Not to steer this convo off topic but I am not looking forward to 6 bucks gas. 6 bucks gas means the dollars debasement is finally kicking in and the problems that will come with that is very very scary for me. Could mean hyperinflation the likes of which we have not seen in this country before. To say I am fearful of the future is a understatement

Tony what about the metromover which is not heavyrail. Why can’t they improve that system and expand it through out the urban core? Maybe even start, i don’t know charging for the darn thing?! I don’t understand the argument against that and the maintenance cost wouldn’t be that great.

Oh and thx for the link!

PS everyone: I am not against heavy rail. Most of you know (especially you TD) that I would love a complete heavy rail system, BUT we all know how this town works. After the failure of the PTP we need to come up with some a workable plan. I think the lower cost of light rail gets us more bang for our buck. As ridership grows and transit becomes an intrinsic aspect of daily life, then we can argue for more heavy rail. Just trying to be strategic.

I hear you on the second stimulus package; the consumer is dead.

Capacity happens to be much higher on lightrail then a bus. Also, people are more inclined to use rail then a bus, thus encouraging and increasing transit ridership even further. By running lightrail, you would essentially remove and replace bus trips with higher capacity lightrail. As far as hurricanes go, yes there will be a cost associated with fixing the wires, but I don’t think the costs should prohibit the implementation of a light rail system.

Ideally, lightrail would have its own travel lane, although it is not necessary. Or it can travel in the same lanes as cars. If this is the case, traffic signals can be retrofitted with special adapters to give the streetscars priority to cross at intersections. I have personally seen this work in Istanbul and it works quite well.

I also agree with you that there should be a charge for the metromover. At the very least we should charge .25cents for the metromover. People tend to value and respect things more, even if there is a small fee associated with it. Thousands of people use the metromover every day; imagine the revenue that could be generated from it!

I’m hoping for $6.00/gallon gas. At that price, everyone will be begging for lightrail. As you said, it will come sooner then most think.

I see your points but again I disagree. As for funding, trust me when I tell you. There will be another stimulus plan. Obama has no choice. His mass transit initiatives will equal FDRs highway system. They need to put people back to work and the debt induced growth we had in the past is dead as a door nail. So I think we will see renewable energy and transit as the way they will try to get people back to work. The money will come, but we need something that makes sense and I just don’t think lightrail makes sense. As transit dave pointed out, capacity isn’t that good with lightrail, then you have the nature of the system itself with those over head wires. Imagine what the cost to fix will be during hurricanes and other weather conditions. Though I have not seen any studies, how do those things effect street traffic (cars). Like I said, if they don’t/can’t extend metrail to the places you and I have been discussing then you still have metromover. It also could create the will for them to start charging for that thing.

But I do think this is a good argument for us to be having. At least they are trying to build SOMETHING instead of ignoring mass transit. Oh and you mentioned 6 dollar gas. I am pretty sure once this deleveraging is finished you very well may get your wish.