AUSTIN | Transportation Updates

[alexjon]

Originally Posted by paulsjv

So the Dillos have changed their routes and are making each stop every 5 minutes. I was wondering what you all's thoughts were on this. I keep seeing 2 to 3 dillos over by the Whole Foods stop with a few people on them. Seems to me that they have too many of them on the road right now. Maybe they still need to work out the kinks?

Interesting

[paulsjv]

Originally Posted by TXAlex

One word: Monorail. yeah right.

I would LOVE Monorail.. but like you said.. yeah right.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by paulsjv

I would LOVE Monorail.. but like you said.. yeah right.

Seattle tried to build a new monorail replacement project replacing and extending its old one, but it died as soon as the voters saw how huge monorail stations were over streets and next to office buildings.

At Disneyland and Disney World, the monorail run inside buildings, and the stations are in the building atriums or lobbies, tucked neatly out of sight. The buildings were built at the same time as the monorails.

Check out photos of Las Vegas's light rail stations, and you'll discover why they were placed behind the hotels, and not in front of them along the Strip.

Ugly is too god a term to use for them.

But, if you were building your city from scratch, incorporating monorail within your buildings as they were built may be a good idea. Hanging stations 30 feet up outside buildings ain't.

[Saddle Man]

The monorail in Seattle had to be evacuated the other day. The fire department had to use ladder trucks to get people out.

[NormalgeNyus]

man i vegas i use the monorail where ever i go. i trust it more then the taxi's or just walking. its dangerous on the strip. the station them selves are true not top notch. but they are clean and pretty decent. the only reason they are not on the stip and because people pay good money to see the hotels and the strip. monorail is the way to go

[alexjon]

Originally Posted by kingkirbythegreat

The monorail in Seattle had to be evacuated the other day. The fire department had to use ladder trucks to get people out.

The monorail boosters also have a convenient stake in it. Their neglect is predicated on the idea that the city will fork over dough to run the monorail further (probably to Mercer on one end and the Waterfront on the other).

Not amused.

[M1EK]

Originally Posted by alexjon

http://www.soundtransit.org/x4642.xml <-- these? They're comfortable and worth a ride.

Looks the same as ours. Certainly same style - and a good ride (I reverse commuted on one with my bike underneath in the morning for a couple of years to avoid having to shower at work, since they didn't have one; and I'd then ride my bike home in the afternoon).

[alexjon]

Originally Posted by M1EK

Looks the same as ours. Certainly same style - and a good ride (I reverse commuted on one with my bike underneath in the morning for a couple of years to avoid having to shower at work, since they didn't have one; and I'd then ride my bike home in the afternoon).

The ST fleet is nice-- the seats are upholstered in fabric that has a stylized system map (Sound Move, actually) and they use them for their LRT system tours.

Most will be sold in the late 2010s prior to the opening of the north and south extensions of Link.

[ATXboom]

Austin Bergstrom was in the process of developing plans and gathering financing to add 9 gates and a new parking garage ASAP to meet the demands of a spike in service.

In addition the city was shopping the airport out.

Looks like due to the rising fuel price impact on the airline industry and city budget woes those plans have been shelved to be re-evaluated in 09.

Check out Austin Biz Journal and ABIA for more.

[SecretAgentMan]

Originally Posted by M1EK

That's a complete load of crap - Cap Metro's post-Rae leadership was and still is very anti-urban-rail; and they wouldn't have shat out the useless shared-lane streetcar line except that the public demanded they do SOMETHING for central Austin and wasn't willing to tolerate shuttle buses, so CM did the bare minimum to get people off their back.

The city's influence as board members has been, so far, to tell Capital Metro to do things differently, as in: "don't buy those useless Rapid Buses" and "if you won't build rail for central Austin, we will; and by the way, we'll be thinking about putting some additional restrictions on your capital spending in the process".

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/dap_urban_rail.htm

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/...ief_072408.pdf

[M1EK]

Yes, of course, CM has to be mentioned, especially in plans for public consumption, where we have to pretend to get along. And they'll be the operator if we can get this thing built (they literally have to be; the city wouldn't be allowed to operate it ourselves). But it's being built DESPITE them, not with their help - if CM had their way, we'd be spending our time on the useless Rapid Bus plan.

