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Old 08-19-2013, 08:16 PM
 
Location: Centennial State
399 posts, read 817,464 times
Reputation: 176

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Company pitches Diagonal Highway monorail to ease Boulder-Longmont commute - Boulder Daily Camera




skyTran Large Station Concept - YouTube

;o FasTracks v2.0? If it's privately-funded I wonder if they can avoid the whole "it's actually going to cost more now" a year or so later after they're partly done constructing the system.

"Referring to the delayed FasTracks line, Coombs said, "If we're going to wait until 2042, maybe we should be looking at alternatives ... To still have a diesel train be our future 30 years from now is not that exciting."

Hrmm, I'm interested in what happens when it snows though. Colorado's weather can be sporadic that close to the mountains. A raised rail line like that, I would hope, is prepared to be Colorado weather's punching bag.
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Old 08-19-2013, 08:24 PM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
17,712 posts, read 29,844,231 times
Reputation: 33311
Stupid.
I have a Simpsons' episode for you.
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Old 08-19-2013, 11:24 PM
 
Location: Centennial State
399 posts, read 817,464 times
Reputation: 176
Quote:
Originally Posted by davebarnes View Post
Stupid.
I have a Simpsons' episode for you.
Lol, not happy with overhead rails? If it takes traffic away from my daily commute, it's less delays for me. Even if I work the weird shift, I still find people who drive slow in the fast lane, don't use turn signals, TEXT AND DRIVE AND SWERVE, etc.

I'm interested because it might mean more construction on Diagonal which I have to pass over to get to IBM. The bike races are annoying enough. But if I have less bad drivers to deal with I'll be happy to see the construction.
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Old 08-20-2013, 08:49 AM
 
Location: Los Angeles, CA
936 posts, read 2,069,947 times
Reputation: 1185
It seems reasonable to me, anyone who disagrees should actually try reading the article.
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Old 08-20-2013, 11:54 AM
 
Location: Old Town Longmont
377 posts, read 1,054,783 times
Reputation: 419
I have to say I am intrigued by it as well.
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Old 08-20-2013, 12:20 PM
 
3,127 posts, read 5,058,899 times
Reputation: 7470
Would be excellent for transportation and just as good of a tourist attraction.
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Old 08-21-2013, 04:42 PM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,995,963 times
Reputation: 17378
I think it would be ugly to such a beautiful region, but maybe it would provide transportation, low pollution and low noise.
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Old 08-22-2013, 02:06 AM
 
Location: Coos Bay, Oregon
7,138 posts, read 11,036,240 times
Reputation: 7808
Quote:
Originally Posted by davebarnes View Post
Stupid.
I have a Simpsons' episode for you.
Haha, here it is. Anytime someone mentions the word "monorail", unless they are talking about a very short distance (less then a mile) or a very dense area, they lose all credibility.


Simpsons - Monorail - YouTube
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Old 08-23-2013, 01:40 PM
 
Location: Coos Bay, Oregon
7,138 posts, read 11,036,240 times
Reputation: 7808
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meowen View Post
It seems reasonable to me, anyone who disagrees should actually try reading the article.
It seems reasonable to you? Really?

I did read the article, but I should have stopped at the first paragraph.

"Boulder County commuters will have the chance to feel like a regular George Jetson if one company is allowed to build the world's first on-demand rapid-transit maglev monorail along the Diagonal Highway".

Hard to take an article serious, that talks about cartoons in the first sentence. Anyway I'm bored today so I thought I'd break down why this plan is total BS, just for laughs. Starting with this.

By all accounts, the proposed monorail sounds too good to be true, not to mention a solution to the troubled Northwest Rail Line, a long-delayed phase of the FasTracks light rail system that Colorado voters approved in 2004.

Heard the old adage: "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is"?

The first problem with this project. Elevated guideways with large support poles spaced every 60 to 100 feet are not cheap to build, as the article states. No way in hell could this 15 mile system be built for $250 million dollars. This would clearly be a multi-billion dollar project that would make the price of FasTracks look like peanuts.

The second problem. Commuters riding inside of small, futuristic three-person pods that can be called on demand, 24/7, for nonstop service to their destination, is simply not going be cost effective. The fares would have to be considerably higher then $3 $7.50 and even then the taxpayer subsidy would have to be incredible.

The third problem. A system that only goes from point A to point B, is not going to serve the majority of commuters who have to travel to other points in between. This system with its small three-person pods traveling only between two points would do zero to solve the transportation problems along that corridor. It would be nothing except be a colossal waste of tax payer money for absolutely nothing.

The forth problem. On demand Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) which is what this plan is, may have seemed like an awesome idea back in the 1950s and 60s. But in this day and age, with the event of driverless cars, it's just pointless, and a waste of money.

Hopefully this thing gets killed, before any tax payer money is even wasted on the design of it.
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Old 08-25-2013, 01:18 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles, CA
936 posts, read 2,069,947 times
Reputation: 1185
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaaBoom View Post
It seems reasonable to you? Really?

I did read the article, but I should have stopped at the first paragraph.

"Boulder County commuters will have the chance to feel like a regular George Jetson if one company is allowed to build the world's first on-demand rapid-transit maglev monorail along the Diagonal Highway".

Hard to take an article serious, that talks about cartoons in the first sentence. Anyway I'm bored today so I thought I'd break down why this plan is total BS, just for laughs. Starting with this.

By all accounts, the proposed monorail sounds too good to be true, not to mention a solution to the troubled Northwest Rail Line, a long-delayed phase of the FasTracks light rail system that Colorado voters approved in 2004.

Heard the old adage: "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is"?

The first problem with this project. Elevated guideways with large support poles spaced every 60 to 100 feet are not cheap to build, as the article states. No way in hell could this 15 mile system be built for $250 million dollars. This would clearly be a multi-billion dollar project that would make the price of FasTracks look like peanuts.

The second problem. Commuters riding inside of small, futuristic three-person pods that can be called on demand, 24/7, for nonstop service to their destination, is simply not going be cost effective. The fares would have to be considerably higher then $3 $7.50 and even then the taxpayer subsidy would have to be incredible.

The third problem. A system that only goes from point A to point B, is not going to serve the majority of commuters who have to travel to other points in between. This system with its small three-person pods traveling only between two points would do zero to solve the transportation problems along that corridor. It would be nothing except be a colossal waste of tax payer money for absolutely nothing.

The forth problem. On demand Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) which is what this plan is, may have seemed like an awesome idea back in the 1950s and 60s. But in this day and age, with the event of driverless cars, it's just pointless, and a waste of money.

Hopefully this thing gets killed, before any tax payer money is even wasted on the design of it.
I guess you didn't really read the article because it clearly states "..is neither subsidized nor funded by tax dollars in any way, Williamson said. He contended that even if the venture was to fail after implementation, the poles could easily be plucked up and forgotten, with no effect on the taxpayer.

"There's really no risk on anyone except the company and its investors," he said."

NO TAXPAYER MONEY
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