugated metal siding. A number of innovations incorporated into the line made it unique – the type of car, the current utilized, and the concrete and steel viaduct. The car barn is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under criteria A and C. It is eligible under criterion A because of its association with an interurban railroad that incorporated innovative technology. The car barn is eligible under criterion C because it is representative of early twentieth century industrial architecture.

Historic Background
Frank Jay Gould, son of New York financier, Jay Gould, envisioned an electric railway from Norfolk to Fredericksburg that would pass through Petersburg and Richmond with branches to the Northern Neck. Gould wanted a high-speed electric railway with large comfortable cars – not the local trolley system the line would later become. Incorporated in 1905, the Richmond and Chesapeake Bay Railway integrated a number of innovations, many never before seen in the United States, namely the type of cars used, the voltage at which they were operated, and the concrete viaduct. Gould wanted cars that were fast and comfortable. The four, thirty-nine ton, fifty-five foot cars, manufactured by the St. Louis Car Company, resembled Pullman parlor cars with mahogany paneling, high backed seats, frescoed ceilings, smoking compartments, and vestibule doors.3 The original rail cars were an oddity– “they were built in two sections, divided with a large transformer in the center. These cars, the only ones of their kind, were designed to absorb only as much power as was required and return the excess to the overhead wire. In this manner, enough power was left in the line to sell to customers along the right of way.”4 The cars used 6,600 volts at twenty-five cycles per second instead of the customary 600-volt direct current used by trolleys. Further, no other interurban railway up to this time had used voltages higher than 3,300. A pantograph extended from the center of the car transferred power from the overhead wire to the motor. Because of high speeds envisioned for the railway, up to 90 miles and hour, the overhead wire could not be strung in the traditional manner from pole to pole. A suspended centenary system was chosen, because the slightest sag in the wire could result in the pantograph losing contact with the wire and arching. For these reasons, too, the rail line needed to be level and straight. To maintain Gould’s high standard for a straight and level rail line it was necessary to construct a half-mile long bridge that would cross Bacon’s Quarter Branch, the double tracks of the Seaboard Air Line Railway, and a number of well traveled roads. A wood trestle with steel spans over the streets and railroads was planned, but while traveling in France, Gould saw aconcrete viaduct. Gould halted construction on the wood trestle and ordered a concrete viaduct be built. The viaduct was designed by the Trussed Concrete Steel Company of New York and was the largest bridge of its type in the United States at the time.
Intent upon building an interurban railroad, Frank Jay Gould purchased the Brook Turnpike in 1902. Chartered in 1812, the Brook Turnpike improved travel between Richmond and northern portions of the state, and for a long time it was the only road leading north from the City of Richmond. In the 1830s, a trip north to Washington still required a thirty-eight hour stagecoach journey along the turnpike. A special act of the General Assembly chartered the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad in 1834. The charter contained a number of unique features, including a statute prohibiting the construction of a railroad between Richmond and Washington or any portion thereof. Based on this statute, the State Corporation Commission was unwilling to grant Gould a charter for is new railroad. After a Virginia Supreme Court decision and no objection from RF&P Railroad, the charter was granted in 1905. The Richmond to Ashland section was the first to be built. Railway management was anxious to begin service and opened the 5.2-mile section between Richmond and Lakeside on 27 July 1907, months before the rest of the line was ready for operation. The single-track railroad could not accommodate the scheduled runs while managing the ongoing construction required to complete the line to Ashland. As a result, business was suspended six days later, until 28 October 1907, when the 14.8 miles between Richmond and Ashland finally opened for business. Construction costs totaled $994,000. Gould had plans to begin immediate construction on the line to Tappahannock, but the stock market panic of 21 October 1907 made investors nervous. The Virginia Passenger and Power Company and the Richmond Passenger and Power Company, both controlled by Frank Gould, were in receivership. As a result of these events, the line was never completed. The railroad continued to operate until 20 December 1917, but the short section of track was never profitable. The heavy Pullman-style cars showed abnormal wear because they weren’t designed for frequent local stops. The line was put up for auction in August 1918 and the highest bidder offered $90,000 and wanted to scrap the assets. The trustees rejected the bid because the tracks and real estate alone were worth $140,000.

In 1919, Oliver J. Sands and Jonathan Bryan bought the franchise for $135,000 and the Richmond-Ashland Railway was chartered on 15 April 1919. A bond issue of $200,000 helped finance the purchase price and start-up costs. The new railway would operate as an interurban streetcar line between Richmond and Ashland. The line was converted to cheaper to operate 600-volt D.C. current instead of the 6,600-volt current originally used and four streetcars were acquired second-hand. There were a number of grade crossing accidents and on 16 July 1922 there was a head on collision between two trolleys that injured six people. “Expenses incurred due to the collision and several crossing accidents strained the financial resources of the company.”5 In 1936 when the original thirty-year franchise expired, the company’s deficit had reached $171,619 and their bond indebtedness was $161,500. The bond interest had been in default for six years. On Tuesday, 22 March 1938 the lasttrolley left Ashland and the copper wire and rails were sold for scrap. Virginia Electric and Power Company purchased the railroad’s right of way to run electric transmission lines in 1937. The City of Richmond purchased the Brook Road right of way lying within the corporate limits. “When Brook Road has been improved, as we plan to improve it, real estate values, both along Brook Road and on Chamberlayne Avenue, are bound to be enhanced, and we will have a new and badly needed outlet to Route 1.”6

Frank Jay Gould was the youngest of six children born to Jay Gould and his wife, Helen Day Miller. Jay Gould was an American financier and railroad speculator – a prototypical robber baron. Along with James Fisk and Daniel Drew, he wrested control of the Erie Railroad from Cornelius Vanderbilt and in 1869 he precipitated a financial panic, when he and Fisk attempted to corner the gold market. When Jay Gould died in 1892, at the age of 57, he left an estate valued at seventy-seven million to his children. In 1909, Frank Jay Gould incorporated the Virginia Railway and Power Company. The goal was to acquire Richmond and Tidewater Railways and related companies, and provide light and power, operate street railways, and distribute manufactured gas. Among the Richmond acquisitions were the Richmond Railroad and Viaduct Company, the Richmond and Petersburg Electric Railway Company, the Richmond Traction Company, the Virginia Passenger and Power Company, and the Richmond Passenger and Power Company. The Richmond Passenger and Power Company, established in 1887 by Frank Sprague as the Richmond Union Passenger, was the first commercially successful electric street railway system in the world. In 1913, the Virginia Railway and Power Company built its head quarters building at 702 East Franklin Street -- twelve-story “skyscraper” designed by Alfred C. Bossom. In 1925, Gould sold his controlling interest in the Virginia Railway and Power Company to Stone and Webster and the name was changed to the Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO). Gould died in Paris in 1956.

With the exception of the car barn and the terminal little remains of the Richmond and Chesapeake Bay Railway. The Richmond terminal at 814 West Broad Street is still standing and occupied by the Richmond Glass Company. However, the exterior has been sheathed with a metal cladding that completely obscures the classical facade designed by the architectural firm of Noland and Baskervill. The former terminal building is listed as a contributing building to the Broad Street Commercial Historic District Boundary Increase. The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority removed part of the viaduct in 1958 as part of a slum clearance project and to build Carver School. Another portion was taken down to make way for the Richmond Petersburg Turnpike (Interstate 95). The remainder was demolished by the City of Richmond in 1965. The north abutment was still visible from Sledd Street in 1983. The Virginia Dominion Power Company’s, formerly VEPCO, power transmission line has preserved the character of the cuts and fills with little alteration since they purchased the right of way in 1937. The Ashland Depot, at the corner of Maple and England streets was replaced with the Ashland Post Office in 1940.

Monroe Park in 1896

2009-08-10T15:43:00.002-04:00

Monroe Park is Richmond's oldest park, laid out in 1855. It has endured changes in use but remains about the same as when it was first designed. I think it is a beautiful park, especially the amazing fountain in the center, but I'm not sure why it has been so difficult to clean up. It's usually full of bums and it is dangerous to visit at night. There is a master plan for the park, so I think its future is bright.