SAM, you do people no favors by trying to mislead.

[ATXboom]

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 - 2:37 PM CDT | Modified: Wednesday, September 3, 2008 - 3:06 PM

ABIA traffic rises 3% in JulyAustin Business Journal

traffic at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was up 3 percent in July compared with the same month last year, led by a significant jump in passengers flying Southwest Airlines.

Just over 855,600 passengers flew through ABIA in July. Southwest, ABIA’s largest carrier, saw a 10 percent year-over-year increase in traffic to 298,067 passengers. American, ABIA’s second largest carrier, experienced a 6 percent drop in traffic to 211,285 passengers.

[SecretAgentMan]

Originally Posted by M1EK

Yes, of course, CM has to be mentioned, especially in plans for public consumption, where we have to pretend to get along. And they'll be the operator if we can get this thing built (they literally have to be; the city wouldn't be allowed to operate it ourselves). But it's being built DESPITE them, not with their help - if CM had their way, we'd be spending our time on the useless Rapid Bus plan.

SAM, you do people no favors by trying to mislead.

M1EK said in post #835:

Capital Metro is NOT INVOLVED in the current discussions. The city has, to a degree, adopted a more sensible position that if Capital Metro refuses to provide rail service to the Austinites who pay essentially all of their bills, we'll do it ourselves, and establish more control over the money we send them in the process.

I'm just pointing to documented fact.

[M1EK]

Originally Posted by SecretAgentMan

I'm just pointing to documented fact.

You're telling half-truths from behind the cloak of anonymity. It's not cool; the people reading here deserve to know the whole truth.

[Nickelplate]

.

[Nickelplate]

Originally Posted by M1EK

You're telling half-truths from behind the cloak of anonymity. It's not cool; the people reading here deserve to know the whole truth.

Gangsta... Kinda!?

[nixcity]

Two quick questions, (1)Are they still on pace to put up the rail line on the November ballot?, I'm a little concerned if so because we will also be voting on a teacher pay raise and people are so strapped right now I feel they might not be so eager for even a small tax increase. BTW, what is the top speed for their proposed cars, are they sticking with streetcars instead of the other quicker models they were going to use?
(2)Is part of the proposal a connecting line from the CR stop by Con. Center to tie into the proposed line which, in my opinion, should go right up Congress? I realize this is not preferrable, but maybe it would help bring in a few more suburban riders trying to get to 5th/Congress area or the Capitol complex.

thanx

[electricron]

Originally Posted by nixcity

Two quick questions, (1)Are they still on pace to put up the rail line on the November ballot?, I'm a little concerned if so because we will also be voting on a teacher pay raise and people are so strapped right now I feel they might not be so eager for even a small tax increase. BTW, what is the top speed for their proposed cars, are they sticking with streetcars instead of the other quicker models they were going to use?
(2)Is part of the proposal a connecting line from the CR stop by Con. Center to tie into the proposed line which, in my opinion, should go right up Congress? I realize this is not preferrable, but maybe it would help bring in a few more suburban riders trying to get to 5th/Congress area or the Capitol complex.
thanx

5th and Congress is FOUR blocks away from the Convention Center CapMetro Rail Station. Some people walk that far to get to their parked cars. Why is that too far to walk? That's not even a good stretch of one's legs.

[nixcity]

^I would have no problem walking that and then some, but it does sit on the edge of the 1/4 mile "rule", what about the rest of the questions, a spur from there to get people to the capitol at least seems like it would be helpful.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by nixcity

^I would have no problem walking that and then some, but it does sit on the edge of the 1/4 mile "rule", what about the rest of the questions, a spur from there to get people to the capitol at least seems like it would be helpful.

I would agree, the State Capitial is too far away. That's 0.7 miles away from the Convention Center Station to the front drive to the State Capital. The State Capital is 0.1 miles back from the front drive. What's wrong with taking a bus?

Be thankful you only had to take the bus less than a mile, instead of 30 miles from Leander.

These are transit agencies, and buses make up the majority of their assets. They aren't train companies.