Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon716
The WLRT video has a groovy soundtrack, for a demonstration video... 
BTW, I think the problem with transit planning is forgetting the future and forecasting. Making an appropriate investment, even if it costs more, is the best option because of what can develop after its built. It is an infrastructure investment that will last many, many decades and if maintained correctly indefinitely into the future. I don't think transit is like highways because once you build a transit line, due to the nature of it, development can be radically different than building a highway in the middle of nowhere. Transit is typically built in areas that are already somewhat populated, or very populated. It allows a city to become more developed and redevelop existing neighborhoods as opposed to growth in the middle of nowhere. |
This is one the biggest reasons I love the system in Vancouver. While it is an ALRT and has some similarities to other LRT system in terms of capacity per car. The fact that it is fully automated and grade separated makes it so much more. It might have cost us billions to build it. But it has guaranteed us a system that is more future proofed. It fully proved the worth of having it during the Olympics.
I know there are "people" out there who keep saying. Well you could of built so many more lines if you had built a cheaper LRT system. Sure we could of, but our system overall would have been slower. Once you get down at street level. And other vehicles or people can cross the tracks. It has to run slower for safety reasons. Sure you might be able to run the same frequency or train lengths. But it can't get up to top speed like a fully separated system can.
That said just because you build an LRT line it doesn't mean your are guaranteed TOD development around the stations. You really need a city council that is forward thinking and looking to build those TODs. It also helped that certain areas of Metro Van where commercial / industrial waste lands. So it was very easy to just knock out the buildings and start putting up the towers.