Quote:
Originally Posted by CrossedTheTracks
Obviously Druh and milomilo disagree fundamentally!
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Definitely! I've come to realise that one of the biggest urbanist myths is that the rail infrastructure itself is what makes a place walkable, or urban. But this is not true! It's the access to public transit that is what matters, not actually having the rails outside the shops.
To be honest, I'm not necessarily fundamentally opposed to low floor LRT, it just has to be in the right context - which the Green Line is not. A low floor LRT down 17th Ave SE would probably work great. And if money was no object, I'd love a network of streetcars instead of buses - but money is an object and the you have to look at the value for money of these things. As I see it, the only true advantage an LRT has over a full metro is that it is cheaper - so if it is not cheap ($5B for half the Green Line certainly isn't!) then what is the point?
I am glad the Green Line is happening and think it will be great for the city, and the route that has been decided is pretty much bang on, I just think we have caused it to be flawed for no good reason. That the line ended up being too expensive and needs to be staged I think is a blessing in disguise, as it will allow us to look more critically at the surface running on Centre St.
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