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The Railrunner may be too expensive and over sized for the current demand but just wait a few years. Rail service from Belen to Santa Fe is a very good thing even it it costs the "taxpayers" some up front money.
Problem I see $$ wise and common sense wise is this.
Once things settled down it appears that the average daily riders is about 2,500. Well figure that almost all of them are people that ride both ways which puts the number of people at 1,250
So, we have paid and will continue to pay millions of dollars to accomidate about 1,250 people
Problem I see $$ wise and common sense wise is this.
Once things settled down it appears that the average daily riders is about 2,500. Well figure that almost all of them are people that ride both ways which puts the number of people at 1,250
So, we have paid and will continue to pay millions of dollars to accomidate about 1,250 people
I agree with you mtncat.....as currently 5 major freeway expansion and remodeling projects in Albuquerque have been canceled do to a 500 million shortfall.
And i haven't even mentioned the canceled Hyway projects in the rural areas around the state like for example the 2 laned U.S.54 from Santa Rosa to Tularosa. NMDOT director Faught should be fired for incompetance !!
In my experience highway “improvements" do not reduce congestion because they just attract more cars. If two lane roads, with slow vehicle lanes where appropriate, can carry the traffic, expanding them to four lanes is not needed. I drove NM 54 between Carrizozo and Tularosa and it wasn’t exactly overcrowded. At least not by the standards of Rt 102 through Derry, NH it wasn’t.
Expanding rail transit in the denser corridors does improve car traffic because the rail removes a lot of drivers as they realize how much time and money they save. The Salt Lake City transit is a good example of western commuter rail. The northeast corridor is completely dependent on rail service for the commuter, and increasingly, city to city riders along the line between Washington, DC, New Your City and Boston.
> In my experience highway “improvements" do not reduce
> congestion because they just attract more cars.
This is a common statement that's repeated like a mantra that no one is allowed to question. The reality is that highways and highway improvements go where people live and the highways fill up because people would rather drive on them than the surface streets. If you don't improve/build the freeways then the surface streets become more and more undrivable.
If you want to see an example, of which there are many, visit Queen Creek, AZ.
> I drove NM 54 between Carrizozo and Tularosa and it wasn’t exactly overcrowded.
Yeah, great road, totally "improved," but no traffic. No cars have been attracted there.
> ... rail transit in the denser corridors does improve car traffic ....
I think CalTrain on the Penninsula proves your point there. I rode it and loved it. It was far easier than the 101. Purchasers of gasoline pay for it and I think it's worth it.
Until someone can show me the money, I'm not going to say the same for the RR Santa Fe extension.
The Railrunner may be too expensive and over sized for the current demand but just wait a few years. Rail service from Belen to Santa Fe is a very good thing even it it costs the "taxpayers" some up front money.
How many times have you drivin that Hyway greg???
I've been driving it for 13 years now to go home to Alamogordo (220 miles each way) on the weekends and i can tell you that it is inundated with large Semis driving it from El Paso/Juarez to I-40 Santa Rosa to get to the midwest and northeastern states. It's scary as hell when 40 to 50 semi's barrell past you in in the opposite direction. Years ago 2 semis back to back barreled by and my hood popped up and smashed my windshield and bent the hood as i was almost killed in that incident trying to control my car at 65 with the hood slammed up against my windshield as i couldn't see slamming on my auto breaks.
Once again someone from back east wants to come out here in the wide open expanse of the west and try to tell us what to do. We are not congested as you are back east so driving 100 to 200 to 500 miles driving between major cities and towns are the norm out here so safety is a concern to us.
As far as the train goes thats fine if they want to build it but it doesn't serve southern New Mexico or the outer peripheral areas of our state so i don't blame the people and legislators from those areas who are fuming at the monies being spent.
Last edited by Six Foot Three; 01-07-2008 at 01:34 PM..
Reason: Spell Check
That hwy 54 has been on the list for upgrade for many years now. It is a shame the Bill took away the money for that project and many others so he could have enough cash to run for higher office.
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