Quote:
Originally Posted by nixcity
Novacek, to make it short and easy for all to understand. Yes, for the most part those things you say are true, although all you have to do is look at the numbers. That corridor has waaaay outpaced any other corridor in Austin for a reason, and for the most part who gives a damn why. Everybody knows that is the best place for rail, and the needed growth (which I think is enough to justify going underground all the way through dt and the drag) will come from yet more students (thousands with tons of free time and money to burn) moving into the area, the continued growth of N. Lamar where the state is increasing their employment, and mostly by connecting to good ol' IH 35 and FINALLY giving all those suburban and nearby Austinites an alternative to driving to get to a more central or southern location.
Haha, funny, the invite was from a city official of which will help lead the meeting tonight with other city employees.
freerover, thanks for the information. We have such a great chance to truly transform our city. We could reunite our east and west sides with this. Rail will still be able to happen for the south sides, there are still a few alternatives.
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The million dollar question (quite literally) is if the city will give up ROW along Guadalupe/Lamar and possibly reduce car lanes. I think you're looking at the elimination of private vehicle traffic along guadalupe on campus no matter what.
The case study P.C. showed recently highlighted the possibility of elevated track but I just can't see how that will ever be financially feasible. Adler and to claw tooth and nail to get the 2016 bond up to 700 million.
I also share the concern about putting a lot of weight into the west campus area population as a factor in mass transit use. I lived in that area while in school and your travel is very incestious. A huge portion of that population either walks or takes a bus that travels exclusively on campus as part of their daily commute. Then an above average portion of night time and weekend entertainment is within the neighbored as well with the exception of late night trips to downtown. Sure, there are going to be outliers but I think you have to look at the population number of a corridor in terms of their habitual commutes.
I'm in general not a big fan of rail on Guadalupe and N. Lamar. I don't see the density within 1/4 mile of the corridor itself. There is a certain barrier of entry when it comes to mass transport and how much people have to walk. I think S. Lamar is a good example of high value density with a seemingly endless amount of high-rise residential unites on a corridor with extreme connection issues due to the greenbelt on the west and the railroad on the east. However, I think ROW is an issue there.
I really like the investment down the Riverside corridor. It's a much better bang for your buck because of the huge amount of ROW and the increased density you are seeing along the corridor itself. You have the big high-rise on the corner of 35 and Riverside, The Amli which is in the process of doubling the amount of apartments it currently has, building a high turnover restaurant, and townhomes. You have the 3 different buildings of the South Shore District complex which is slowly growing their 1st floor commercial presence. You obviously have Oracle but it's pretty far from the corridor. Still, I could see the company having a shuttle down lakeshore if there was ever mass transit there. There are multiple new high-rises going up near the Buzzmill. Then you have the huge asterisk that is a new office park at Pleasant Valley and Riverside. The same buyer has cobbled up 3 adjacent lots with close to 90 acres.
I think there is a question as to if that development will expand past pleasant valley to the same degree and you could see a proposal for a shorter Riverside Line that does not go as far as the ACC riverside campus. Project Connect has identified a different way for rail access (diesel train hard rail) to the airport that utilizes the downtown train station, existing rail from downtown to east of 183 and I'm guessing some ROW purchasing to get the line from east of 183 to the airport. This would tie obviously tie into a transfer point for the existing Red Line and also the possible green line which is one of the corridors in the current study and a possible future rail line up to Roundrock and Georgetown.
An airport rail line wouldn't really be worth the investment until the airport doubles their daily workforce which probably means waiting until a 2nd terminal is built in about 10-15 years.
BTW,
Here is a map of the corridors that have made the 1st wave of study. All of the orange lines are being explored for light rail except 14 and 19. They are all being evaluated for various other types of transit options.
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