Here is a depiction of it from The Dispatch in 1896. Notice the trolley lines on Main St (also on Laurel, but not pictured) and the heavy rail running on Belvidere.

DDOT making progress on Benning Ave streetcar line

2009-08-07T16:34:00.001-04:00

These photos show how the work is progressing on Benning where the tracks are in the ground from Oklahoma Avenue moving west.

Portion of Ft Collins, CO streetcar tracks unearthed

2009-08-04T13:43:00.003-04:00

I'm curious to know how much of Richmond's trolley tracks remain buried under the streets. You can see a portion of rail poking out of the asphalt at the corner of Laurel and Cumberland streets.

Road crew unearths long-gone trolley tracks

Encased in concrete, the tracks were paved over after the city shut down its streetcar system in 1951. Keeton said she has no record of maintenance on the street and said her crews had no idea they were there.

“We tried to salvage all the rail, but we have had to take it out in pieces,” she said of the corroded and rusted metal.

Richmond localities leaders in VA car deaths

2009-08-03T10:18:00.003-04:00

from the RT-D:

Traffic deaths still high in 3 Richmond-area localities

Chesterfield County, Henrico County and Richmond accounted for more than 8 percent of the people who died on Virginia roads in 2008.

Sixty-eight people died in those three jurisdictions last year, compared with 821 statewide -- the lowest level since Virginia began keeping the records more than 40 years ago and a 20 percent decrease from 2007.

Chesterfield, with 30 road deaths, was second only to Virginia Beach in fatalities last year, while Richmond ranked fifth with 20 and Henrico tied for seventh at 18 in the annual traffic-crash report released last week by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Happy Day!!!

2009-07-29T18:19:00.003-04:00

I received my letter of acceptance to Virginia Commonwealth University's Master of Urban and Regional Planning program! Now I can move forward professionally in this field, I'm so excited! Perhaps I will use some of my historic renovation tax abatement refund to buy books!

VA Beach business leaders say "No" to LRT referendum

2009-07-24T15:34:00.001-04:00

They believe City Council should just make a decision.

"Top business leaders have come out against the city holding a referendum on a light-rail project, arguing it's a decision the City Council should make.

"It's a complex subject, but it's not above your pay grade," Jim Flinchum, board president of the Virginia Beach division of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, told the City Council last week. "This is your job."

The comments mark the unofficial start to a debate sure to rage for at least a year while Hampton Roads Transit, the region's transportation agency, carries out its light-rail feasibility study.

In 1999, Beach residents derailed light rail 56 to 44 percent in a referendum. City referendums are nonbinding, but the City Council used it to guide its 1999 decision."

Switching locomotives at Union Station, Wash DC

2009-07-23T20:38:00.007-04:00

The passenger train tracks north of DC comprise what is called the Northeast Corridor. Fully electrified, this is the busiest rail corridor in the US. The electrification ends at DC though, so when traveling south it is necessary to change the train's locomotive from an electric traction unit to a diesel unit. Here engineers switch an electric EMD AEM-7AC for a diesel GE Genesis P42DC engine.

A few more random subway shots

2009-07-23T19:05:00.010-04:00

We tried to ride the N train from Brooklyn to Astoria but only made it as far as Times Square due to debris on the track.

A train passes the 28th St station on the express tracks

Times Square Subway entrances

Crossing the Manhattan Bridge on the N train

Construction at Pacific Street

The N train at Pacific Street

In-car station display

MTA New York City Subway Tiles

2009-07-23T18:53:00.004-04:00

Here's a few of the tile mosaics I saw in the subway last weekend.

Traveling by train and bus from Richmond to NYC

2009-07-21T22:51:00.008-04:00

On July 16 I made the trip from Richmond to New York by a variety of public transportation modes. Admittedly the first leg was by car, from my house to Main St Station (hey that once again proves the rule that people won't take the bus unless they REALLY have to)

So I rode Amtrak from Main St to Union Station in DC. The train is extraordinarily slow on this leg. First it creeps through the Acca freight yard to Staples Mill. This 7.5 mile trip takes- wait for it- 40 MINUTES. Pathetic! Hopefully VA will get some stimulus money to fix this problem- keep your fingers crossed. Once the train gets on the mainline it moves faster, but not fast enough. Ideally we would have two electrified passenger-only tracks to handle more trains.

At Union Station I ate some Indian food before riding Metro's Red Line to Chinatown. Here I caught Megabus to New York. The ride was actually pretty great. I rode in the second row on the second floor so I had a great view of the road. It was actually a little vertigo-inducing sitting up there crossing the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Megabus arrived about 30 minutes late though, but the dropoff at 28th and 7th Ave is at a subway stop, so I bought a four-ride pass and rode the 1 train uptown to Times Square and met my friends for dinner.

So overall the trip took just under 11 hours. Of course it would have been faster to just stay on the train, or to take one of the dragon buses. But Megabus is a great bargain ($8.50) compared to Amtrak so that's why I did it this way. I couldn't get such a cheap ticket on the way home, so I took the train the whole way. More on that in another post.

Here we see the lone Quicktrack ticket machine out of order in Richmond. This was a huge hassle as the conductors asked me for my ticket at EVERY stop. Not sure why they couldn't look at my reservation and confirm that I had paid.

A GE P42DC diesel unit pulls my train along the viaduct into Main St Station. Note the single track configuration.

Passengers board at Main St. Note the low platform forcing passengers to climb the stairs to the car through only one or two doors. Penn Station in NYC has high platforms so passengers board level, it makes more sense.

Union Station's new bicycle transit center. How cool!

The front of Union Station

The bike center project at Union Station.

Union Station's grand interior.

Union Station shopping. Food court on lower level, retail on upper levels. You can also see the Acela ticket counter here.

A Metrorail Red Line train enters the platform under Union Station

An Acela locomotive in the yard. Note how the nose breaks away to couple the train.

Megabus at the 28th and 7th Ave stop in Midtown. It's a Van Hool coach built to special spec to fit through the Lincoln Tunnel. There are windows on the roof and let me tell you, it BARELY clears the tunnel!

An Uptown 1 train pulls into the 28th St station under 7th Ave

New Pedestrian Areas on Broadway

2009-07-21T09:39:00.006-04:00

I got to visit this area over the weekend and it really is amazing! There are excellent bike paths full of riders, nice new planters that define the space, tons of chairs to relax in, people everywhere and best of all, a much safer and less chaotic walking experience because of all the traffic calming measures. The painted areas of the pavement send a clear message that tell the pedestrian it is "Okay to walk here" and tell the cars to "stay off!"

Virginia applying for $1.5bn in federal rail money

2009-07-09T13:52:00.001-04:00

Highlights:

Virginia's proposed $1.51 billion plan includes $491 million improvements in a six-mile stretch around Richmond's Acca rail yard and a 13-mile link between the yard and Main Street Station in the city's downtown. The improvements are necessary to remove bottlenecks that limit rail service to the renovated station

Other parts of the proposal include:

* $185 million to add a third rail track between Richmond and Fredericksburg;

* $152 million to improve conventional rail service between Main Street Station and Petersburg; and

* $195 million to upgrade the rail corridor between Richmond and Washington, D.C., to allow high-speed trains that could cut the trip to 90 minutes on a reliable basis.

Read full story at the RT-D

Richmond in top half of fastest growing US cities

2009-07-06T09:42:00.004-04:00

Good news! Richmond ranked 123 of 273 in a list of America's fastest growing cities with populations over 100,000. The US Census Bureau estimated 199,991 City residents in 2007, and 202,002 residents in 2008, a net addition of 2011 people or 1% population change.

Meanwhile, Virginia's Tidewater region registered net population losses in all its cities. Virginia Beach City ranked 250th. While still VA's largest, the city lost 1,258 people, or 0.3%. Newport News and Hampton cities ranked 264 and 265 respectively, with a 0.7% population decline each. Norfolk came in at 267 also with a 0.7 negative gain and Portsmouth rounded out the bottom of the list at 271 with a 1.3% population loss.

Northern Virginia cities posted positive population gains. Arlington ranked near the top of the list at 18, with a 3.0% population gain. Alexandria was close behind at number 20 with 2.9% growth.

