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The poll results are weird. How does Tampa have any votes, when the only rail system it has is Amtrak and some useless trolley thing that runs around at a snail's pace? And why does it have as many votes as Orlando, which has a 61 mile long commuter rail with a new line underway connecting it to the airport, AND Brightline trains?
Since this thread was created, San Diego (2 votes) has opened the most consequential rail extension in the west since the Expo Line extension in L.A, which propelled its ridership to the top nationally, and Austin has done nothing (29 votes).
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Originally Posted by Losfrisco
Since this thread was created, San Diego (2 votes) has opened the most consequential rail extension in the west since the Expo Line extension in L.A, which propelled its ridership to the top nationally, and Austin has done nothing (29 votes).
People just riding the wave honestly. Like what has Austin even planned/proposed over that time frame?
People just riding the wave honestly. Like what has Austin even planned/proposed over that time frame?
Austin voters in 2020 approved a property tax hike that would pay for a transit plan called Project Connect. As originally sold to the voters of Austin, the project would include 20 miles of LRT (three routes) operating through a subway downtown, two regional/commuter rail lines and a network of BRT/rapid bus lines.
The original proposal was supposed to cost $10 billion but was scaled down to $7.1 billion prior to the bond election after the pandemic raised fears about inflated costs.
But even after voters approved the tax hike by a 60/40 margin, costs continued to climb. As a result, the final plan approved by CapMetro and Austin City Council last summer cuts the total LRT mileage in half and jettisons the downtown subway. Gone also are the two regional/commuter rail lines.
Most of us who cast votes for Austin, including me, did so based on the original ambitious scope and extent of Project Connect. It's still a sizable undertaking even now given Austin's size.
Understanding the developments in all cities mentioned in the original thread can be challenging for many. It is indeed difficult to stay abreast of the happenings in cities like St. Louis and other underrepresented markets. In some respects, it seems akin to a popularity contest. Moreover, a substantial amount of change can transpire within five years since the initial poll was conducted.
Since this thread was created, San Diego (2 votes) has opened the most consequential rail extension in the west since the Expo Line extension in L.A, which propelled its ridership to the top nationally, and Austin has done nothing (29 votes).
Austin hasn't "done nothing", it's just still in the planning phase of a project that was never at any point expected to begin construction before 2025.
Austin voters in 2020 approved a property tax hike that would pay for a transit plan called Project Connect. As originally sold to the voters of Austin, the project would include 20 miles of LRT (three routes) operating through a subway downtown, two regional/commuter rail lines and a network of BRT/rapid bus lines.
The original proposal was supposed to cost $10 billion but was scaled down to $7.1 billion prior to the bond election after the pandemic raised fears about inflated costs.
But even after voters approved the tax hike by a 60/40 margin, costs continued to climb. As a result, the final plan approved by CapMetro and Austin City Council last summer cuts the total LRT mileage in half and jettisons the downtown subway. Gone also are the two regional/commuter rail lines.
Most of us who cast votes for Austin, including me, did so based on the original ambitious scope and extent of Project Connect. It's still a sizable undertaking even now given Austin's size.
As you mentioned, the underground component was scrapped due to inflation. The "LRT mileage in half" is not exactly accurate, the construction is simply being phased and the first phase will not include the airport or northern extensions. The estimated budget for phase one is something like $4BN, which includes some very conservative inflation adjustment. (Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that they will manage to spend whatever the budget is).
The additional commuter rail line was always expected to not get started until after LRT was finished construction. The upgrades to the existing commuter rail line are already underway, and in fact a new station opens next month at Q2 Stadium. https://twitter.com/CapMetroATX/stat...GNW8tuV8g&s=19
Austin hasn't "done nothing", it's just still in the planning phase of a project that was never at any point expected to begin construction before 2025.
They've been talking about this since at least 2020. How much planning and talking needs to happen before a track can be laid on the ground? Four years? Ten? Twenty?
If you're starting from a basic idea, and it's the US, quite a few years actually.
Public outreach, refined design concepts, an EIS, realistic price estimates based on the likely options, political back and forth and additional studies to decide the preferred option, THEN the start of actual design, further decision-making as the team hones in on actual pricing and design trade-offs, permitting with all relevant agencies, land purchasing, sub buyout... That's before any lawsuits, funding rethinks, etc.
Anything short of five years for all that would be a miracle if any new ROW is required. Plans tend to take much longer for a reason.
They've been talking about this since at least 2020. How much planning and talking needs to happen before a track can be laid on the ground? Four years? Ten? Twenty?
I don't work in the industry so I can't say what is "normal", but from the beginning the timeline of the LRT project was ~10 years with shovels not hitting the ground for the first half of that..
Of course it's entirely possible that the project will get delayed or even cancelled. I don't think anyone would be shocked by that outcome, but at this point it's not considered to behind schedule as far as I know.
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