Columbia - general (Pendleton, Kline: housing market, duplex, conversion)

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by DemanoRock

Now, are there any metros similar size and demographics to Columbia that have a rail system? And are they successful.

That's a tough one, if you look at the links, the Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Las Vegas CSA has 1.17 million people and their commuter rail has 2,700 weekday riders. Most of the other commuter rail lines are a part of larger metro area. The smallest metro with light rail is probably Tucson, AZ with a little over 1 million people and their 3.9 mile long street car averages 2,313 weekday riders. I would think similar lines in the Columbia metroplex would average similar numbers or less.

List of United States light rail systems by ridership

List of United States commuter rail systems by ridership

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

Unfortunately, it seems as though the oldest post-war suburban areas are the least popular neighborhoods within cities today and you can see this in other cities all across the country; dead or dying malls are hallmarks of these areas. But as downtown areas become more expensive, these neighborhoods will eventually become more attractive to more people who wish to be in relatively close proximity to the urban core. Those 60's-70's era ranch houses have good bones and the infrastructure is in place to accommodate a larger population.

I think St Andrews(inside I-20 not outside) around Dutch Square would fit that model.. That area is prime given its proximity to downtown, interstates and it still has access to good shopping especially with the addition of Walmart.. I think mixed use concept with retail, office, multifamily residential and maybe even a hotel would do well on the current mall site. Same is true for most of West Columbia and Cayce. I think older inner suburban places like Dentsville, Greenview, Beltline Blvd and outer older suburbs down Bluff Road and up Monticello/Fairfield Roads will fare poorly over time...

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by cjseliga

That's a tough one, if you look at the links, the Albuquerque–Santa Fe–Las Vegas CSA has 1.17 million people and their commuter rail has 2,700 weekday riders. Most of the other commuter rail lines are a part of larger metro area. The smallest metro with light rail is probably Tucson, AZ with a little over 1 million people and their 3.9 mile long street car averages 2,313 weekday riders. I would think similar lines in the Columbia metroplex would average similar numbers or less.

List of United States light rail systems by ridership

List of United States commuter rail systems by ridership

Tucson is a similar size to Columbia, but it is a very small system. Tacoma is similar in size to Columbia, but is part of the Seattle metro area. Trenton and Camden are smaller than Columbia, but are part of a densely populated corridor. Their service is also a part of NJ Transit. That's it for similarly sized metros.

[blktoptrvl]

October 11th @ 4:00 in the morning (the middle of the night); it is 76 degrees outside! Urg!

[carolinagarnet]

I'm going to throw something else out there- does anyone think an airport BRT or light rail line might be palatable? Presumably it would access three funding streams: Columbia, Cayce, and the state. It could qualify for federal funding, but it's best not to bank on that. The line would run down the center of 321 from Five Points to CAE, with stops at Five Points, USC, the river (State Street), maybe one other in Cayce, and continue up Airport Blvd to CAE. It strikes me as an intriguing idea from Cayce's point of view as West Columbia and Cayce are both trying to pull momentum across the river. Of course the airport would likely benefit from better connectivity and USC would use it as a selling point for parents/students/faculty. I haven't heard this idea before, it just struck me as an interesting prospect.

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by carolinagarnet

I'm going to throw something else out there- does anyone think an airport BRT or light rail line might be palatable? Presumably it would access three funding streams: Columbia, Cayce, and the state. It could qualify for federal funding, but it's best not to bank on that. The line would run down the center of 321 from Five Points to CAE, with stops at Five Points, USC, the river (State Street), maybe one other in Cayce, and continue up Airport Blvd to CAE. It strikes me as an intriguing idea from Cayce's point of view as West Columbia and Cayce are both trying to pull momentum across the river. Of course the airport would likely benefit from better connectivity and USC would use it as a selling point for parents/students/faculty. I haven't heard this idea before, it just struck me as an interesting prospect.

Alas.. I doubt it. I am not sure CAE has the passenger traffic (from the airport to/from downtown) to warrant it since most visitors will likely rent cars, get picked up, hotel shuttle and what not) I think the COMET should up its game and come up with an Airport Shuttle that does something similar with limited stops. Also, I don't know why the interchange at I-26 and the Hardee Expy hasn't been completed yet. That alone would improve connectivity from downtown to CAE that would make things like a COMET Bus more palatable.


Parking at CAE is also pretty reasonable. I recall a study done by one Santee Lynches COG to develop an airport shuttle from Sumter to CAE. It touched on some of these same issues with it being cheaper to rent a car and or park at CAE when going to/from Sumter than paying X dollars to ride an infrequent Airport Shuttle to and from the City.

