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  #521  
Old Posted Jun 17, 2013, 7:16 PM
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I thought this was interesting. 2 years old, but still pretty relevant, imo. This is some of VIA's transit plans.

http://www.viainfo.net/Opportunities...Aug%202011.pdf

I find the Travis Park Transit Center and the Urban Village on the eastside the most interesting.
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  #522  
Old Posted Sep 7, 2013, 1:39 AM
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http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/ne...could-get.html
Quote:
Sep 6, 2013, 5:40pm CDT
Austin-San Antonio rail line pushing for federal funds

Robert Grattan
Staff Writer-
Austin Business Journal

Planners in Austin and San Antonio are working with the U.S. Department of Transportation on a deal that could bring federal funds to a high-speed rail line between the two Texas cities.

The deal is in its initial stages, but has been called a high priority and a big potential growth generator by Austin's Mayor Lee Leffingwell and San Antonio's Mayor Julián Castro, the Texas Tribune reports.
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  #523  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2013, 7:58 PM
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A streetcar route has been chosen!

IMO, this is the best route and it's made even better because they are going to extend it into Southtown.

Quote:
VIA's preferred streetcar route is the longest


VIA Metropolitan Transit planners Tuesday recommended building the longest and most expensive of the streetcar routes under consideration for the agency's first rail line.

Known as Alternative 6, the route would be 5.9 miles long, cost $280 million to build and require $8.5 million annually to operate and maintain. But it would also result in high ridership, a consultant said — about 1.4 million passengers a year.

With regards to Southtown:

The route would travel north-south using Broadway and St. Mary's and Navarro streets. Planners have also recommended extending the line further south on St. Mary's into Southtown, all the way to Alamo Street. The original plan had the route stopping at Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard.



Last edited by sirkingwilliam; Sep 11, 2013 at 3:45 AM.
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  #524  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2013, 8:04 PM
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The previous version of the route, showing the line ending at Chavez. As stated before, the line will now end in Southtown at Alamo St.

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  #525  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2013, 10:25 PM
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I'm excited for the new route. It's perfect. It will especially help students at the UIW campuses.
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  #526  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2013, 11:33 PM
whatdoyouwantandwhy whatdoyouwantandwhy is offline
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I have always liked that route the most out of the selected crop. It would provide another incentive for development to occur on the outer blocks downtown as well as cater to a few enclaves surrounding downtown. To name a few of the developments this route will impact would include:

UTSA downtown campus,
Proposed UIW medical school by Fox Tech HS,
Hemifair park master plan,
South town area,
Broadway corridor/Pearl,
and the much more that I am sure y'all can further elaborate on.
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  #527  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2013, 11:40 PM
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$280 million. Wow. I mean, it'll be nice to connect all the downtown areas like Midtown and Southtown that are pretty far from each other, but that's still a pretty big chunk of change. Let's hope it catalyzes a lot of development to justify that price tag. Broadway and Chavez in particular have such potential to be transformed by this project.

I'm confused about how the actual routes will operate. If I got on at the Alamodome and wanted to get to, say, Midtown, would I transfer at Alamo and Chavez? Or go all the way to the multimodal center?
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  #528  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2013, 11:41 PM
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You would probably transfer to a north-south route. Oh and I also forgot to mention the planned HEB which would be right along the route as well
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  #529  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2013, 11:49 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Keep-SA-Lame View Post
$280 million. Wow. I mean, it'll be nice to connect all the downtown areas like Midtown and Southtown that are pretty far from each other, but that's still a pretty big chunk of change. Let's hope it catalyzes a lot of development to justify that price tag. Broadway and Chavez in particular have such potential to be transformed by this project.

I'm confused about how the actual routes will operate. If I got on at the Alamodome and wanted to get to, say, Midtown, would I transfer at Alamo and Chavez? Or go all the way to the multimodal center?
I would assume you'd just get off at the nearest station then transfer over to the north/south line.i would assume they'd have a similar set up as they do with buses.
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  #530  
Old Posted Sep 10, 2013, 11:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whatdoyouwantandwhy View Post
I have always liked that route the most out of the selected crop. It would provide another incentive for development to occur on the outer blocks downtown as well as cater to a few enclaves surrounding downtown. To name a few of the developments this route will impact would include:

UTSA downtown campus,
Proposed UIW medical school by Fox Tech HS,
Hemifair park master plan,
South town area,
Broadway corridor/Pearl,
and the much more that I am sure y'all can further elaborate on.
Don't forget the San Pedro Creek redevelopment. I think they're now calling it the Creek Walk.
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  #531  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2013, 4:05 AM
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Updated article has some new information:


Maintenance facility

Quote:
The capital costs includes the price of building a streetcar maintenance facility. VIA is looking at sites either near Broadway or on the West Side, Keahey said.
Added streets