See the data here:
Table 3: Estimate of Resident Population Change for Incorporated Places Over 100,000

And here is the Census Bureau's page of Population Estimates

Talking with DC's DOT Director

2009-07-02T13:37:00.001-04:00

Upcoming Transit MEGAtrip!!

2009-07-01T13:16:00.005-04:00

I'm going to New York City in a couple weeks and I just nailed down the final details of the trip, I'm really excited! So here's my planned route, from Richmond's Jackson Ward neighborhood, to Manhattan's Times Square:

*Walk to 1st and Broad streets for the #6 GRTC bus to Main St. Amtrak

*Amtrak #94 regional from Main St. to Union Station in DC

*Lunch at Union Station

*Metrorail Red line to Gallery Place/Chinatown

*Megabus from Chinatown to 28th St and 7th Ave Manhattan

*MTA 1 train from 28th St to 42nd St Times Square

*Walk through Times Square to John's Pizzeria 260 West 44th St for Josh's wedding rehearsal dinner!

Goals of H.R. 2724

2009-06-29T16:26:00.003-04:00

This is what that "Transportation for America" banner to the right is about. Notice that electric rail transit would accomplish all of these goals (except increasing freight transport)
*********************

From the Federation of state Public Interest Research Groups

The following goals, which are enumerated in the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009, are critical benchmarks for future transportation policy:

1. Reduce per capita vehicle miles traveled by 16 percent.
2. Triple walking, biking, and public transportation usage.
3. Reduce transportation‐generated carbon dioxide level by 40 percent.
4. Reduce delay per capita by 10 percent.
5. Increase proportion of freight transportation provided by railroad and inter modal
services by 20 percent.
6. Achieve 0 percent population exposure to at‐risk levels of air pollution.
7. Improve public safety and lower congestion costs by reducing traffic crashes by 50
percent.
8. Increase share of major highways, regional transit fleets and facilities, and
bicycling/pedestrian infrastructure in good state of repair condition by 20 percent.
9. Reduce average household combined housing plus transportation costs by 25
percent, using 2000 as a base year.
10. Increase by 50 percent the number of essential destinations (work and non‐work)
accessible within 30 minutes by public transportation or 15 minutes by walking, for
low‐income, senior, and disabled populations.

America needs a new transportation future based on national priorities that enhances our economy, environment, and quality of life. We respectfully ask you to co‐sponsor the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009.

United Streetcar 10T specs

2009-06-28T16:40:00.002-04:00

The new variant of United Streetcar's 10 T series is the T4 model for hot climates. "The new model offers an increased cooling capacity, improved air distribution and a new and more efficient HVAC system. "

Among the vehicle options:

*MORE MODERN APPEARANCE
An improved appearance provides your city a modern looking vehicle and will give your community its own "signature streetcar".

*HOT CLIMATE PACKAGE
We offer an increased insulation package to be used in cities with hot climate conditions. This package provides solar reflective glass, additional/improved insulation, higher capacity HVAC systems with improved air distribution systems and additional cooling capacity.

Check out all the specs at United Streetcar's site

Norfolk's light rail costs

2009-06-28T15:54:00.003-04:00

This story is from December 2008 when the price of the project increased 25% to $288 million. The overpasses and stations they're building for this are probably what gave it such a big price tag.

For Richmond I envision a barebones system more like Portland's. No bridges and much simpler station platforms will keep the price down. A 12 inch deep track pad will prevent having to move utilities around and will be much quicker to build. I wonder if there will be cost savings in buying streetcars from the new company in Oregon as opposed to a European manufacture like HRT's Siemens vehicles. The S70 is designed with a max speed of 55mph which is obviously extreme overkill for the streets of Richmond. With a minimum turn radius of 25m I'm not sure it would work here either.

Eurotram operating in Milan

2009-06-26T16:50:00.003-04:00

The Flexity Outlook series tram by Bombardier. I like the gigantic wraps they put on these things. There is one tram without wraps and you can see just how large the interior space is through the huge windows. It's amazing to see such a large vehicle operating easily in the cramped streets of such an old city.

Who killed the electric streetcar?

2009-06-25T23:08:00.001-04:00

September 2008 editorial from Richmond.com

Who Killed the Electric Streetcar?

"In 1888 the electric streetcar or "trolley" came to Richmond as America's first large scale and successful use of electricity to run public transit. On January 9, Car #28 became the first revenue streetcar industry in America, operating on the Church Hill line at a fare of five cents."

Seattle's South Lake Union Streetcar

2009-06-23T09:55:00.001-04:00

Death toll rises to 7 in Metro Red Line crash

2009-06-23T09:09:00.002-04:00

Experts Suspect Failure Of Signal System, Operator Error

Experts familiar with Metro's operations focused last night on a failure of the signal system and operator error as likely causes of yesterday's fatal Red Line crash.

Metro was designed with a fail-safe computerized signal system that is supposed to prevent trains from colliding. The agency's trains are run by onboard computers that control speed and braking. Another electronic system detects the position of trains to maintain a safe distance between them. If they get too close, the computers automatically apply the brakes, stopping the trains.

These systems were supposed to make yesterday's crash impossible.

Developing story at Washingtonpost.com

Deadly collision on Metro's Red Line

2009-06-22T19:11:00.001-04:00

Red Line Collision Kills at Least 2

"Two Red Line Metrorail trains collided this evening between the Fort Totten and Takoma stations, striking with such force that part of one train was left resting on top of the other, and killing at least two people, authorities said. "

Developing story at Washingtonpost.com

Bipartisan support for HSR in VA

2009-06-18T10:35:00.002-04:00

So last night I was flipping channels and happened to see Mayor Dwight Jones speaking at a Main St. Station press conference. I saw Eric Cantor over his right shoulder, and Bobby Scott over his left shoulder. He was going on and on about this and that, and I gathered after a while the point was they were all there to pay lip service to high speed rail.

I didn't know about any press conference in recent days, so I googled it this morning and realized it was taped April 24th. I found this letter to Ray LaHood posted at Congressman Scott's website:

**************************************************

Letter to Secretary LaHood:

April 23, 2009

Ray LaHood, Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590

Secretary LaHood:

We write to you today to support the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) inclusion of the Southeast Rail Corridor in the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) recent announcement of a High-Speed Rail Strategic Plan. As you may know, the existing rail between Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia is of great economic importance throughout our region and we commend DOT’s prompt attention towards establishing final guidance for competitive grants to improve this corridor.

The Richmond area is a major economic hub in the Commonwealth of Virginia - home to seven Fortune 500 companies, over 20,000 small businesses, and rated 7th on the Forbes list of top 200 “Best Places for Business and Careers.” There is no doubt that proximity to our nation’s capital plays a major role in the success of our region. Each year, over 5.7 million people visit the Richmond area, generating $1.8 billion for our local economy. However, the transportation corridor between Washington, D.C. and Richmond is widely known as one of the most congested transportation corridors in the country.

High-speed rail provides a sensible and viable solution to our region’s transportation challenges. It is estimated that creating a high-speed railway through Virginia will generate as many as 185,500 jobs, as much as $21.2 billion in economic development, and pull nearly 6.5 million cars off the road annually. Providing a high-speed rail service from Washington, D.C. to Richmond will drive economic development throughout our region for many years to come.

Private industry has demonstrated an overwhelming interest to partake in high-speed rail, best gauged by a request for proposals, required by the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-432), which required DOT to seek projects for the financing, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of a high-speed intercity passenger rail system operating within Federally designated high-speed rail corridors. We applaud FRA’s efforts to build on this recent undertaking.

As you continue to establish final guidance for a competitive bidding process for high-speed rail projects, we wish to call your attention to the importance of a Washington, D.C. to Richmond line. We believe it is truly an investment in our economic future.

Sincerely,

Rep. Bobby Scott Rep. Eric Cantor
Members of Congress

http://www.bobbyscott.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=387&Itemid=62

**************************************************************

So for once Eric Cantor does something that isn't shameless partisan political theater, but instead bipartisan political theater. Money talks, and frankly I will be stunned if Cantor actually supports HSR with real dollars in the coming years.

