Light-Rail in the Upstate? (Greenville, Mauldin: how much, home, to buy)

[Phatness7]

Anyone hear about a light-rail system that will connect downtown to Furman, TR, and SImpsonville/Mauldin? I also heard that may try to connect Charlotte to Atlanta via Greenville. Thoughts? Rumors? Hear-say?

[Skyliner]

The plans for the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor has been around for many years and is slowly moving forward. It will likely not be built for decades. It would be a heavy mass transit line.

There is a proporsal for a future light rail transit line from Fountain Inn to Travelers Rest, as noted in this document.

[NewYorkBorn]

Originally Posted by Phatness7

Anyone hear about a light-rail system that will connect downtown to Furman, TR, and SImpsonville/Mauldin? I also heard that may try to connect Charlotte to Atlanta via Greenville. Thoughts? Rumors? Hear-say?

I think it would be fantastic to be able to leave the cars at home sometime. It is very logical that areas like Mauldin, Simpsonville, Fountain Inn which are all close to Greenville would also be connected. Also would be great to be able to get on a train and go to Atlanta and Charlotte while someone else does the driving. A year ago our economy was in jeopardy because the price of oil had spiraled out of control.......people across the country were struggling just to keep gas in their cars, very often in the worst cases having to decide whether to use their limited incomes to buy food or put gas in the car. Having a train becomes very important in places like here because we are very dependent on cars and as a result at the mercy of the oil companies.

Not to mention the biggest benefit of all.......having a train would create a lot of decent paying jobs for the people living here in the upstate. NYC has the most comprehensive mass transit system in the world......it generates revenue for the city......creates decent paying city jobs for residents and of course means people do not have to be dependent on having cars.

However there will be those that will argue that the upstate does not have the population to warrant such an expense, or that most probably would not use the train. There will also be a group of people here in the upstate that do not like change and this will create another obstacle for the ligh rail plan. I have heard that this has been in the works for a few years and nothing has happened yet.........therefore I will believe it when I actually see it happen.

[jac]

I don't know how cost-effective light-rail would be in the upstate. At $25 million/ mile, there would have to be a huge amount of users. I really don't see that happening.

Having lived in an metro area served by light-rail, I used it all of twice. It was much faster and easier for me to hop on a bus or in my car (depending on my destination) to get from place to place.

[Skyliner]

Population density is also a major factor. This region has a fair amount of people and businesses, but very few densely populated areas, which are needed for such modes of transit to be effective. I would love to hop onto a train or bus and ride to work, but neither would transport me within feasible walking distance to my office, so I would then be forced to find another source to travel the remaining distance.

[jelloslug]

It does not really seem to be a wise thing to spend money on considering the population density of the upstate. This is not a major city with a million people in the city limits. How do you plan on getting from the station to your job or store if the station is miles away?

[Greenville]

Originally Posted by jelloslug

It does not really seem to be a wise thing to spend money on considering the population density of the upstate. This is not a major city with a million people in the city limits. How do you plan on getting from the station to your job or store if the station is miles away?

You're right, our metro area's 1 million people are spread over several counties. This lower population density is common in the South. I, too, wonder how feasible light rail would be. I love the idea of it, but am not sure how much necessity (or even perceived benefit) there will be for it in the next 20-30 years.

[joeschlabotnik]

Greenlink is beginning a master plan which is supposed to determine the future of LRT/BRT: Master Plan

News story: Citizen Input Sought For Transit Plans - Greenville News Story - WYFF Greenville

[UpstateBooster]

Well, hopefully in the interim, we'll get some express park & rides from the Golden Strip area into Downtown & maybe the airport. That would be useful to a great many people, and if the public were educated and this was marketed properly, would be quite popular.