Quote:
Keahey also said planners are considering adding Alamo Street, parallel to Broadway, to the northern part of route, so that the streetcar would run north along Alamo and south on Broadway. They've also considered running the streetcar on Flores instead of Santa Rosa. But those ideas are preliminary and need further study. The Alamo plan would likely increase the cost, he said, because it would mean disrupting underground utilites on two streets instead of one.
Timetable

Quote:
The project will be fully designed by fall 2015. Construction could begin shortly after that and would last for two years.
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  #532  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2013, 9:21 PM
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This was in the Austin American-Statesman today.

http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/trans...-system/nZssn/
Quote:
Updated: 12:51 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013 | Posted: 12:51 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013
San Antonio considers downtown streetcar system

The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO — Planners are recommending that a streetcar system be built in downtown San Antonio that could serve up to 1.4 million passengers a year.

VIA Metropolitan Transit is pushing a streetcar route nearly 6 miles long and costing an estimated $280 million. Officials told the San Antonio Express-News (http://bit.ly/13KaYfT) that it would require $8.5 million annually to operate and maintain.
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  #533  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2013, 12:44 AM
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Don't streetcars get stuck in traffic? If you're not going to build a dedicated off-street rail, why not just have electric buses?
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Last edited by sirkingwilliam; Sep 12, 2013 at 2:12 AM. Reason: No edits were made.
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  #534  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2013, 2:13 AM
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It's the same setup as in Portland and Seattle. Streetcars use rails built into the road which means a permanent route which means investors will be more primed to developer land along those routes.

Also, if buses were as "sexy" as (any) rail, there'd be more buses.
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  #535  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2013, 5:31 AM
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I'm not a fan of streetcars myself (I'm pro dedicated brt), but I do wish this project the best. Yes, I wish this inflexible, ridiculously expensive, unnecessary, but "sexy" project the best. I just wish they went with the classic streetcar model like in New Orleans. I admit it wasn't a smooth ride (at least the route that was not offline), but Damnit I loved it. Way cooler than Houston's streetcar in my opinion. But I guess if the whole point of the project is to give the perception that we are a modern world class city, the carpet should match the drapes.
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  #536  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2013, 5:48 AM
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I kind of agree. I think they should go classic like New Orleans or San Francisco. The more interesting buildings downtown are classics themselves.
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  #537  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2013, 12:19 PM
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Lightbulb

Quote:
Originally Posted by kornbread View Post
I kind of agree. I think they should go classic like New Orleans or San Francisco. The more interesting buildings downtown are classics themselves.
I'm going to strongly disagree. ADA requirements make modern low floor streetcars the preferred choice.

Cities using high floor classic streetcars predate ADA. While wheelchair lifts can be installed on classic streetcars to meet ADA requirements, they cause long delays whenever they are used, and they destroy the classic look and feel.

A city with many military bases nearby will certainly have many veterans with disabilities, a modern streetcar is the best choice to service them. Too often advocates prioritize aesthetics instead of functionality, don't fall into that trap.
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  #538  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2013, 1:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by electricron View Post
Cities using high floor classic streetcars predate ADA. While wheelchair lifts can be installed on classic streetcars to meet ADA requirements, they cause long delays whenever they are used, and they destroy the classic look and feel.
True. Our current "streetcars" operate the same way, and sometimes the lifts don't work. It is pretty embarrasing. I'm a strong supporter of ADA initiatives. Thanks for bringing me back to earth. My argument was purely aethetic.


Quote:
Too often advocates prioritize aesthetics instead of functionality, don't fall into that trap.
That pretty much defines this streetcar project. Well put.
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  #539  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2013, 8:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kornbread View Post
I kind of agree. I think they should go classic like New Orleans or San Francisco. The more interesting buildings downtown are classics themselves.
Tampa went with a classic trolley street car. It's flavored miserably. Those types of systems work in New Orleans and San Francisco because they've been they're for many decades. They've grown with the city's and are a everything part of life. You can't force that on cities into todays age. Modern streetcar is what people want to ride.
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  #540  
Old Posted Sep 12, 2013, 9:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam View Post
Tampa went with a classic trolley street car. It's flavored miserably. Those types of systems work in New Orleans and San Francisco because they've been they're for many decades. They've grown with the city's and are a everything part of life. You can't force that on cities into todays age. Modern streetcar is what people want to ride.
Well, obviously they will go with more modern for many reasons (good points by electricron).

Tampa's streetcar problems are not tied to their choice of streetcar. It has more to do with the city and what the line offers. Compare that to what San Antonio wants to do and there is some reason for concern, especially with that price tag. There is some considerable risk. This is pretty ambitious. A lot of track in areas with little reason to stop.
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