Winston-Salem council seeks federal cash for streetcar plan

2009-06-17T10:01:00.002-04:00

from the Winston-Salem Journal:

Money needed for Winston-Salem streetcar project
Officials hoping for stimulus dollars to begin planning phase

Winston-Salem city transportation and planning officials are looking for stimulus money to jump-start a streetcar project.

The idea to bring back streetcars to the city has been floating around since 2003, when a preliminary study showed that streetcars were feasible in Winston-Salem from an engineering standpoint. A 2006 study showed a detailed route between Piedmont Triad Research Park and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

Several months ago, the Winston-Salem City Council requested that the transportation and planning departments aggressively go after stimulus money to provide planning and engineering for the project. (continued)

Richmond's GRTC somehow makes best darkhorse transit system list

2009-06-16T18:51:00.005-04:00

from Grist.com:

Richmond, Va. Pop. 202,002
"The Capital of the South is served by a century-old non-profit that runs bike-rack-equipped buses, vans, and a carpooling and ride-matching service. Honored last year by the American Public Transportation Association for its deep commitment to the community, the Greater Richmond Transit Company has taken an active role in educating residents about the joys of carless living, with initiatives including a Lunch Time Express shuttle that makes downtown stops and even a transit TV show. A plan known as Mission 2015 envisions rapid transit and a downtown transfer center—big plans for a system dubbed by CEO John Lewis as “the little engine that could."

****************************

Well I can't knock GRTC's accomplishments. When you're severely underfunded, prohibited from entering certain parts of town, and hated by the majority of residents, you really have to make lemonade from lemons. And they did just that, by winning APTA's "Number 1 Transit System" award.

That being said, here's what I would do to improve GRTC:

-Install route maps at stops!
-Fare boxes that give change, what a revolution that would start!
-How about some protection from the elements at stops? A simple canopy and plexiglass wall would do, and they could sell ad space on the walls.
-Move forward with the downtown transfer center. It makes sense for a lot of reasons.
-Extend service to the suburbs
-Nix the bus rapid transit idea. It won't work in the city core!
-Add electric rail transit per the Downtown Master Plan!!!

Berlin tram line 61

2009-06-16T15:48:00.006-04:00

Enjoy this nice mellow ride around the streets of Berlin! This movie was shot by the tram operator from the front of the car. Line 61 can be found in the southeast portion of the Berlin transit map between S Adlershof urban rail station and Rahnsdorf/Waldschänke.

Network map of Berlin tram lines

Historic Map of Richmond, VA

2009-06-12T09:03:00.002-04:00

Look at this neat old map of Richmond. I can't find a date on it, but the oldest it could be is 1901, as the Main St. Station appears on the map. It's interesting that Oregon Hill is called "Clay Ward." Also interesting is the "Byrd St. Station" at the corner of 7th and Byrd, no longer there. On Byrd St. itself we can see "Byrd St. Tunnel" which is no longer there, however a carved stone marker remains, although obscured in brush next to the expressway.

What the heck is the FRA doing to "High Speed" Rail??

2009-06-09T10:24:00.005-04:00

From the RT-D:

High Speed Rail Line Would Include Ashland, Staples Mill

Well that kind of says it all, doesn't it? The FRA nixed a plan to create new right of way that would bypass these stops to the east, and stop at Richmond's Main St. station. It appears they intend to use the existing right of way and stop at a sleepy little station in Ashland. That doesn't sound like high speed rail to me!

It's great that regional trains stop there, and in other places like Fredericksburg. But a true high speed line would have a dedicated right of way, and would only call in the busiest cities, ie DC-Richmond-Raleigh and so forth. Can you imagine flying to New York and having the plan land at every small airfield in between? That would not be high speed travel, and neither is this.

Currently Amtrak averages about 30mph between Richmond and DC. Even with a fast train stopping at all these stations average speeds will max out at maybe 50mph, still making it a 2+ hour trip. That's not high speed!

Defining rail technology; debunking BRT (again)

2009-06-04T14:10:00.003-04:00

from the discussion on "36 Reasons Streetcars Are Better Than Buses" at The Infrastructurist

Rockfish @1005a: "This is an interesting post in how it reinforces an implied “hierarchy” in transit where every tier feels compelled to trash the one below it... I LOVE trolleys as an alternative to light rail (which suffers from its own mania) but there’s really no need to trash buses to advocate for it. In fact, BRT is a realtively quick, cheap and easy way to establish rights-of-way and infrastructure that can be upgraded to trolley over time. Tey are not mutually exclusive."
***************
But there are technological differences between the systems you mention. Trams/trolleys/streetcars operate in mixed traffic on city streets. Light rail operates on separate right of way from vehicular traffic, often grade separated. Light rail standards call for more infrastructure at stations to facilitate quick boarding, as opposed to a simple shelter or even just a sign at a tram stop.

Streetcars, LRT, heavy passenger rail, and HSR all accomplish different transportation tasks so you can't really say that one system is preferable to the one below it. The hierarchical ordering has more to do with the distance traveled, not the level of comfort. It would be impractical to build HSR to go from one side of a city to the other, just as it would not make sense to build a coast-to-coast streetcar line with a stop every half mile.

As for BRT, they say it is "cheaper than light rail" when really it should be compared to the costs of streetcars. BRT systems operate on city streets and narrow separate rights of way like streetcars, and their capacity is similar to streetcars. So it isn't appropriate to compare the costs of that kind of system with LRT systems that are fully grade separated, often in tunnels or up on viaducts and have complete stations rather than simple stops, and can move many hundreds of people in one vehicle.

BRT systems by design have a much lower capacity than rail systems, principally because buses cannot be coupled together like streetcars can. The frequency of BRT reaches a maximum level and then bottlenecks as one bus waits for the preceding one to clear a stop. The roadway of BRT degrades at a rapid pace and needs to be resurfaced every 2-3 years. BRT vehicles are cheaper than LRT vehicles, but have a much shorter service life and much higher maintenance costs, and are at the mercy of changing fuel prices. People always say BRT can be upgraded to rail, but really it cannot. The two systems don't share any common technology so there is no upgrading, only total replacement.

All that being said, there will always be a need for a variety of transit modes, including buses. Look at NYC, with one of the busiest and most developed metros in the world, they still depend on buses to keep people moving. The problem is that right now all our eggs are in one basket with buses, we need multi-modal transit and that means rail.

Charlotte: Lynx ridership unaffected by economy

2009-06-02T16:16:00.002-04:00

from the Charlotte Observer:

Recession hasn't slowed light rail traffic

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.

“I'm amazed that we aren't seeing bigger numbers in terms of losing ridership,” said CATS chief executive Keith Parker, who is leaving Charlotte to take the top transit job in San Antonio at the end of June. “Our customers are primarily people going to and from work.”

HRT Tide construction on schedule, under budget

2009-06-02T15:50:00.001-04:00

from WAVY-TV:

Tide Construction Moves Along

"The price tag for the project is over $280 million. HRT Commissioners unanimously agreed to take a $500,000 vehicle mover out of the budget. Commissioner Randy Wright says the project will keep moving along. "Anytime we can announce a savings its a good news day for us but I want to point out that we are running millions of dollars less than any project in the country for the cost per mile," Wright told WAVY.com. Wright says Norfolk is $10 million less per mile than Charlotte, North Carolina and $30 million less per mile than Phoenix, Arizona."

Norfok Light Rail Construction: 150' Girder from PA

2009-05-11T22:12:00.001-04:00

OUCH! Richmond slammed in AJC

2009-05-11T15:23:00.002-04:00

“We could’ve easily become a Knoxville, Greensboro or Richmond,” McCrory said. “Instead we compete, fortunately, with Denver, Dallas and Atlanta.” -Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory

Rivalry to be Economic King of South heats up

Battle between Charlotte & Atlanta, as Richmond city leaders continue to drive us into obscurity and irrelevance.

Norfolk's LRT route map!

2009-05-10T18:18:00.002-04:00

This route map was published in the 2009 FTA New Starts funding guidelines. Hampton Roads Transit is currently set to receive $127.98 mil through New Starts.

