Quote:
Originally Posted by _Matt
I know you're just the messenger TC, but I don't buy this. If the metrorapid was actual BRT (dedicated lanes, etc) and the FTA investment was more, I could see the argument. But the FTA funded only $38M on the metrorapid route. This is less than 10% of the proposed $500M FTA funding for the urban rail route. Moving from a glorified bus service to urban rail is a huge upgrade for the corridor. An upgrade enough to justify the expense, not to mention that the buses can just be moved to another route! Also metrorapid will be in service for years before urban rail is built out!
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Yup, and if Austin tax payers are supposed pay half of the $1.4B needed for the current line proposal, why not just pay $700M (without FTA funding) for a smaller line running along the Guadalupe/Lamar corridor? We have the opportunity to get it right the first time and build a line that will have significantly higher ridership from the start.
A line running from Auditorium Shores/The Long Center to Highland Mall with a Guadalupe/Lamar alignment is ~5 miles long. $700M will most likely cover that line with money to spare, especially if we can be creative and use the existing bridge. Heck, we could also have a partial underground system from 1st Street to 15th Street (~1 mile) for that much money (if we used cut & cover).
This line could later be extended North to Parmer (~5 more miles), South to William Cannon (~5 more miles) and East on Riverside to the Airport (~5 more miles). This gives us a starting line with a far more CENTRAL alignment. With GL as the backbone and with the right extensions, we could have a comprehensive rail line that could actually make a dent in car use.
Of course, the BRT can probably be moved to Red River and the FTA would probably still fund a GL line once we're ready for construction around 2017.