Sad - Still no streetcars

[netdragon]

I was looking at an area of LA in Google maps and saw a streetcar - a real streetcar on rails (not BRT)! Can you believe it? And we still don't! It's kind of sad that Atlanta has no streetcars whereas the city known for auto congestion has one.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,47.28,,0,6.73

[cybele]

Well I would say it comes down to several reasons. Number one, LA is very dense. B, we are very oriented to the automobile down here and our leadership has followed that lead.

For all the liberals who see some future transit world thing I ran across this which was pretty interesting, but I don't think it would happen here.



• Video Link

[cabasse]

thats the blue line - actually light rail - but yeah LA gets it. as do so many other cities... i've really got my fingers crossed for something good to come out over the next few weeks.

[ATLBlaxican]

Just out of curiosity, why do people want streetcars? Is it something trendy or functional? Never lived in a city with them so I guess I can’t fully appreciate why people love them. Why not focus on MARTA? Do other cities like NYC, Chi or LA have them? Thanks…

[echinatl]

Originally Posted by ATLBlaxican

Just out of curiosity, why do people want streetcars? Is it something trendy or functional? Never lived in a city with them so I guess I can’t fully appreciate why people love them. Why not focus on MARTA? Do other cities like NYC, Chi or LA have them? Thanks…

From the people I've talked to about it they just don't like buses. I share that opinion. The bus stops are mostly terrible, I think that is the biggest turn off. I also hear the "I don't feel safe" on buses and on trains thing all the time too, which I also agree with.

[BlindFatSnake]

Originally Posted by echinatl

From the people I've talked to about it they just don't like buses. I share that opinion. The bus stops are mostly terrible, I think that is the biggest turn off. I also hear the "I don't feel safe" on buses and on trains thing all the time too, which I also agree with.

It's this simple: A person who wants to ride public transit in an unfamiliar city feels a helluva lot more comfortable boarding a fixed rail mode of transportation than boarding a bus that may detour from a straight-line route... leaving the visitor feeling stranded, confused, and anxious to get to their destination.

Besides, buses travel on the same clogged roads as your personal car. So, the logic would be: why ride a big-ass bus sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with complete strangers, when I can ride comfortably in my private car while controlling every decision made inside that car. On a public bus, you are really at the whim of the other riders (they can pull that cord anytime and have the bus stop)... Got it?

[WestsideATL]

If you've ever been on Peachtree Street downtown when one of the GRTA Xpress buses passes by, you'll know instantly why people DT want them off Peachtree but are still interested in streetcars. Even the newer buses are obnoxiously loud and smoky.

Streetcars are fully electric, which is a bonus because it reduces emissions DT, and they only make a quiet whir when they accelerate. The only obnoxious noise they emit is some wheel/track squeal when they make hard turns.

People also seem to be claiming that they'll cause more traffic. I just don't see it. Sure, they start and stop every other block but as long as they don't sit too long for fare collection (hopefully that would be done off-board) they shouldn't back up traffic too bad. One of the unspoken benefits is that the curbside tracks would prohibit delivery trucks from parking in and blocking the curb lane. Those damn delivery trucks seem to cause most of the traffic in Midtown/DT.

[TarHeelJ]

Originally Posted by WestsideATL

If you've ever been on Peachtree Street downtown when one of the GRTA Xpress buses passes by, you'll know instantly why people DT want them off Peachtree but are still interested in streetcars. Even the newer buses are obnoxiously loud and smoky.

Streetcars are fully electric, which is a bonus because it reduces emissions DT, and they only make a quiet whir when they accelerate. The only obnoxious noise they emit is some wheel/track squeal when they make hard turns.

People also seem to be claiming that they'll cause more traffic. I just don't see it. Sure, they start and stop every other block but as long as they don't sit too long for fare collection (hopefully that would be done off-board) they shouldn't back up traffic too bad. One of the unspoken benefits is that the curbside tracks would prohibit delivery trucks from parking in and blocking the curb lane. Those damn delivery trucks seem to cause most of the traffic in Midtown/DT.

I agree...Peachtree Street isn't built for heavy use by automobiles, but more for getting to a specific address located on Peachtree. For getting to/through Midtown, West Peachtree/Juniper/Spring/Piedmont are much better choices - they are wider and move higher volumes of traffic. Peachtree is perfect for a streetcar IMO.

[cybele]

Originally Posted by WestsideATL

If you've ever been on Peachtree Street downtown when one of the GRTA Xpress buses passes by, you'll know instantly why people DT want them off Peachtree but are still interested in streetcars. Even the newer buses are obnoxiously loud and smoky.

Well they are saying service on the X-Press bus routes will have to be eliminated or significantly reduced next year so that may clear it up.

[reet]

Originally Posted by TarHeelJ

I agree...Peachtree Street isn't built for heavy use by automobiles, but more for getting to a specific address located on Peachtree. For getting to/through Midtown, West Peachtree/Juniper/Spring/Piedmont are much better choices - they are wider and move higher volumes of traffic. Peachtree is perfect for a streetcar IMO.

This is an interesting point. Because Peachtree is a two-way street instead of one-way like those others, it doesn't work as well as a route for car-based commuters. And because of this, it works better than the others as a pedestrian-friendly zone. It's much safer and more pleasant to walk across Peachtree (at least it feels that way to me) than the one-way streets.

I think you're right -- Peachtree is a natural for a transit line because it's already been established as a pedestrian-friendly area.

[netdragon]

Originally Posted by ATLBlaxican

Just out of curiosity, why do people want streetcars? Is it something trendy or functional? Never lived in a city with them so I guess I can’t fully appreciate why people love them. Why not focus on MARTA? Do other cities like NYC, Chi or LA have them? Thanks…

Aside from what other said, streetcars also encourage transit-oriented development much more than buses because of the permanence factor to them. There's also less thinking and guesswork involved - you can see from the platform usually in the street median in European cities where the streetcar has to go. You don't have to know the bus routes. It's perfect to allow someone to hop a few dozen blocks to get lunch.