Light Rail Boom

[mhays]

They don't need to worry about passage, and don't need to worry too much about timing outside of their own process. It'll get a big majority. Glancing through the bill I don't see turnout requirements, but a measure like this would get good turnout.

The key phases of ST3 are lined up well for a quick election. The Ballard and West Seattle Link extensions have completed a draft EIS. I don't know the exact process, but we need to make choices in the near term on a bunch of alignment options and scope aspects. They've already defined the "preferred" options at the staff level, which we'll redo.

My guess is the ST board will be quick. They'll use the EIS data to create an augmented vs. baseline scenario, then present the choice to the voters within a year. The augmented scenario will include a more expensive version of each extension built on a faster schedule.

[M II A II R II K]

• Video Link

[M II A II R II K]

Quebec City tramway finally gets green light as province gives unconditional approval

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/tramway-quebec-city-approved-1.6410943

.....

- The Legault government has finally authorized Quebec City to launch its long-delayed tramway project and Mayor Bruno Marchand says he's ready to get started. "We have many environmental issues that we have to address. And we have to deliver solutions. This is a great solution," Marchand said on Wednesday after cabinet approved decrees without any of the conditions that had previously been discussed. --- Quebec Transport Minister François Bonnardel said it is now up to the city's mayor to better communicate the benefits of the tramway project in order to convince as many citizens as possible. And that's just what Marchand began that very afternoon, touting the importance of a project that he said will help carry the city into a more environmentally friendly future by reducing emissions and improving mobility. "It's the best way to respond to some of the big environmental challenges that we face," he said.

.....

[Busy Bee]

Very cool.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

Very cool.

Yeah, their renderings look like something requiring, which is great. They are right to require the best for themselves.

I hope the Fr-Canadian Bombardier/Alstom consortium is chosen and they surpass themselves, should it be expensive.
German Siemens is a potential contractor too...

We'll see. I'm sure the French and Quebecers are better at doing this anyway.
The Germans are provincial and good at designing cars. Not trams.

[UrbanImpact]

https://www.wptv.com/traffic/traffic-news/palm-beach-county-light-rail-proposal

Proposal would bring light rail to busy stretch of Palm Beach County
Transit leaders consider light rail connecting Mall at Wellington Green to downtown West Palm Beach

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Palm Beach County leaders are taking a closer look at one of the busiest corridors in West Palm Beach — Okeechobee Boulevard and State Road 7.

For the last year, transit leaders have been keeping a close eye on State Road 7 from the Mall at Wellington Green to downtown West Palm Beach — a 13-mile stretch that more than 70,000 cars travel each day.............

[N830MH]

Originally Posted by UrbanImpact

https://www.wptv.com/traffic/traffic-news/palm-beach-county-light-rail-proposal

Proposal would bring light rail to busy stretch of Palm Beach County
Transit leaders consider light rail connecting Mall at Wellington Green to downtown West Palm Beach

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Palm Beach County leaders are taking a closer look at one of the busiest corridors in West Palm Beach — Okeechobee Boulevard and State Road 7.

For the last year, transit leaders have been keeping a close eye on State Road 7 from the Mall at Wellington Green to downtown West Palm Beach — a 13-mile stretch that more than 70,000 cars travel each day.............

Wow! I am very surprised! They never have light rail in West Palm Beach before. First time! Wave Streetcar is cancelled. Because it's very expensive. Broward County Commissioner doesn't want it. They says no to Wave Streetcar.

[UrbanImpact]

Originally Posted by N830MH

Wow! I am very surprised! They never have light rail in West Palm Beach before. First time! Wave Streetcar is cancelled. Because it's very expensive. Broward County Commissioner doesn't want it. They says no to Wave Streetcar.

This proposal is already clocking in around +/- $1,000,000,000 at the preliminary stage.

