first look at the new citywide ferry system ferry:

 

http://www.amny.com/transit/citywide-ferry-launch-on-track-after-first-boat-arrives-in-nyc-for-testing-1.13366248

 

closing rikers and making it part of laguardia:

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/rikers-tomorrow-article-1.3044815

fema ok'd funding for post sandy repairs for the holland tunnel.

 

this is the first i have heard of trump actually funding something to do with transit rather than cutting funds, so that is something:

 

 

Holland Tunnel to undergo critical Sandy repairs with FEMA funding

 

By Vincent Barone  [email protected] April 18, 2017

 

The Holland Tunnel will get $229.6 million in federal funding for superstorm Sandy-related repairs, a group of U.S. senators announced.

 

The money was secured through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for 22 sites within the tunnel, which was flooded during the storm. That money will be delivered to the Port Authority and will cover about 90% of the $255 million in repairs.

 

 

more:

http://www.amny.com/transit/holland-tunnel-to-undergo-critical-sandy-repairs-with-fema-funding-1.13488260

lots of talk about closing rikers island lately and making it part of an expanded lga airport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

more:

http://www.rethinkstudio.org/newlga/

^ What's the point. Building "JFK North" will only increase congestion in an already oversaturated airspace. Same delays, same restrictions.

 

The only upside I see would be not flying out of the cramped Central Terminal and better transit options. But you can build the transit without doubling the size of the airport.

 

Plus looking at the configuration shown people in the surrounding Queens/Bronx/LI neighborhoods/burbs won't be too fond of more/larger aircraft landing at LGA. So more noise restrictions and even more delays.

naah. heading west or coming west planes would actually fly over much less of anything than they do now. a short hop over the southernmost bronx, which is mostly river, warehouses and pjs.

 

as it is now from the west they loop lga planes around nj and across a much wider swath of the bronx to the north.

 

the east wouldnt change.

 

however, this messes with newark's approach -- and teterboro is right over there too.

 

last but not least, closing rikers is not so easy in and of itself either.

 

 

actually, i'm not in favor of any of this lga redevelopment at all. imo they should have closed it and expanded stewart, adding a rail connection. much easier and much more room to grow. cheaper too. cuomo's current lga redevelpment project is a wasted opportunity.

 

 

Honest question, but are delays at LGA actually a result of "overcrowded airspace." I've never heard that in the list of reasons cited for the airport being trash.

yeah, i guess so. ive gotten that as reasons for delays at times. like planes taking slower or faster speeds or looping around or leaving late due to "traffic." it all starts from issues on the ground though. one memorable time i have even actually waited hours longer on the ground at jfk taxiing the runways waiting for a gate to open up than the time it took to actually fly there from miami.

That new runway configuration is much like JFK. JFK controllers have to rotate runway configuration in order to placate the areas around it even though not all of it is residential and the airport faces Jamaica Bay. Can't believe a larger LGA would avoid that issue. Granted LGA's runways are smaller, so smaller aircraft. I'd bet some group in Jackson Heights will complain though. We are talking Queens! ;)

 

LaGuardia, Kennedy, Newark, Tetroboro, White Plains and Islip all have approach and departure patterns stacked on top of each other. It already causes problems with aircraft spacing on approach and departure. Throw in a windy day or line of t'storms that limits aircraft movement and the whole system can come crashing down.

 

Here's a decent Newsday article on NYC airspace congestion:

 

http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/faa-warns-nyc-area-airport-congestion-to-significantly-worsen-by-2030-1.9989561

 

 

^ yikes, worsening so much and that is without any major expansion? -- sheesh!

 

i dont really really understand the worsening in a sense though, because airlines consolidated, so there are less domestic flights, no? and prices are high again like they were in the 1970s before deregulation (although i suspect prices still vary a lot more than those days).

 

i guess its much more of a global economy these days and also people really want to fly everywhere more than they used to.

 

 

new subway cars on the way -- these look mostly the same, but the next round will look vastly different for ny, with open gangways and the like.

 

also, a second test track is now available - to get them into service quicker.

 

 

TRANSIT

New MTA subway cars to come into service this year

By Vincent Barone  [email protected] April 24, 2017

 

New subway cars, long delayed in their delivery, will start rolling through MTA stations before the end of the year, the agency announced Monday.

 

A batch of about 70 new cars will go into service this year to replace the oldest subway cars in the agency’s fleet on the J, Z and C lines, which have now become prone to breaking down. Another 230 or so will be put into service as they’re delivered over the course of 2018, according to Steve Plochochi, the MTA’s vice president of procurement and material

 

 

more:

http://www.amny.com/transit/new-mta-subway-cars-to-come-into-service-this-year-1.13516212

 

 

 

Here's a decent Newsday article on NYC airspace congestion:

http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/faa-warns-nyc-area-airport-congestion-to-significantly-worsen-by-2030-1.9989561

 

That article sure make light of NextGen's potential - to the extent that the billions and years seem hardly worth it.

