Quote:
Originally Posted by CharlesCO
^^^
I think a lot of that is quite dismissive. To digress somewhat, yes, RTD has had problems getting the Northwest Rail Line completed, but that's not at all due to the regional nature of transit planning on the Front Range. The reason why the Northwest rail hasn't been built yet and probably never will is because its cost was projected way too low and right before the cost of a lot of materials and construction shot up. RTD has actually been very creative and successful in getting every other line funded through some rather unique and unusual public/private partnerships. With the Northwest corridor, much of the rail line's ROW is also already duplicated by bus service (which is more or less also being upgraded to BRT in FasTracks) that goes closer to where people actually need to go, so the projected ridership for that line is staggeringly low. It has pissed Boulder taxpayers off, but it was the only corridor that couldn't decide between bus or rail and felt that it needed both, and considering that RTD has pulled miracles getting all the other far more important lines built in a budget crunch, I actually think RTD has done a tremendous job. I don't think their perceived success or failure is due to the fact that it's a regional agency, and it doesn't really matter at this point if that line never gets built.
But to relate this bay to Back Area transit, I'm always conflicted when this topic comes up. On one hand, it's fun to think of all the great projects that could be built if all the resources of every transit agency were pooled together. On the other, I don't know if it would really benefit people on a local level, which is equally, if not more important. I don't think a one-size-fits-all approach from Brentwood to Gilroy would really work that well, but I could also imagine that greater cooperation between BART, Muni, Caltrain, and ACTransit could produce something great, as well as better coordination between the aforementioned big four and local bus transfers from all the smaller agencies.
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Boulder already had its own bus lines from local city funding. It joined RTD especially for a rail line to Denver. While it is true rail costs skyrocketed in Colorado, it didn't rise as much everywhere else. DART experienced some costs rises, but DART was able to build what it promised with just undertaking a few project cuts. DART cut some stations instead of cutting entire lines. The bus lines to Boulder and Longmont aren't even true BRT lines, they're more akin to Express Bus services seen in Dallas and Houston, sharing of HOV lanes. At least Houston has dedicated flyovers to get the buses out of the HOV lanes to the bus stops, Boulder buses will have to merge over several lanes of traffic like they do in Dallas to reach the stops (park & ride lots). Express bus services is not the same as rapid bus transit. So Boulder isn't even getting true bus rapid transit.
RTD will never be able to promise taxpayers in the future that it can build what it promises to get future referendums for new taxes passed as long as Boulder and Longmont have no rail transit. The over promising will be remembered for a long, long time.
As long as the different transit agencies coordinate their plans, there is no need for an all encompassing "Regional" transit agency. NJT, SEPTA, MARC, VRE, MTA, CDOT, and MBTA all share access to Amtrak's NEC successfully. Sometimes I think those who advocate "Regional" government entities wish to rule local politics from above, instead of locals ruling local politics.
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