Quote:
Originally Posted by nixcity
The November election is not too far off and I think we need as much time as possible for advertising and campaigning for urban rail. Transportation is the issue that will make or break us over the coming decade, the mayor was right when he said as much. After trying as much as possible to buy into a line to Highland mall as being better than nothing I just can't. I'm afraid it will preclude any real chance for rail where it is already needed on Guadalupe/Lamar for the foreseeable future.
So what I have come to conclude is that we should start with a shorter line and leave anywhere north of the Capitol for future extensions. This would save money this making it more likely to gain voter approval for the costly tunnel under the river ALL THE WAY to the Capitol. This is the only real answer, sorry Electricon I don't want any ugly above grade through our beautiful downtown. We can use that in other places where appropriate in the future. As for now I see a line from Pleasant Valley or Grove with its on ROW at grade until the river where it goes underground until it reaches the Capitol. This gives us time to choose the best option for north of there and demonstrate the value of going underground and maintaining the capacity of our already choked roadways. We should be taking advantage of the fact it is so easy to tunnel here and maybe by the time this first phase is done there would be enough momentum to continue underground all the way from the Capitol to around 24th and Guadalupe where it could come above ground and stay at grade until it reaches the Crestview stop thus basically getting you to Highland mall anyway and connecting us to the northwest part of the city, Cedar Park and Leander via the red line.
It all starts with going under the river all the way to the Capitol. This would also keep the unsightly above ground cables light rail needs from being there. We have yet to hear much from our resident experts on tunneling under the river. Novacek, SAM, M1ek, what do you all think? This is in essence a permanent decision and we really need to get it right this time!
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I agree with you in theory, but I think it's not feasible atm with rapid bus. Urban Rail isn't happening there until rapid bus proves without a doubt to be a failure. Better to get some type of urban rail infrastructure going that can be expanded upon in the future to other areas.
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