Indy’s Red Line transit system gets $50 million in federal funds

 

The spending bill compromise reached by Congress and announced Monday includes some positive news for Indianapolis.

 

The deal includes $50 million funding for the Red Line system from Broad Ripple to downtown to the University of Indianapolis.

 

Last year, voters approved a measure that would tax them $54 million annually to supplement the federal money.

 

More below:

http://fox59.com/2017/05/01/indys-red-line-transit-system-gets-50-million-in-federal-funds/

 

the first ny city ferry is a hit out of the gate:

 

 

 

NYC Ferry Rockaway route sees 11,000 riders in first week

 

By Vincent Barone  [email protected] May 9, 2017

 

The dust and confetti have settled, and the numbers are in. NYC Ferry’s Rockaway route served about 11,000 riders during its first week of service, according to the city.

 

The existing East River route, which was absorbed by NYC Ferry, served another 38,000, bringing total ridership to 49,000 for the first week of the new municipal ferry service, from Monday, May 1, through Sunday, May 7. Mayor Bill de Blasio saw promise in the numbers as the administration prepares to launch another four routes by the end of next year.

 

“Thousands of New Yorkers are starting and ending their day riding NYC Ferry—and this is just the beginning,” de Blasio said in a statement. “We’re bringing people back to the water. With two more routes set to launch this summer, these numbers are only going to grow from here on out.”

 

While the numbers were hailed by the mayor, who committed $325 million to launch the service and another $30 million annually for operations, some experts say it’s too soon to call the endeavor a success. Mitchell Moss, a professor of urban policy and planning at New York University, said that only time will tell.

 

“A ferry system for some areas of the city is going to be an acquired taste,” he said. “We have to give the service a full summer and full winter to see how the Rockaway population decides to use it.”

 

A one-way ticket costs $2.75, but service is not incorporated with the MTA, a state-run agency. This means riders won’t be able to transfer freely to subways or city buses. Critics of the service have argued that this will limit ridership on the ferries, which is expensive to subsidize.

 

Rising costs led to the demise of an older, now-defunct Rockaway ferry service that the city supported after Superstorm Sandy badly damaged A train tracks in the area. Despite vocal support from Rockaway residents, that iteration of ferry service only served about 3,000 riders per week and was discontinued in 2013, according to the city’s Economic Development Corporation.

 

The two initial NYC Ferry routes have thus far operated largely without a hitch—except for a mechanical issue with one of the new boats, which threw a wrench in morning commutes on the East River during day one.

 

De Blasio and James Patchett, the commissioner of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, the agency overseeing ferry operations, have marketed NYC Ferry as an alternative to driving or taking the subway. Moss countered that the ferries, each with a 150-person capacity, would at best complement—not supplement—the subway system.

 

For instance, the Rockaway route served 11,000 riders in a week while the 11 A train subway stations in the area combined serve 16,400 riders in one day, according to MTA averages.

 

“Ferries are not going to be competitive,” Moss said. “The subway system has more than 400 stations with meaningful transit connections. This is much more of a specialized mode but it’s a delightful innovation. I think over time it’s going to develop a serious following.”

 

A South Brooklyn ferry route is scheduled to go online in June, with an Astoria route following in August. The Soundview and Lower East Side routes will come sometime in 2018. The city expects NYC Ferry to eventually draw 4.6 million annual riders once all six routes are in service.

 

 

more:

http://www.amny.com/transit/nyc-ferry-rockaway-route-sees-11-000-riders-in-first-week-1.13583586

[a message for Chicago... but could it be for Cleveland, too?]

 

A Challenge to Chicago: Increase Transit Ridership Before System Expansion

 

Before expansions of Chicago’s rapid transit system occur I propose a challenge: increase ridership to the level of peer cities first; Chicago’s transit system is punching far below its weight. In an ideal world, the system would be expanding. But resources are needed to do that. One of the best ways to get more of that is through riders. It’s a simple solution, and Chicago needs to get its act together.

 

Chicago, Berlin, and Barcelona are ideal cities to compare. Each city have comparable populations and densities, they’re all major cultural and economic centers, and they all have similarly sized metro system each within larger multi-model framework. The largest of the three metro systems (size is system length in kilometers) is Chicago’s ‘L’ at 165 km followed by Berlin’s U-Bahn at 151 km and Barcelona’s Metro at 146 km. The marked difference is the number of trips on each system. Berlin’s U-Bahn and Barcelona’s Metro respectively see 517.4 and 416.2 million trips annually. Chicago’s ‘L’ only sees 238 million trips annually. That’s fare less than half Berlin.