[Doady]

The only problem is that Palm Beach County spends $135 million on buses each year. If they had spent all that money on rail instead, they would have had to cancel their streetcar, and this State Road 7 light rail line and many other light rail lines would have been built by now. It's the same mistake many other places in the US have been making, and that is why US is behind so many other countries transit-wise.

[mhays]

Yeah, get rid of the main transit workhorse, which goes all over town, to build one or two lines.

[202_Cyclist]

Here is a light rail proposal for Palm Beach.

Residents, officials welcome light rail project


Image courtesy of WPTV.

WPTV
June 20, 2022

"Transit trends are evolving, and a light rail project could be the answer to help manage Palm Beach County’s growth.

"The traffic has picked up a lot," said a resident.

The proposal comes with the promise of fast-tracking commuters from the area’s western communities to the hub of Palm Beach County..."

https://www.wflx.com/2022/06/20/residents-officials-welcome-light-rail-project/

[jmecklenborg]

Are my eyes deceiving me? Why would the KC Streetcar terminate service north of the NFL Draft event site?




So people at the NFL draft are going to see empty streetcars arrive at Union Station and not be allowed to board them? They're going to see them reverse direction, then head back north...empty?

[M II A II R II K]

From Austin to Philadelphia and Atlanta, ambitious rail transportation projects are getting scaled back due to escalating construction costs.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...sit-plans-in-austin-philadelphia-atlanta

.....

- Austin is far from the only US city where transit plans are being scaled back, “re-sequenced,” or killed entirely. Philadelphia canceled a light rail extension to suburban King of Prussia after cost estimates increased by 50% in three years. Atlanta is pausing two planned light rail projects and focusing on cheaper bus rapid transit instead due to high costs. Long-planned subways in Manhattan and San Jose are delayed and facing calls for redesigns amid spiraling cost estimates.

.....

[jmecklenborg]

Huge streetcar ridership in Kansas City, despite the station closest to the event being closed...


The streetcar extension is u/c and was not finished in time for the NFL draft, so this ridership count is from the original 2016~ system, sans one station.

[jmecklenborg]

The new mayor quit harassing the Cincinnati Streetcar and the current council made it free in 2022. It's been doing much better and roughly what was estimated when it was proposed.

Unfortunately, the real-time arrival function still doesn't work. When it was u/c, the previous mayor made them cut the laying of conduit between stations, which would have hard-wired the signaling. Instead, they went with a cheaper wi-fi option and it has never, ever worked properly. In 2022 they turned it off permanently.

This is being shared today on social media:



Here is a short video I made two weeks ago of the streetcar in action:
https://youtu.be/47T_axBt3Mo

[202_Cyclist]

Fresno has ‘unique opportunity’ for new transit. Could light rail fuel downtown growth?

By Erik Galicia
Fresno Bee
March 7, 2026

"Depending on what a study finds feasible for Fresno, and what future local elected officials decide, it’s possible a light rail system could one day connect downtown to various parts of the Fresno-Clovis metropolitan area.

There could be a line from downtown to the growing Fresno Yosemite International Airport. Or one along the Fresno Area Express Q route, the service’s highest-ridership bus line that already connects downtown to everything on Blackstone Avenue — all the way north to the River Park Shopping Center.

Would the connectivity help the growth and revitalization of downtown Fresno?"

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article314942621.html

[Busy Bee]

^ That sounds great. Obviously it would need to deviate down to H Street and have a major transferpoint at the CHSR station. And Blackstone Ave north of Hedges is really wide so it wouldbe perfect for a reserved medium grass track.

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by Busy Bee

^ That sounds great. Obviously it would need to deviate down to H Street and have a major transferpoint at the CHSR station. And Blackstone Ave north of Hedges is really wide so it wouldbe perfect for a reserved medium grass track.

I am not familiar with Fresno but there is a minor league stadium downtown and the high-speed rail station will help with light-rail ridership. The Central Valley has some of the nation's most polluted air and I think Fresno has a large working-class population, so providing another mobility option for those residents would be beneficial.