Quote:
Originally Posted by Spoiler
I remember hearing that UP would abandon that line when the quarry shuts down. It could be useful to move people to and from the Northwest side from downtown, but too bad the Medical Center, La Cantera, Fiesta Texas, USAA, and UTSA are on the other side of I-10. Oh well, shuttles maybe.
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Either way, there's great potential along that line for infill transit-oriented development along potential stations:
1. The Rim
2. Huebner (Vulcan Material site)
3. 410 & Jackson Keller (industrial land)
4. Basse Road (multiple large parcels for VMU)
5. Hildebrand (strip of industrial land and vacant commercial spaces)
6. 10 & Culebra (good chunk of industrial land and vacant commercial spaces)
7. VIA Transit Center downtown (again, an area that has a lot of industrial land, parking lots, and vacant commercial space but that is already some experiencing redevelopment).
However, the problem is that the line would end there without approaching the central business core, leaving a last mile gap that most people aren't going to walk, won't want to pay the extra amount to Uber or Lyft above the fare that they already paid to ride the train, etc. Just as Austin did, which was extend the line a bit further into the CBD from where it had previously ended, I'd suggest extending the line down Martin until ~St. Mary's with stops at:
8. Frio (for eastside and VIA Transit Center access)
9. Santa Rosa (for San Pedro Creek access)
10. St. Mary's (for Riverwalk and CBD access)
If you're a politician or bureaucrat feeling super adventurous, you could continue down Martin/3rd/Houston/Bowie with stops at:
11. 3rd & Alamo (for Alamo access)
12. Bowie & Commerce (for Convention Center and Rivercenter access)
All of those street turns should be fine with respect to turning radii.
Of course, another piece of the same puzzle was LoneStar Rail, but that went belly up.