Which cities will see the largest growth/improvement of their Rail systems? (Subway, Light Rail, Commuter Rail, etc)? (bigger, population)
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I think it is the only metro above that is making very very substantial investments.
It makes complete sense, given the size of LA and its lack of rapid transit for the past 30 + years.
It also has some of the most progressive new zoning laws to allow for dense development in what was low density communities and financially it has the most resources.
In the 2020s, I see LA as making the most progress overall and that is really awesome.
Atlanta
Austin
Denver
Are the only three other cities that I see making any type of measurable impact in terms of going from making gains in measurable increases in transit ridership, as all three were built around the automobile and now are realizing the growing pains from that.
It will be interesting to see the success and adaption of all three, and to see the success and failures to be able to apply to other metro areas.
The automation of driving though, will most certainly have a major impact on transportation in ways I do not think we fully understand yet.
Seattle is making $54 Billion investment in "heavy light rail" i.e. largely grade-separated light rail including dozens of new underground and elevated stations throughout the city and region. It's the most ambitious transit expansion in the country, with new service opening every few years.
Here's Miami's plan... extensive, but I really hate the Frankenstein approach - Trains will be used for two of the new lines due 2027, mostly privately funded Monorail to South Beach, and BRT for 2 lines (E-W) Homestead, and possibly Kendall. These should be done sooner than later.
Seattle is making $54 Billion investment in "heavy light rail" i.e. largely grade-separated light rail including dozens of new underground and elevated stations throughout the city and region. It's the most ambitious transit expansion in the country, with new service opening every few years.
I’m not sure about that. I think that LA’s Measures R and M are set to raise $120 billion by 2057 for a large variety of projects. A good portion (10%?) has already been raised and projects are underway.
I don't think this is entirely true. Yes many Sunbelt cities (sans a few places like New Orleans and Miami, which are compact, dense, walkable and transit-friendly) are indeed sprawled/spread out and auto friendly compared to older NE and Midwest cities like NYC, Philly and Chicago. But that doesn't mean this automatically makes them anti-transit. LA is the prototypical sunbelt, car-crazy, freeway-culture city, but they changed direction by a single popular vote in the early 1980s and are, now, All-In on mass transit, esp rail, and in just 3 decades, has built one of America's largest rail transit networks which continues to expand -- and will also be host to High Speed Rail lines to SF and Vegas.
Dallas is similar to LA, and has also embraced mass transit in a big way... Houston and Phoenix have at least dipped their toes in the transit pool. So these cities' rejection of transit is often due to well entrenched conservative pols and mindsets which, happily, many of these cities are out-dueling.
Oh I agree. That's my point: the cities are not inheritently anti-transit in mindset or culture. Individuals choose to drive because it's easier for their specific situation, and the overall layout of the city leads to the low ridership numbers.
Thanks. I've watched a dozen videos already about Moynihan Station, but I meant that upgrades to Penn Station track capacity are also planned, but I don't know the status of a timeline or funding.
Similarly, hopefully SAS continues this decade, but we'll have to wait and see.
Agreed. Yeah my bad, I re-read your post and saw that you meant actual Penn Station upgrades. I don't know the status either but damn that would be nice to upgrade the old cavernous dungeon down there.
Seattle is making $54 Billion investment in "heavy light rail" i.e. largely grade-separated light rail including dozens of new underground and elevated stations throughout the city and region. It's the most ambitious transit expansion in the country, with new service opening every few years.
Seattle's system is expanding so much that it seems like kind of a vanity project.
The expansions to West and NW Seattle are good (would like a Greenwood station too!). Extending the U District line into Shoreline makes sense, it's pretty densely populated and basically a continuation of Seattle's street grid --- Mountlake Terrace or maybe the Alderwood Mall are also justifiable. And I guess the Eastside extension also makes sense because a large (and increasing) number of people are commuting to a few small and walkable employment centers.
But the expansion to Issaquah is questionable, and the routes to Everett and Tacoma are already covered by Sounder. Is the state planning to just quietly retire our commuter rail system? I'm no fiscal conservative but I don't see how we're justifying expanding a second train line across ~30 miles of low-density, non-walkable development.
I don't think this is entirely true. Yes many Sunbelt cities (sans a few places like New Orleans and Miami, which are compact, dense, walkable and transit-friendly) are indeed sprawled/spread out and auto friendly compared to older NE and Midwest cities like NYC, Philly and Chicago. But that doesn't mean this automatically makes them anti-transit. LA is the prototypical sunbelt, car-crazy, freeway-culture city, but they changed direction by a single popular vote in the early 1980s and are, now, All-In on mass transit, esp rail, and in just 3 decades, has built one of America's largest rail transit networks which continues to expand -- and will also be host to High Speed Rail lines to SF and Vegas.
Dallas is similar to LA, and has also embraced mass transit in a big way... Houston and Phoenix have at least dipped their toes in the transit pool. So these cities' rejection of transit is often due to well entrenched conservative pols and mindsets which, happily, many of these cities are out-dueling.
LA has been building rail like crazy and overall people are very much for more rail, but there's still a significant bias against buses.
Even with rail, I find that people often have unrealistic expectations. Rail is rarely going to take you door to door and usually at least one part of your trip will involve either a bus or driving to a park and ride (and LA doesn't have parking at all stations). I hear people say "the train station is too far to walk and I have to uber there" because they don't know or don't care that they have frequent bus service right outside. Or they say, "I have to drive to the station and the parking is always full" or "I have to drive and by the time I get to the station I'm already a good part of the way to work and might as well keep driving."
There are also a good number of people that vote for rail expansion that never plan to take it. They want it because they think that it will get other people off the freeway so that their car commute becomes easier, but it doesn't really work like that.
People in LA that want rail because they think that it will be quicker than driving or because it will get rid of traffic are likely to be disappointed. Not that it can't be faster, but it's usually just competitive with driving at best. Often not even that. The rail itself can be quicker but when you factor in wait time and commute to and from the beginning and end stations, it's longer for most people.
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