Ugh. That extra curve down to Simpson is still in the plans.
I really don't get this. I mean, yes, that is the way the street is configured, and yes it is a
streetcar, but that doesn't mean that a rail system
needs to be designed based on the current and very easily re-configurable existing street design. That's just lazy planning!
I'm already unconvinced that taking two legs of a triangle to reach a destination (by going up to highland to reach the plaza) is the best route, and by adding another two-legs-of-a-triangle in by wrapping down to Simpson just makes this worse. It's like a committee got together and discussed the streetcar like this:
'We're getting only 1/3 the projected ridership. What's wrong?'
'People complain it's slow and infrequent.'
'I know just what to do-let's make it longer! Let's thrown in some extra and unnecessary sharp turns, make the route extra long by going south before turning north, and then place it in mixed traffic with no transit priority!'
'Sounds like a real winner to me!'
Look, this issue can be fixed. If it has to go to Highland Drive and stop at the east end of the plaza, it can be made to work. This isn't impossible.
First, the map seems to show that the track will 'pull over' to the side of the plaza, essentially making the plaza the platform for the End Of Line stop. That's great, I really like that feature. So why not have that one single track be 'pulled over' to the side the whole time? Why place it in traffic at all? Why not simply tuck a single bi-directional track(because it is at the end of the line, it does not need to be double-tracked here) between the sidewalk and the road lanes for the 900 feet between 21 south and Sugarmont Drive, and have the single track line
use the existing ROW that UTA already owns and still has old D&RGW tracks on the ground that runs parallel to Sugarmont Drive?
Like this:
So the double-track portion ends at the Fairmont Stop. This way if an eastbound car is waiting for westbound streetcar, at least it is waiting at the station. And besides, this alignment is only 1500-1600 feet long. Depending on how long the station dwell is and how long it takes to switch ends, it should never take more than 5 minutes between when a streetcar leaves Fairmont headed east and when it returns going west. I think a 5 minute frequency is perfectly reasonable for a streetcar system. Along Sugarmont and Highland Drives, the single-track streetcar line uses either existing UTA right-of-way or space formerly used by vehicles when Highland is reduced from 4 lanes to 3 (per planning document UTPlanner attached). It would look like this streetcar line in Tampa, FL:
This way the streetcar stays out of traffic and does not have to wait at any intersection going in either direction. No left turns in traffic on Simpson Avenue. No delays. No angry motorists. No long detours south before turning north. Only one curve.
What is wrong with this plan?
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