So, I doubt there is, but I'll go ahead ask anyway. Is there any truth to what this article says about the new light rail lines cannibalizing car lanes, or is it just anti-growth/urban rail transportation misinformation to scare people away from it? Honest question.
Particularly suspicious, is the 72 foot number the article states is necessary to accommodate the northbound and southbound "26 foot wide" tracks, and the additional 20 feet for station platforms. I really doubt the rail corridor really needs to be that wide. Most of the downtown east/west streets only have right-of-ways that are 80 feet. The widest streets are a max of 120 feet, such as Congress.
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news....257273.735503
Quote:
How an urban rail line could affect car lanes, parking in Austin
Posted: 12:00 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014
By Ben Wear - American-Statesman Staff
Installing two sets of light rail tracks over 9.5 miles through the heart of town, with the hope of taking some cars off the city’s clogged roads, will cost Austinites something more than the $600 million the city is seeking in the Nov. 4 bond election.
It will also cost them automobile lanes and hundreds of parking spaces in the city’s core.
|