Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikey711MN
Not to lengthen an internet debate, but I personally never said anything about a 7th St alignment, elevated rail, or along highway ROW.
Putting Stadler DMUs along Cap Metro ROW to the MoKan spur gets you to the Colorado river north of the port without spending a dime. Cross the river and buy some underutilized land south of there gets you virtually a straight shot into the port from the north.
That is by far the cheapest way to get rail to the airport, but I thought I conceded that the demand wasn't there yet. And I also concede that no amount of downtown-airport direct express service would justify a $2B investment.
But the demand doesn't need to get all that high for the numbers to possibly work if you criticize what I actually said. To that end, please try not to be so dismissive if you want to foster some good conversation on Austin transportation.
|
The cheapest way to get to the airport is what they're doing: once potential ridership justifies light rail on Riverside on its own merits (not to mention the need for a service yard out thataway) pay the incremental cost to run a couple extra miles to the airport. Especially since the feds will presumably pay for half.
An extra river crossing for infrequent commuter frequency use, plus RoW acquisition for a whole new corridor, and less chance of a federal share, plus higher operating costs doesn't pencil out.