We don't need no stinkin' light rail! (car, emergency)

[bdpop]

I believe what you will see are a lot of office buildings springing up near the railroad stations; like in other places that use commuter rail. A good example would be Metro Park in NJ.

[Granny Sue]

I'll start by saying that Light Rail won't be of much use to me...unless I want an easy trip to Tampa....by the time I got to any station, I'd already be at work. But.....

I worked downtown for 15 years..right in the heart of it. I would have to leave my house at least an hour early every day to get to my desk by 8am. And it was only a 7 mile trip.

If this rail system can relieve even 50% of the traffic that the downtowners have to deal with on a daily basis, I'd say it will be a success.
Once everybody's over the car mentality...count me as one of them....they will save on gas, time and parking fees.
The trolly system could be expanded to include the downtown station.

Maybe we'll get our downtown back...remember the one where we could go shopping on our lunch hour?

This rail is just a start. A good start. There is no more room to widen I-4 or the 408. That doesn't do any good anyway. It just makes more room for more cars.

If Orlando wants to be considered a major city then it needs to start acting like one.

[Pete C]

I am wondering why there is a stop at Disney. Wouldn't people just take the magical express if they are staying on-property? If it is for people staying off-property, would all these people then take taxis to their hotels? You need a car if you are staying off-property at Disney, so I don't know what the point of a high-speed rail stop at Disney is for, other than perhaps Tampa folks getting an easy day-trip out of it.

The convention center stop...maybe this works since there will be a SunRail stop there. They have to make those 2 stops accessible to each other to provide a link to Downtown via SunRail. It's just a shame that there won't be a high-speed rail stop downtown.

[Crane's Rooster]

The Disney stop will actually be at Celebration which I believe will also be serviceable to the 192 and Kissimmee area. The convention center stop will obviously be servicing I-Drive/Sea World/Universal Area.

[jetgraphics]

Originally Posted by MiamiRob

... we seriously need sensible mass transit. Is central Florida going to wait until it becomes so gridlocked in traffic that they then start to explore alternatives like light rail after they can no longer stand it?

Check out Florida's listing for streetcar companies (defunct).
List of streetcar systems in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...And Street Railroads:
List of Florida street railroads - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Back in the day when private enterprise wasn't taxed / regulated to death ... 1890 - 1920... that was the age of electric traction rail in America.

The Streetcar Conspiracy - How General Motors Deliberately Destroyed Public Transit (http://saveourwetlands.org/streetcar.htm - broken link)
At the time [1920], 90 percent of all trips were by rail, chiefly electric rail; only one in 10 Americans owned an automobile. There were 1,200 separate electric street and interurban railways, a thriving and profitable industry with 44,000 miles of track, 300,000 employees, 15 billion annual passengers, and $1 billion in income. Virtually every city and town in America of more than 2,500 people had its own electric rail system.

[Huckleberry3911948]

trains will be a good idea when streets become safe. much safer in a locked ford escort than walking from the train late at night. been there done that.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

trains will be a good idea when streets become safe. much safer in a locked ford escort than walking from the train late at night. been there done that.

Are you sure you'll be safe in that Ford Escort?

[DavieJ89]

Originally Posted by MisterNY

Are you sure you'll be safe in that Ford Escort?

Nobody will mess with you in a Ford Escort. They will assume by what you are driving that you are so poor that you have nothing.

Therefore they will not rob you.

I'm probably more likely to be a victim of a crime in my 2003 Nissan Altima then in any Ford Escort. My car looks to nice and shiny and new for criminals not to notice

[jetgraphics]

IMHO:
1. Petroleum based transportation systems are going to increase in cost of ownership and operation. (Automobile use and ownership is going to decrease as the century progresses)
2. Laws of Physics recommend steel wheel on steel rail, and electric traction power. (lowest coefficient of rolling resistance)
3. Rail requires less surface area to operate, and is ideal in high density population areas.
4. Unlike automobiles on roads, track capacity can scale up by adding cars to a train or increasing the frequency of their operation.
5. Rail and rolling stock have a proven record of durability and longevity in service.
6. We can't afford to keep exporting 400 billion bucks annually to feed our "oil habit".
7. Though maglev has less resistance, it consumes far more energy to levitate the vehicle, and since we have a finite fuel budget, it is not recommended at this time.

The overall winner is electric traction rail transit - in all forms: mainline, interurban, commuter, streetcar, light rail, subway, monorail, funicular, cogwheel, and tram.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

Nobody will mess with you in a Ford Escort. They will assume by what you are driving that you are so poor that you have nothing.

Therefore they will not rob you.

I'm probably more likely to be a victim of a crime in my 2003 Nissan Altima then in any Ford Escort. My car looks to nice and shiny and new for criminals not to notice

I agree with you. I was just worried the Escort might not start up if thieves were after you.

(In case of emergency. Like in every movie, no matter how good the car is, it never starts on the first try). (I was joking, of course).