 

 

 

https://urbanelijk.com/2016/10/28/a-challenge-to-chicago-increase-transit-ridership-before-system-expansion/

The largest of the three metro systems (size is system length in kilometers) is Chicago’s ‘L’ at 165 km followed by Berlin’s U-Bahn at 151 km and Barcelona’s Metro at 146 km.

 

Knitpicking, but Berlin also has the S-Bahn (ostensibly something like commuter rail but has many stops within the city, not like Metra at all), not to mention trams all over town.

I think Chicago massively screwed up by having so much of its transit system above ground. With the terribly cold and long winters they have, it makes transit incredibly unappealing for about half of the year. If you could wait for a train in a warm, dry environment, taking the train would be much more appealing. I can't imagine starting and finishing each work day freezing my ass off waiting for a train on a blustery elevated platform half of the year.

 

I take transit to work everyday in LA, and despite few weather challenges, there are enough negatives that I regularly experience that make me think about driving to work. Every day I encounter smells and sights from homeless people that are seriously disgusting. Waiting for the bus after getting off the train is extremely frustrating too, because there is no synchronization at all between the systems. What should be a 25 minute driving commute (with normal traffic) turns into an hour on transit. I'm ok with this because the cost of parking in DTLA, coupled with gas prices makes driving cost prohibitive. We need to think about user experience if we want to lure choice riders to systems.

The largest of the three metro systems (size is system length in kilometers) is Chicago’s ‘L’ at 165 km followed by Berlin’s U-Bahn at 151 km and Barcelona’s Metro at 146 km.

 

Knitpicking, but Berlin also has the S-Bahn (ostensibly something like commuter rail but has many stops within the city, not like Metra at all), not to mention trams all over town.

I beg to differ: Metra has a lot of station stops within Chicago's city limits, esp the Metra Electric line such in-city stop frequency it's like a rapid transit line.. ME's the South Chicago branch even ends within Chicago. Also a number of Metra's diesel routes have in-Chicago stations, like the Beverly branch, and number of the northern routes stopping in such City neighborhoods as Jefferson Park, Clybourn (very close-in to the Loop) Lawendale, Ravenswood and Rogers Park -- to name a few.

 

 

I stand corrected. Perhaps it was just that the Berlin systems had a unified ticketing scheme that made me feel differently.

I think Chicago massively screwed up by having so much of its transit system above ground. With the terribly cold and long winters they have, it makes transit incredibly unappealing for about half of the year. If you could wait for a train in a warm, dry environment, taking the train would be much more appealing. I can't imagine starting and finishing each work day freezing my a$$ off waiting for a train on a blustery elevated platform half of the year.

 

I take transit to work everyday in LA, and despite few weather challenges, there are enough negatives that I regularly experience that make me think about driving to work. Every day I encounter smells and sights from homeless people that are seriously disgusting. Waiting for the bus after getting off the train is extremely frustrating too, because there is no synchronization at all between the systems. What should be a 25 minute driving commute (with normal traffic) turns into an hour on transit. I'm ok with this because the cost of parking in DTLA, coupled with gas prices makes driving cost prohibitive. We need to think about user experience if we want to lure choice riders to systems.

 

I think you're on to something.  Those old (often) Victorian-era stations with wrought-iron turnstiles, exposed wooden platforms (with a few heat lamps for winter which oftentimes are inadequate given the size of the station crowd or are simply not working), while cute and interesting from a historical, preservationist POV, don't necessarily connote to the kind of creature comforts modern commuters expect -- commuters nowadays want to be moved in speed and (relative) comfort and are not particularly interested in their transit system's historical attributes.  The L is comprehensive and extensive in many ways, but is antiquated and even slow, in many sections such as the Brown Line and parts of the northern Red Line where trains literally stop every few blocks.  Plus there are other antiquated L aspects which slow down trains, such as the frequent level (as opposed to banked) 90-degree turns -- often to squeeze in between close buildings -- which force trains slow to a crawl.  In one actual fix to this condition along the southbound Green and Orange lines between Congress and Harrison Streets, CTA actually rebuilt a section of track that contained adjacent 90-degree turns weaving from Wabash St into an alley between Wabash and State Streets into a diagonal elevated track over the parking lot which affords a faster, safer trip -- but that's only one such straightening out, if you will... many more slow/sharp curves exist, dating back to when the L was built in the 1890s and early 1900s.  I'm sure many Chicago commuters would rather fight the auto traffic in their own cars or opt for nearby Metra stations, even though the latter is more expensive and less frequent. 