Metrorail Extension Gets $77.5 mil

2009-05-10T17:53:00.002-04:00

-from The Washington Post:

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $77.5 million in federal stimulus money toward the construction of a Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport.

The payout doesn't change the $900 mil already committed to the project by the Feds, but it accelerates the payments, thus saving $15 mil in interest on construction debt.

Read the story at WaPo online

Transit linky time

2009-05-06T14:16:00.002-04:00

Please direct your browser to Daniel Sparing's transit blog, Spagblog. I really enjoy all his photos and info about European rail transit. Take a look!

Houston METRORail's Greatest Hits!

2009-05-04T11:41:00.002-04:00

Look at this video of cars crashing into Houston's downtown tram. This line has an accident rate of 11 crashes per track mile per year, compared to a national average of 0.55 for similar systems.

HRT's Tide May Expand to VA Beach

2009-04-30T18:23:00.002-04:00

from WAVY.com:

Light Rail System Gaining Speed

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Plans for Hampton Roads' light rail system just gained speed. A contract awarded Thursday could take the track all the way out to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. It's all part of larger plans to get you moving.

Metrorail Silver Line completion date announced

2009-04-29T14:19:00.003-04:00

Dulles Rail's Completion Date Delayed

End of the Second Phase Expected in December 2016

The second portion of the Silver Line, Metrorail's much-anticipated 23-mile extension to Dulles, will not be completed until at least December 2016, a year after the original projected end date, transit officials said Tuesday.

Design for Richmond's rail transit map

2009-04-29T10:36:00.004-04:00

In early March I had a snow day from work with nothing to do, so I set out to design what I imagined Richmond's new tram network might look like. Click to see a larger image.

Here is a street map showing exactly where the lines run: Richmond Tram Lines The above diagram is not labeled with street names and is geographically distorted for readability. There are some differences between the diagram and the map, especially around VCU but they are roughly the same.

Pantograph Endorses Brian Moran for Dem Nomination

2009-04-27T11:50:00.004-04:00

Pantograph Blog officially backs Brian Moran for Dem Governor nomination in the June 09 primary. Moran has served the Commonwealth for 20+ years in Alexandria and I think he commands the best perspective on how Virginia should develop.

Specifically, Moran's transportation platform states that we can no longer build enough roads to solve congestion, as anyone from NoVa knows. "Brian knows that to compete in the 21st century economy, relieve congestion and protect our environment, Virginia must invest in high-speed rail and expand mass transit. He understands that we need forward-looking solutions to this transportation crisis."

http://www.brianmoran.com/issues/transportation-infrastructure-education

Pantograph Blog firmly believes that the only way to solve Virginia's traffic crisis is a strong commitment to developing all levels of passenger rail: high speed rail, commuter rail like VRE, and intracity rail transit like the Norfolk Tide must be expanded. Brian Moran understands the urgency of developing transportation in Virginia.

Additional LRT revenues: Naming Rights

2009-04-24T15:54:00.002-04:00

Norfolk could reap $29M for light-rail naming rights

Selling naming rights to light-rail stations, park-and-ride lots, or even the entire rail system could reap nearly $29 million in revenue to help pay for running the system, a study shows.

While the city and Hampton Roads Transit have not decided whether to pursue the idea, the transit agency hired a consultant to explore its potential.

"In these economic times, naming rights is about revenue that is sorely needed," said City Councilman W. Randy Wright. "I see it as a steady revenue stream to help offset operating costs."

Light rail's annual operating costs are estimated to be $8 million to $9 million, of which the city will shoulder about 30 percent. Fares plus federal and state funds will cover the rest.

...In Cleveland, two hospitals bought the rights to name a new bus rapid transit system there Healthline for $11 million over 10 years.

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/01/norfolk-could-reap-29m-lightrail-naming-rights

Metro Jacksonville on HRT's Norfolk Tide

2009-04-24T15:30:00.003-04:00

from: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/1049/116/

Click to see the rendering of HRT's Tide LRV, a Siemens Avanto tram. The Charlotte LYNX system uses the same vehicles, and Norfolk has nine of them on order.

Goals of the Tide Light Rail Line

Several goals for The Tide light rail system have been established:

Enhance the continued development and redevelopment of the City of Norfolk.
Improve the access, reliability, and linkage of the public transportation system.
Create transit corridors that link residential, educational, employment and other activity centers.
Contribute to the protection and preservation of the environment through a multimodal transportation system.

The Tide Already Spurring Transit Oriented Development

Major construction activity has died off in Jacksonville, but private investment in Norfolk is still occurring, fueled by the city's commitment to moving forward with light rail.

The Wachovia Center is a $150 million mixed-use project in Downtown Norfolk that includes a 22-story office tower, 195 apartments, 50,000 square feet of retail space and 2,000 parking spaces. The Wachovia Center will be located near the Monticello Station.

The Belmont at Freemason will soon be Norfolk’s newest luxury apartment community. Comprised of 241 units and 510 parking spaces, residents will have access to Granby Street, MacArthur Mall, Norfolk’s Scope, the Chrysler Museum, Chrysler Hall and the Harrison Opera House from the York Street light rail station.

The Residence Inn by Marriott Norfolk Downtown, which will be located on Brambleton Avenue, will offer ideal accommodations for short-term or long-term stays. When traveling or relocating to Norfolk, patrons will find great amenities, such as spacious suites 25% larger than traditional hotels for extended stays. The Residence Inn will be close to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, EVMS and Norfolk Southern.

The Benefits of Light Rail

Norfolk's leaders have invested in the idea that rail brings many benefits to a city. Jacksonville's leaders should do the same.

Reduces Traffic Congestion. Light rail can move as many people as four to six lanes of interstate highway.

Positive Economic Impact. A report commissioned by the Federal Transit Administration to understand the economic impact of public transportation found that there was a significant positive economic impact on jobs and business revenues. The study found that in the year following the transit investment, 314 jobs are created for each $10 million invested in transit capital funding. In addition, transit operations spending provides for a direct infusion to the local economy with more than 570 jobs created for each $10 million invested in the short term.

Business Attractor. Almost half of the nation's Fortune 500 companies, representing over $2 trillion in annual revenues, are headquartered in America's transit-intensive metropolitan areas.

Business Sales Gains. Businesses would realize a gain in sales of three times the public sector investment in transit capital - a $10 million investment results in a $30 million gain in sales. Regarding transit operations spending, businesses would see a $32 million increase in business sales for each $10 million in transit operations spending.

Economic Development Generator. Rail lines are fixed, high-value assets. Developers are more comfortable investing capital into a system that will continue. Since 1977, when the first Metrorail station opened in Virginia, Metrorail has generated substantial economic benefits for the Commonwealth. By 2010, Metrorail will generate: $2.1 billion in additional Commonwealth revenues and net revenues of $1.2 billion (in excess of the Commonwealth contributions to Metrorail).

Every taxpayer dollar invested in public transportation generates about $4 to $9 in economic returns, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

Cheaper than Roadways. New urban highways cost as much as $100 million per mile, whereas the Norfolk light rail line costs about $31 million a mile.

Saves You Money on Gas. Public transportation saves more than 855 million gallons of gasoline, or 45 million barrels of oil, a year – enough to heat and cool one-fourth of American homes annually, according to the Center of Transportation Excellence.

Better for the Environment. Public transportation generates, per passenger mile, 95 percent less carbon monoxide and 92 percent less volatile organic compounds than passenger vehicles – and about half as much caron dioxide and nitrogen oxide.

Traffic Congestion Costs Money, Transit Saves Money. Without transit, the nation's $40 billion in annual traffic congestion losses would be $15 billion higher. In fact, if all the Americans who take transit to work decided to drive, their cars would circle the Earth with a line of traffic 23,000 miles long. Americans lose more than 1.6 million hours a day stuck in traffic.

Transit Reduces Family Spending Budget. Transportation accounts for approximately 17 percent of our Gross Domestic Product, which means transportation is critical to business and personal economic security. For American families, transportation represents 18 percent of household spending, the second largest expenditure after housing. Americans living in transit intensive metropolitan areas save $22 billion per year in transportation related expenses.

