Austin's urban rail route looks great! (incomes, living in, price)

[ranjit_mathews]

I lived there off and on for 14 years. I still own property in Pflugerville. I guess I never kept track of what citizens were called. Thanks for the correction.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by ranjit_mathews

I have seen cheaper options mentioned but I haven't seen what they look like which leads me to suspect that they're infeasible. If BRT is a viable alternative, why won't anyone draw it on a map?

Was considered and rejected as it should have been.

[ranjit_mathews]

Oh, and BTW, people don't take rail to a bus station only to go to airports; they take rail to a bus station to go anywhere a bus will go, and taking a bus is the sole public transport option to many places 'coz aircraft and trains don't go everywhere. For example, it could be a commuter bus to Elgin (if that ever becomes a bedroom community to Austin) or a coach (a UK distinction) to Giddings.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by Komeht

Was considered and rejected as it should have been.

Yea. Just like the Lamar/Guadalupe corridor was "considered". With a thumb on the Highland scale.

[ranjit_mathews]

Originally Posted by scm53

Yea. Just like the Lamar/Guadalupe corridor was "considered". With a thumb on the Highland scale.

Then, there should be a BRT map just like there's a Lamar/ Guadalupe corridor map. Where is the map? If there isn't one, then the former isn't just like the latter.

Is the Lamar/ Guadalupe corridor a busy one? Yes; it could use a bypass paralleling it. What keeps the Lamar/ Guadalupe corridor busy? UT, the Capitol and the commercial district. So, the bypass ought to serve these to draw traffic away from the Lamar/ Guadalupe corridor. Has such a bypass been identified? Indeed, not just identified but about to be voted on. Would urban rail on the Lamar/ Guadalupe corridor improve connectivity? Nah; it would just displace some bus traffic, PROVIDED enough bus routes are taken out of service. Does the bypass improve connectivity? Indeed, it does. Round Rock, Elgin, Temple, Killeen, Giddings, Waco, College Station and other places a bus + rail ride away from Downtown Austin. Could the Lamar/ Guadalupe use more capacity? Sure, but no new buses would need to be added. Capacity on existing buses would become available to new passengers as existing passengers choose the bypass over the Lamar/ Guadalupe corridor. So, what's the problem? That urban rail on the bypass would have relatively little traffic to start with. Like Ike's Interregional Highway Network? Yeah, like those had relatively little traffic to start with. If the Lamar/ Guadalupe corridor would have heavy traffic to start with, would it have capacity for expansion? If it doesn't, we could always find a bypass to route more capacity. Haven't we already find such a bypass? No comment; let the Lamar/ Guadalupe corridor chauvinists answer the question.

[IC_deLight]

Originally Posted by petro

...Rather than freaking out over a potential $100-200 per year increase of property taxes, maybe it would be a better exercise to scrutinize why your property taxes are so high in the first place.

???
So is your logic that it's okay to pile on more taxes because the taxes are already high?

[petro]

Originally Posted by IC_deLight

???
So is your logic that it's okay to pile on more taxes because the taxes are already high?

Nice job editing what I said to try to make some point. Below, is what I actually said, and yes, I believe in investing in the future of Austin.

As a single guy, most of my tax dollars go to programs that don't benefit me. Does that mean that I'm against funding schools? Of course not, because I know it's in the best interest of the community. Just as rail is in the best interest of Austin. Rather than freaking out over a potential $100-200 per year increase of property taxes, maybe it would be a better exercise to scrutinize why your property taxes are so high in the first place.

[mayfair44]

Some wrong references here and there to keep things real, but then at times, a streak of too much knowledge kinda breaks character.

What Will Austin’s New Urban Rail Mean for UT? | The Alcalde

[ranjit_mathews]

Originally Posted by scm53

Yea. Just like the Lamar/Guadalupe corridor was "considered". With a thumb on the Highland scale.

"I think it would be better if it was on [San Jacinto Boulevard] just because Guadalupe is already pretty crowded, and you don't need to crowd it any more than it already is," said UT junior Rachel Hattemer.''
New urban rail route finds a city divided - CultureMap Austin

[gpurcell]

Originally Posted by ranjit_mathews

>
The quoted price for LR seems obscene. Unless good reasons can be provided for why it has to be so high, I'm inclined to say that LR should be on hold till ways can be found to get lower bids at guaranteed fixed prices. Does LR really have to cost so much? If so, would someone tell us why?

Why so expensive? Partly ecause the route they chose--a terrible route--includes a quarter billion dollar tunnel under a shopping center.