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by Growingup15

Buses, trains for commuters urged as part of Malfunction Junction fix

Mass transit urged as part of Malfunction Junction fix | The State

I 100% approve of rail transit yes yes yes

So another but certainly less sexy option for SC to explore would be Regional Bus Service. Before everyone vomits and hits "delete" on my post hear me out.


SC DOT could contract with the likes of Southeastern Stage and create an intra state regional commuter bus service that would run from Greenville to Charleston... Myrtle Beach to Augusta... and pick up the major cities and towns in between. Because it would be a contracted service between Southeastern Stages and SC DOT the schedules could be developed in a manner that make it more conducive for commuters, day time travels, etc whose destinations are within the state. Right now.. if you are going from many of these locations.. the buses are coming from long distances thus are over crowded, notoriously late, and come in at odd hours.. late at night/early in the morning. By coordinating with SE Stages you could augment these long distance buses with the intrastate buses and capture SC residents looking for more affordable and reliable transportation within the state. You could also add in stops at places like CHS, CAE, GSP on certain routes an serve as that "airport connector" for those travelers that want or need that service especially in places like Sumter, Orangeburg, Gaffney, Greenwood that are looking to get to a major airport that may be along these routes. The buses having TV, WiFi, restrooms...clean and only going intermediate distances may make them more appealing. In all cases the buses terminate in a major SC, NC or GA City to allow for connections to long distance buses or even local buses (ie. Intermodal Centers)


Sample Routes


Charlotte- Gaffney, Spartanburg,(GSP), Greenville, Anderson
Charlotte-Columbia, Orangeburg, Summerville, North Charleston , Charleston
Charlotte-Rock Hill, Lancaster, Cheraw, Hartsville, Darlington, Florence, Myrtle Beach
Greenville, Laurens, Newberry, Columbia, (CAE), Sumter, Moncks Corner, North Charleston ,(CHS), Charleston
Myrtle Beach, Florence, Camden, Columbia, Greenwood, Aiken/North Augusta, Augusta

[Growingup15]

Originally Posted by Woodlands

So another but certainly less sexy option for SC to explore would be Regional Bus Service. Before everyone vomits and hits "delete" on my post hear me out.


SC DOT could contract with the likes of Southeastern Stage and create an intra state regional commuter bus service that would run from Greenville to Charleston... Myrtle Beach to Augusta... and pick up the major cities and towns in between. Because it would be a contracted service between Southeastern Stages and SC DOT the schedules could be developed in a manner that make it more conducive for commuters, day time travels, etc whose destinations are within the state. Right now.. if you are going from many of these locations.. the buses are coming from long distances thus are over crowded, notoriously late, and come in at odd hours.. late at night/early in the morning. By coordinating with SE Stages you could augment these long distance buses with the intrastate buses and capture SC residents looking for more affordable and reliable transportation within the state. You could also add in stops at places like CHS, CAE, GSP on certain routes an serve as that "airport connector" for those travelers that want or need that service especially in places like Sumter, Orangeburg, Gaffney, Greenwood that are looking to get to a major airport that may be along these routes. The buses having TV, WiFi, restrooms...clean and only going intermediate distances may make them more appealing. In all cases the buses terminate in a major SC, NC or GA City to allow for connections to long distance buses or even local buses (ie. Intermodal Centers)


Sample Routes


Charlotte- Gaffney, Spartanburg,(GSP), Greenville, Anderson
Charlotte-Columbia, Orangeburg, Summerville, North Charleston , Charleston
Charlotte-Rock Hill, Lancaster, Cheraw, Hartsville, Darlington, Florence, Myrtle Beach
Greenville, Laurens, Newberry, Columbia, (CAE), Sumter, Moncks Corner, North Charleston ,(CHS), Charleston
Myrtle Beach, Florence, Camden, Columbia, Greenwood, Aiken/North Augusta, Augusta

Trains are faster and safer then a bus plain and simple.

If they want to spend the money on that we'll be better or making a commuter rail system for the whole state.

Higher speed rail.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by carolinagarnet

I'm going to throw something else out there- does anyone think an airport BRT or light rail line might be palatable? Presumably it would access three funding streams: Columbia, Cayce, and the state. It could qualify for federal funding, but it's best not to bank on that. The line would run down the center of 321 from Five Points to CAE, with stops at Five Points, USC, the river (State Street), maybe one other in Cayce, and continue up Airport Blvd to CAE. It strikes me as an intriguing idea from Cayce's point of view as West Columbia and Cayce are both trying to pull momentum across the river. Of course the airport would likely benefit from better connectivity and USC would use it as a selling point for parents/students/faculty. I haven't heard this idea before, it just struck me as an interesting prospect.

You won't get any funding out of Lexington County; it's not even worth the effort, IMO.

[Growingup15]

Is there any development on anything lately in the city anyone knows about?

I see a zoning thing on the Kline City Center area so that's a thing. But nothing else. Everyone seem to have died off