The annual cost of driving a single-occupant vehicle is $4,800 to $9,700, depending on mileage. The annual average cost for public transportation for one adult is $200 to $2,000, depending on services used, according to the Center for Transportation Excellence.

Increases Property Value. Properties located within a quarter-mile radius of a light rail station increase in value by up to 25 percent more than other properties, according to studies conducted by the Urban Land Institute. There are some exceptions, the studies show, such as properties next to Park and Ride lots.

Article images and Norfolk text by www.ridethetide.com

What Does This Mean For Jacksonville?

A viable mass transit system is one thing that all first class cities have in common. While Jacksonville continues to sit on $100 million for rapid transit investment, cities such as Charlotte, Salt Lake City, Orlando, Nashville, Memphis and Austin have taken the bold step of moving forward. If we don't act soon, our community will have to face the prospects of becoming America's largest city without viable rail-based transit options and the negative impact that will have within the business community and our region's overall standard of living.

Article by Ennis Davis

The Norfolk Tide LRT project

2009-04-23T13:51:00.003-04:00

Check out this video rendering of Norfolk's LRT project. The cost is $232.1 mil for an initial 7.4 mile system, or $31.35mil/mile. It appears to be largely street running, but with at least one major bridge over water, which would drive the cost up. Still, this is definitely an affordable project, and it's somewhat embarrassing that Norfolk is getting the Tide while Richmond continues to do nothing for transit.

Paris T3 line

2009-04-22T22:18:00.002-04:00

The new commuter tram line in Paris. The grassy tramway is sweet! Of course if we tried that here it would end up overrun with ground ivy, but we can solve that problem later. The rolling stock are Alstom Citadis 44m seven carbody 100% low floor LRV's.

Bus Rapid Transit: the "Cheaper Than Rail" myth

2009-04-22T20:12:00.002-04:00

Reposting from Buttermilk & Molasses:

"For an opposing view on BRT check out the "BRT Analyses" page at Light Rail Now!: http://www.lightrailnow.org/facts/fa_brt.htm

"The biggest criticism of BRT is that it is actually NOT cheaper than light rail. Cleveland's Euclid Ave HealthLine BRT system mentioned above cost $200 mil to build a 6.8 mile line- that's $29 mil per mile compared to Lewis' quote on LRT at $25 mil/mile. Consider all that must be built in the downtown core: a dedicated busway, BRT stations with ticketing machines, a signal prioritization system. Take into account the higher operating costs of buses vs LRV's and in the end light rail actually costs 16% less per passenger mile than bus rapid transit. When you take the supposed cost advantage out of the equation BRT has no advantage over rail, it is just re-packaged busing.

"I understand that GRTC is looking at BRT as a transition to a streetcar system because of the federal requirements to get money to build such a system. But other than the physical space for the right of way there is almost nothing usable from a BRT transition to streetcars. The right of way would have to be completely rebuilt and all new vehicles would have to be purchased, so there is no cost savings in such a "transition."

"I believe a true transitional system would use electric trolley buses with signal prioritization. As the rail network expands the LRV's can use the same catenary for power and the trolley buses can be moved around the city to establish new lines or operate in places the LRV's cannot, such as the extreme grades around Shockoe Bottom.

"BRT is really not a transitional system, it is an expensive, long-term investment in more of the same."

Harshing the Orange Line BRT buzz

2009-04-22T19:36:00.003-04:00

I found this excellent critique of BRT after searching for stuff about LA's Orange Line. Not sure of the author or original context. http://www.mrl.ucsb.edu/~yopopov/rail_modes/brt.html

Bus rapid transit (BRT) vs. light rail (LRT)

This is in reply to a post in a newsgroup, however, the text is self-contained and does not require any knowledge of the previous discussion.

> The real competition for most light rail projects in the United States
> comes from Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). BRT is now being heavily promoted by
> the Federal Transit Administration.

I don't think these are real contenders. It is the Bush Administration who wants you to believe they are in the same class and thus the cheaper option (BRT) needs to be chosen. Nevertheless, the fact of life is that any rail mode typically draws more new ridership than BRT. A bus is a bus, and it is very difficult to make people commuting by car switch to a bus. On the other hand, history knows multiple examples when a new rail line had two, three or five times the ridership of the bus that existed on the same route before the initiation of the rail. This fact is even documented in the textbooks on public transportation: general public more willingly selects rail as the mode of choice and almost never selects bus. Bush Administration promotes BRT because it is cheaper, and NOT because it can make more difference to relieve the congestion.

Technically, the main advantage of the light rail over BRT is that light rail trains can be run with multiple units. If one articulated 100-feet (30-meter) car is not enough, you couple two of them and run two-car trains. If two cars are not enough, you couple three of them and run three-car trains. Nothing of this kind is easily accomplished with BRT. A single articulated bus with a single driver will never be able to carry as many riders as 300-feet (100-meter) light-rail train with the same single driver. Thus, by design, BRT has LOWER capacity than light rail, just in principle. BRT is designed for lower ridership corridors, and for relatively high-ridership corridors is not appropriate at all. Actually, the "success" of the Orange line in Los Angeles (see below) is an example of the severe limitation of BRT: buses run full and there is no easy way to improve the situation. The poor decision to replace LRT with BRT is already harming the ridership. No new growth can be really expected when buses are at capacity.

Another technical issue is that you need a WIDER lane for the bus than for the LRT, because the bus is not guided by rails. In particular, running buses in the tunnels designed for rail is a nightmare. One can go to Seattle and see how slowly their buses operate in the center-city tunnel compared to any underground rail lines running in the same-diameter tunnels. Or one can go to Boston and see how wide their tunnels (designed specifically for buses) are. This is exactly because navigating a bus requires a wider dynamical corridor.

Generally, given the capacity constraints of the bus (no multi-unit trains) and the high construction costs of the tunnels (the highest of all alignments), it is highly impractical and wasteful to build bus-only tunnels. They are the highest in cost (because they need to be wider than rail ones) but have the lowest capacity (because of the inability to operate multiple-unit sets) of all possible grade-separated right-of-ways. The tunnel portion of the Boston Silver line provides the best illustration of all the disadvantages of a bus in a tunnel: low speed (15 mph), poor operation reliability, extra expense of dual-mode (diesel-electric) vehicles, and high cost with low capacity (airport buses are running full a year after the opening).

Finally, don't forget, that the comfort of the bus ride is substantially lower than the smooth rider on any modern rail mode. Any person with back problems can attest that ANY bus (even on a busway) provides lower ride comfort than modern rail, and thus inferior in quality to rail.

> There has been much publicity from the success of the Orange Line BRT
> in Los Angeles, which now has ridership nearly three times the initial
> projection.

As a person who lives near Los Angeles and closely watches its transit developments, I will tell you a bit about the Orange line. Did you know how bad and unreliable MTA bus system is in general? Having ridden on virtually all large bus systems in the U.S., Los Angeles MTA is not among my favorite. Even if buses run jam packed, the MTA often does not bother (they say they don't have money) to run the route more frequently than once in 30-60 minutes. And even on the routes where buses are officially supposed to run every 10-15 minutes, very often (much more often than in other cities) one has to wait for 30 minutes to witness then two buses coming together. It is not uncommon to spend 60 minutes on the bus stop of a route that "runs" every 20 minutes. Even waiting for the most frequent bus route in Los Angeles - Metro Rapid 720 - which officially runs every 6 minutes - one can often spend more than 20 minutes on the bus stop because buses run completely full and just do not stop to pick up more riders.

Now, imagine in this quite bad system you build SOMETHING better, something that runs every 10-15 minutes if scheduled to run every 11-12 minutes (not too bad by Los Angeles standards). Naturally, this SOMETHING is going to draw a lot of people from the parallel routes, many of which run every 25-60 minutes most of the day. There are so few frequently operating routes in San Fernando Valley, that the new MTA map "Go Metro without Timetables - 12 minutes wait or less" shows only four (!) frequent bus routes in the entire 2-million-people Valley. One of these four routes is the Orange line, and another two (750 and 94/394) actually run every 15 minutes and thus do not belong to this map. There is huge demand for service (both potential and existing), and there is very little service actually in place. ANY solution, ANY mode that is even remotely reliable is going to be successful.

