Quote:
Originally Posted by Trae
SA has almost no chance at getting LRT. Charlotte, Austin, and the Twin Cities all got it when the Feds were more generous. It does have a chance at getting some BRT though.
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Trae, when did you start working for VIA in their main offices? I kid of course, well not so much. You state that as if you are informed from within, which I doubt you are. From my own discussions with actual VIA board members, the plan is to eventual have lightrail transit. They way they have proposed it is first create BRT lines throughout the city and then convert them to Lightrail, something they feel would be an easier thing to do as they are still feeling the sting from the last LRT vote. BRT was then the brainchild of the former chairman at VIA (who has since stepped down and been replaced) and is now being more aggressively attacked by the new chairman.
The first line will be the Fredericksburg Road/Medical Center BRT Corridor, which will be a line from west downtown to the medical center and will be operational by 2012. This line itself will contain 16-18 large buses and about 8 transit stations not including the end-points. As I stated, the two end-points will be Cattleman's Square (west downtown) and the medical center on the northwest side. The plan is to then add new corridors/lines with an eventual switch to rail. However, that will not be for another 15-20 years from now.