Hoover mayor pushing for rapid transit system on Highway 280 (Birmingham: gated, live in)

[_OT]

HOOVER, Ala. (WIAT) - If you live in the greater Birmingham area, you've probably encountered heavy traffic on U.S. Highway 280 at some point. Some leaders hope to alleviate that in the future with a rapid transit system.

Hoover mayor Frank Brocato is a big proponent of the idea.

"We've got to start thinking about transit, mass transit in this area to relieve some of this traffic," he said.

Talking 280 traffic
If local leaders decide to move forward with the idea, it would create a new lane to replace the median on U.S. 280. This lane would be used for a rapid transit system stretching from Shelby County to downtown Birmingham. Hoover mayor pushing for rapid transit system on Highway 280 - WIAT

[_OT]

What are the chances of this actually going into fruition?

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by _OT

What are the chances of this actually going into fruition?

Better than they were 10 years ago. Beyond that? No idea.

[RocketDawg]

Before I read the article, I thought he meant a rail system. A "fancy" bus would certainly be cheaper, but it's going to take a lot of thought process changes for people outside of the Northeast and Washington to use rapid transit to any great degree ... we're too married to our cars.

[steveklein]

Yeah, I'm really not sure how something like this would work. The only way I can see this having any shot at making sense is if there were park and rides at major intersections/nodes like Lakeshore, The Summit/Colonnade/459, Valleydale, 119, etc. And even then, how many people are going to get into their cars, drive 5-10 minutes to a park and ride, and then take a bus the rest of the route. This would only make sense if the commute is an hour or longer, and I'm just not sure how many people really spend that long commuting. If the population density were higher along the 280 corridor into North Shelby County (and thus traffic and potential ridership higher), I could see it. But I don't really think we are at that threshold to be honest.

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by steveklein

Yeah, I'm really not sure how something like this would work. The only way I can see this having any shot at making sense is if there were park and rides at major intersections/nodes like Lakeshore, The Summit/Colonnade/459, Valleydale, 119, etc. And even then, how many people are going to get into their cars, drive 5-10 minutes to a park and ride, and then take a bus the rest of the route. This would only make sense if the commute is an hour or longer, and I'm just not sure how many people really spend that long commuting. If the population density were higher along the 280 corridor into North Shelby County (and thus traffic and potential ridership higher), I could see it. But I don't really think we are at that threshold to be honest.

Maybe. But when Hoover's mayor starts to talk about it, it certainly is noteworthy.

Birmingham used to have an excellent public transit system for its day. The trolley system was scrapped in the 1950s, a time when mind-boggling stupidity seemed to be par for the course in this city.

[cherokee48]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

Better than they were 10 years ago. Beyond that? No idea.

It certainly seems that the needle has moved a lot from 10 years ago and the mayor of a major suburb such as Hoover seemingly getting on board with the idea speaks volumes. I think once the BRT is rolled out in Birmingham in the next couple of years with a pretty ambitious route from East to West we'll see if it can live up to it's surface subway moniker and how it performs with reducing headways, actual segregated lanes, level boarding etc and if it delivers as a true rapid transit system it becomes more of a real possibility for metro transit.

[Justin Scott]

Here in Los Angeles, it’s $1.75 each way. It’s $7 for an unlimited day pass, $25 for the week, $100 for the month and $127 per month if you want ALL trains and buses that connect 80+ miles from the city core. With that being said, pricing will be everything.

[cherokee48]

It is definitely important that the system stays affordable. Our prices are cheaper and for a very efficient BRT I doubt people would have a problem paying a little more per trip. I think this could be perfect for 280 especially for people that commute downtown for work and back. Less gas money, less miles on your car, faster commute both ways will definitely get some attention. I would love to see a 24 hr transit system or at least one that runs until after midnight-2AM week long or most nights that could really get Birmingham back to having an excellent and viable public transit system, they could start with the Magic City Connector.

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by cherokee48

It is definitely important that the system stays affordable. Our prices are cheaper and for a very efficient BRT I doubt people would have a problem paying a little more per trip. I think this could be perfect for 280 especially for people that commute downtown for work and back. Less gas money, less miles on your car, faster commute both ways will definitely get some attention. I would love to see a 24 hr transit system or at least one that runs until after midnight-2AM week long or most nights that could really get Birmingham back to having an excellent and viable public transit system, they could start with the Magic City Connector.

If I lived out in Greystone or Inverness and could shave 30 minutes off my commute while reading a book or working a crossword puzzle, well sign me up.