Returning to the projections. You say ridership is nearly three times the initial projection. Did you know that the initial projection for BRT was one SIXTH of the one for light rail? They projected something like 40 thousand a day for light rail, and 20 thousand for BRT. Then, looking at the Gold line and its poor performance, the reduced initial projection for BRT to 7 thousand a day or so. Now, the line indeed carries close to 20 thousand per day and is at capacity. So, looking at official propaganda is not the best way to say how successful a line is.

To summarize: Orange line can hardly be called a "success". It is at capacity, but still carries half the passengers that could have been carried by the light rail line along the same route. And the capacity of the light rail line could have been always expanded by running longer trains. It was a bad decision to replace the LRT along the Orange line corridor with BRT. As usual, this decision was heavily influenced by politicians, by the way, exactly the same ones who stopped Red line expansion west along Wilshire Boulevard.

Moreover, Los Angeles area has another example of the BRT - Harbor Transitway. This 6-station monstrosity cost one billion dollars to build. But ridership is so low nowadays, that buses run only once in 30 minutes most of the day. This compares highly unfavorably to the Blue line that runs two miles east of the Harbor Transit way and has three-car trains running full every 12 minutes most of the day. This is actually a much better example of how BRT scores compared to the LRT: two parallel lines, Harbor Transitway and the Blue line. The latter transports probably 10-20 times more passengers per day. It also demonstrates what riders choose when provided with both options at the same time. (It should be noted that a part of the reason for the low ridership on Harbor Transitway is the very inconsistent routing of various Transitway bus lines in the Downtown area, which is exclusively due to the incompetence of the operating agency.)

> The larger size of light rail trains has interesting consequences. In Los
> Angeles, the Gold Line LRT and the Orange Line BRT presently carry similar
> passenger loads. The Gold Line typically operates 2-car trains on 15
> minute headways. To achieve similar capacity, the Orange Line operates 60'
> articulated buses on 5 minute headways. The shorter station wait times
> result in greater convenience for the riders of the Orange Line BRT.
> The longer station wait times must be a factor in the Gold Line LRT
> under-performing relative to initial projections.

The facts above are correct. However, you miss one very important issue. You look at the CURRENT state of the Gold and Orange lines, and you completely ignore the fact that the system is expanding. The Orange line cannot be extended substantially, since it is already at capacity and there is no way you can substantially improve the capacity with buses. Now, for the Gold line, a 2-car train in 15 minutes is good enough NOW. However, in 2009 we'll get an Eastside extension open, and the ridership will soar. There are also extensive plans for extending the Gold line further east from Sierra Madre Villa along the Foothill Freeway (I-210); the line is ultimately planned to reach Montclair in San Bernardino County. As you can imagine, at that time the line will become the longest on the Metrorail system, and you will need much more than a 2-car train in 15 minutes to carry the loads.

The main point is: the Gold line can (and will) grow, and the Orange line has no future.

> My own thoughts on the matter were strongly influenced by a recent visit
> to San Jose, where I rode the light rail line from Winchester to Mountain
> View. ...
> Of course, had the San Jose system been BRT rather than light rail, I
> wouldn't have bothered to ride it. A train is more interesting than a
> bus. I am not sure that this would be a serious consideration for a daily
> commuter.

Most studies show that this is true for a daily commuter as well. Rail is generally more attractive for a Joe Doe than just a bus. The fact is that rail draws people from cars, and buses almost don't. By the way, it is also known, that proximity to a rail station substantially increases property values. Proximity to a bus stop does almost nothing.

Last update: October 15, 2006.

Main St. Station

2009-03-25T11:46:00.006-04:00

GRTC is in the design phase of converting the Main St. Station train shed into a bus transfer station. The Shockoe Bottom association is against the idea of course, claiming "circulating large diesel buses... doesn't respect the historic heritage of the building." (The real reason is because it will interfere with parking for the Shockoe Center corporate welfare project they shill for.)

I came across these neat old photos of the station before the shed was walled in. As we can see, the heritage of the building is as a passenger transfer station, including the constant arrival and departure of large diesel trains.

Richmond's population and streetcars

2009-03-12T22:37:00.002-04:00

I have a theory that good transit systems encourage dense population growth, and without a good transit system, dense populations cannot be sustained. We're in a particularly good position to examine this theory here in Richmond. Our city gave birth to electric streetcar transit in 1888. That in itself is an amazing fact, the first city IN THE WORLD to operate electric streetcars, an invention of Frank J. Sprague (not a native son, but neither am I.) More on this to come later.

Here is a brief time line of streetcars and population in Richmond:

1888 Streetcars begin operation, Richmond population is about 81,000
1900 pop. 85,050
1910 Richmond's "streetcar suburbs" growing- pop. 127,628
1920 pop. 171,667 34.5% growth in a decade
1940 pop. 193,042
1949 streetcar operation in Richmond ends, tracks are paved over
1950 pop. 230,310
1960 pop. 219,958, -4.5% growth in the first decade of "white flight"
1970 south Richmond annexed from Chesterfield Co. population jumps to 249,621
1980 pop. 219,214, -12.2% growth
1990 pop. 203,056, -7.4% growth
2000 pop. 197,790
2007 estimated pop. 200,123 +1.2%

We can see that installation of the electric streetcar occurred just prior to a six decade sustained growth in city population. Its removal in 1950 coincided with a peak in population at 230,00. From here we see a constant decline in city population until the end of the 20th century, excepting for annexation in 1970 which added 47,000 residents. Even after annexation we see a precipitous drop in population as the streetcar suburbs in Manchester and along Hull Street were depopulated.

Examining the reasons for losing 20% of our population is beyond the scope of this blog, but I believe a contributing factor was the loss of rail transit. Moving forward, it seems the population decline leveled off at the start of the 21st century and is even projected to make modest gains. What we should consider is, if residents are prepared to re-occupy the city can Richmond grow back to mid-century population density without rail transit? How can a city of greater than 200,000 residents function and grow without an efficient means of moving people from place to place quickly, and in the age of climate change, cleanly?

Why rail transit?

2009-03-12T16:15:00.001-04:00

the following is from an exchange on River District News re: transit funding vs. baseball parks:

Paul: "Transit is important, but also a notorious money losers, even in big metro markets like DC and SF, riders pay about 1/3 of the cost of their trip. There are ancillary benefits like less traffic, less parking and less pollution. I would even argue quality of life, but Americans are addicted to their automobiles and a century’s worth of infrastructure, lifestyle and poor planning are going to make transit a tough see to most people. They are the one’s paying the bill."

"I was hoping someone would comment on the paradox of mass transit funding, the more you build, the more you have to subsidize."

Me: "That’s actually not a paradox, just a fact common to all infrastructure- it costs money. Drivers on Richmond’s streets currently pay $0 of the cost of a particular street each time they drive on it. We don’t think of a particular street as being a money-loser, but it’s not like you can say of any Richmond street that it was a revenue generator in FY08.

The economic effects of rail transit in other cities is not revenue generated from the system itself but the value it adds to the areas in which it operates. In Portland they measure a return on a $60 million transit investment in the billions. That’s money that comes from taxes on the increasingly valuable land adjacent to the system, and it means more economic activity in general. It’s the same principle Highwoods is betting will work for their baseball park."

Transit options- the electric trolley bus

2009-03-11T22:11:00.006-04:00

Many people are throwing around the idea of bringing rail transit to Richmond- the idea is presented in the Downtown Richmond Master Plan. Of course, an equal number of people are against the idea, so it will be a long and difficult process to get our first streetcar on a revenue run.

In the meantime, GRTC is developing its own plan to upgrade our woeful bus service. One thing that IS happening now is centralizing bus transfers, thus creating a hub and spoke transit model. This deserves its own blog entry- more on that later. The other component of modernizing bus transit is introducing "Bus Rapid Transit." Broad Street is currently the spine of the GRTC routing scheme, and as such, it gets something like 48 local buses per hour in each direction. This causes tremendous amounts of delays and overlap on Broad. BRT will introduce high-capacity, limited stop service between Rockett's and Willow Lawn, turning Broad into a bus trunk line.

I think this is a step in the right direction, although not the leap I would like to see, but good nonetheless because it will allow GRTC in the meantime to apply for federal money to fund rail transit. So BRT will be the transitional system linking us to better future transit. The question I'm asking is, what type of vehicle is appropriate? If even GRTC says BRT is only a transitional system, then it should incorporate technology that can ALSO be used in rail service.

Perhaps what would be appropriate is electric trolley buses. They are powered by overhead wire, and they conveniently link the flexibility of buses with all the benefits of streetcars. These vehicles emit no poisonous fumes, are infinitely more quiet than our fleet of whiny turbo diesels, and use infrastructure that would easily convert to support streetcars. As an added benefit, they can climb and descend the extreme grades surrounding Shockoe Bottom where railed vehicles would not work. So, the fleet would still have use after a transition to rail service.

Pictured is an example Gillig trolley bus, very similar in proportion to GRTC's diesel Gillig buses currently in operation, minus all the toxic fumes and terrifying noise. Also included are a San Fransisco Muni trolley climbing a steep hill, and a ultramodern low floor trolley in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I also ripped a picture from GRTC's site showing a rendering of their BRT vehicle, which appears to be a North American Bus Industries 60 foot articulated 200 passenger model. Not sure if it is powered by CNG or diesel, it's NOT electric. It is the same model used in LA's Orange Line and Metro Rapid BRT fleet, presumably GRTC's inspiration for BRT.

Video of Zurich trams at Paradeplatz

2009-03-10T22:51:00.002-04:00

Video of Portland Streetcar

2009-03-10T22:29:00.000-04:00

Streetcar construction cost: Portland, OR

2009-03-09T16:38:00.002-04:00

"Traffic patterns and housing density favoured a line running between the city centre and Northwest Portland as the city’s introduction to the 21st-century streetcar. Factors included population densities running as high as 20 000 residents/square mile and historic heavy transit patronage. And south of the city centre lies Portland State University, with its potential to generate heavy student traffic throughout the day and throughout the week. The north-south routeing through the west end of the city centre was selected as being on 10th and 11th Avenues, and this gives a clue to another feature. Portland Streetcar, as the project was officially renamed in 2000, runs for 3.8 km in each direction, but is often referred to as being a 7.6-km loop, since it follows separate, parallel streets (one or two blocks apart) for virtually its entire length. The reason for this is that the non-segregated street track can mostly be located in the right traffic lane, allowing retention of kerb parking.

"Construction of the line started in 1999. As the previous sentence indicates, Portland Streetcar is not a light rail line like MAX (which is mostly on private right-of-way or reservation, and has its own segregated lanes when it runs through the city centre streets), but a tramway, sharing lanes with other traffic over nearly its entire length. For the most part trams will have to obey the same traffic signals as other traffic, and there is no pre-emption. Traffic calming may not have entered the American vocabulary, but the new trams effectively do just that as they run and stop in the street. Track construction costs were kept down by specifying a much shallower track slab than would be required for 49-tonne LRVs: 310-mm deep instead of the conventional 465 mm, using specially-ordered girder rail only 130-mm high in place of the standard 180-mm rail used on US light rail systems. This reduced significantly the amount of relocation of previously-existing underground utility lines needed.

Siemens SD660 LRV 220 laying over at 11th Ave/Yamhill St on one of two MAX short-turn trips using this facility prior to the opening of the Airport line. In the background Portland Streetcar 003 is passing southbound.

"The entire project cost USD 56.9 million, including the purchase of seven low-floor trams for USD 14.8 million. Funding came from various local sources, but primarily 20-year municipal bonds backed by a rate increase at city-owned multi-storey car parks in the central area (and also at parking meters), and a ‘Local Improvement District’ (LID) tax on properties located along or near the line. Of the 1781 property owners covered by the line’s first phase, only eight objected at a public inquiry on the subject of the proposed LID, and their property represented only 2.7% of the land area of the LID. Operating costs are met directly from city funds, and the available budget has had an effect on the initial frequency that is being offered (15 minutes) compared with that planned (12 minutes). The annual operating cost is predicted to be USD 2.4 million, and for the first five years Tri-Met has agreed to pay two thirds of this (capped at USD 1.6 million/year), in exchange for the city spending USD 6.5 million over the same period on traffic-signal modifications at several locations to give transit pre-emption. There is no federal funding involved.

"Portland Streetcar (PS) is a project of the city council, not the transit agency Tri-Met. The city managed its construction, provided most of the funding, and will manage its operation. PS is a division within the city’s Office of Transportation. However city officials wisely decided not to try to create a whole new workforce to run the line, and instead have contracted with Tri-Met to provide the operators and maintenance personnel, taking advantage of the training those people had already received for MAX. 13 operators, three superintendents and two mechanics have been assigned to Tri-Met’s PS unit. City employees are the part-time General Manager (Vicky Diede, who was the CCS/PS project manager throughout the planning and construction), and the full-time Manager of Operations and Safety (originally Mike Carroll, but now Lenore DeLuisa) and Manager of Maintenance (Gary Cooper). PSI provides certain management functions on a part-time basis, including Manager of Community Relations (Kay Dannen) and Chief Operating Officer (Rick Gustafson). Their employer is local consultant Shiels-Obletz-Johnsen, the largest component of PSI, which has managed much of the planning and construction of the system.

The line connects NW 23rd Ave in Northwest Portland, a thriving retail district and home to one of the city’s largest hospitals (Good Samaritan), with Portland State University (terminus SW 4th Ave). On the way it runs north-and-south through the west end of the city centre, on 10th and 11th Avenues, where city planners expect the tramway to generate substantial new development. Such development is already evident in the Pearl District and newly-created River District, immediately north of the city centre, where old industrial development and abandoned rail freight yards are giving way to new apartment buildings and condominiums. One of the latter, a seven-storey, 139-unit development due to open this year, is even named Streetcar Lofts. The tramway’s potential to influence development in areas around the fringes of the city centre was the strongest reason for its promotion. Before the 1997 agreement between the city and Hoyt Street Properties the area was zoned for 15 units per acre, but with the tramway confirmed the deal pushed the density up to 131 units/acre."

from: http://www.lrta.info/articles/art0110.html

Richmond's street cars: what was

2009-03-04T13:46:00.009-05:00

Ok so this blog wasn't supposed to be about looking into Richmond's past. However, when I wanted to write about how I support a return of rail transit to Richmond, I found all these fascinating photos and maps of street car service here in the first half of the 20th century.

Richmond had the world's first electric street car system. Frank Sprague invented the system of electric powered street traction fed by trolley wheel on overhead catenary (probably not the best technical summary but fairly close for a laymen). The original trolleys were open to the air and had a single truck to make extremely tight radius turns. The cars operated in mixed traffic, as you can see from these photos.

I'll try to explain these in captions (sorry they aren't numbered.)

-A partial system map dated 1930

-The original "Richmond Union Passenger Railway" map

- Passing under the Seaboard viaduct next to Main St. station

-Grove Avenue!

-Turning from Laurel St. onto Broad. The closest building in the photo is presently Alladin's

-In front of The Naitonal Theater, Broad & 7th streets

-Main & Laurel streets at Monroe Park

-Broad & 1st streets

-Laurel Street in front of Cathedral of Sacred Heart

-Broad & 8th streets, with the Central National Bank tower in the background

Stay tuned for another post on street cars, and why these old pics are still relevant

In th' Beginnin...

2009-03-04T10:42:00.003-05:00

Better Downtown Richmond is a blog for observing the city I live in and exploring ideas to make it better.

I passed this van parked outside JoJo's today. No idea who it belongs to or what it's purpose is, but it seemed like a good omen for the launch of this blog.

The blog title photo is of the corner of 2nd and Broad streets. I live two blocks from here and pass this intersection several times a day. The street scene never fails to impress upon me the magnitude of economic devastation in the core of the city. Whole blocks of Marshall, Broad, and Grace appear completely abandoned, just like this block of Broad. Every building in the photo is empty, including the large high rise in the background.

How did this happen? Why do these conditions persist? Why do the city leaders accept this situation? Are we going to do anything about it?

Let's begin.