 

The L had a horrible accident in the late 1970s where 2 Loop trains collided (I believe at one of those sharp curves) and one of the trains fell off the elevated tracks onto the street below killing about 10 people including 1 or 2 pedestrians crushed by the falling train cars.  I believe there was a push by some to replace the elevated loop with additional subway lines, but the plan got nixed for both cost and historical reasons IIRC.  Here again a modern, underground metro would be much more comfortable, faster and even safer than the Rube Goldberg-ian elevated loop that exists, even though the Loop L is extremely interesting from an urban visual standpoint and, in many ways, give Chicago its identity.  Again, cute as opposed to fast and comfortable...

I think Chicago massively screwed up by having so much of its transit system above ground. With the terribly cold and long winters they have, it makes transit incredibly unappealing for about half of the year. If you could wait for a train in a warm, dry environment, taking the train would be much more appealing. I can't imagine starting and finishing each work day freezing my a$$ off waiting for a train on a blustery elevated platform half of the year.

 

I take transit to work everyday in LA, and despite few weather challenges, there are enough negatives that I regularly experience that make me think about driving to work. Every day I encounter smells and sights from homeless people that are seriously disgusting. Waiting for the bus after getting off the train is extremely frustrating too, because there is no synchronization at all between the systems. What should be a 25 minute driving commute (with normal traffic) turns into an hour on transit. I'm ok with this because the cost of parking in DTLA, coupled with gas prices makes driving cost prohibitive. We need to think about user experience if we want to lure choice riders to systems.

 

I think you're on to something.  Those old (often) Victorian-era stations with wrought-iron turnstiles, exposed wooden platforms (with a few heat lamps for winter which oftentimes are inadequate given the size of the station crowd or are simply not working), while cute and interesting from a historical, preservationist POV, don't necessarily connote to the kind of creature comforts modern commuters expect -- commuters nowadays want to be moved in speed and (relative) comfort and are not particularly interested in their transit system's historical attributes.  The L is comprehensive and extensive in many ways, but is antiquated and even slow, in many sections such as the Brown Line and parts of the northern Red Line where trains literally stop every few blocks.  Plus there are other antiquated L aspects which slow down trains, such as the frequent level (as opposed to banked) 90-degree turns -- often to squeeze in between close buildings -- which force trains slow to a crawl.  In one actual fix to this condition along the southbound Green and Orange lines between Congress and Harrison Streets, CTA actually rebuilt a section of track that contained adjacent 90-degree turns weaving from Wabash St into an alley between Wabash and State Streets into a diagonal elevated track over the parking lot which affords a faster, safer trip -- but that's only one such straightening out, if you will... many more slow/sharp curves exist, dating back to when the L was built in the 1890s and early 1900s.  I'm sure many Chicago commuters would rather fight the auto traffic in their own cars or opt for nearby Metra stations, even though the latter is more expensive and less frequent. 

 

I stand corrected. Perhaps it was just that the Berlin systems had a unified ticketing scheme that made me feel differently.

 

Also consider that if Metra didn't have many in-city stations, there would be even more motivation to ride the L, not less.

I think Chicago massively screwed up by having so much of its transit system above ground. With the terribly cold and long winters they have, it makes transit incredibly unappealing for about half of the year. If you could wait for a train in a warm, dry environment, taking the train would be much more appealing. I can't imagine starting and finishing each work day freezing my a$$ off waiting for a train on a blustery elevated platform half of the year.

 

I take transit to work everyday in LA, and despite few weather challenges, there are enough negatives that I regularly experience that make me think about driving to work. Every day I encounter smells and sights from homeless people that are seriously disgusting. Waiting for the bus after getting off the train is extremely frustrating too, because there is no synchronization at all between the systems. What should be a 25 minute driving commute (with normal traffic) turns into an hour on transit. I'm ok with this because the cost of parking in DTLA, coupled with gas prices makes driving cost prohibitive. We need to think about user experience if we want to lure choice riders to systems.

 

I think you're on to something.  Those old (often) Victorian-era stations with wrought-iron turnstiles, exposed wooden platforms (with a few heat lamps for winter which oftentimes are inadequate given the size of the station crowd or are simply not working), while cute and interesting from a historical, preservationist POV, don't necessarily connote to the kind of creature comforts modern commuters expect -- commuters nowadays want to be moved in speed and (relative) comfort and are not particularly interested in their transit system's historical attributes.  The L is comprehensive and extensive in many ways, but is antiquated and even slow, in many sections such as the Brown Line and parts of the northern Red Line where trains literally stop every few blocks.  Plus there are other antiquated L aspects which slow down trains, such as the frequent level (as opposed to banked) 90-degree turns -- often to squeeze in between close buildings -- which force trains slow to a crawl.  In one actual fix to this condition along the southbound Green and Orange lines between Congress and Harrison Streets, CTA actually rebuilt a section of track that contained adjacent 90-degree turns weaving from Wabash St into an alley between Wabash and State Streets into a diagonal elevated track over the parking lot which affords a faster, safer trip -- but that's only one such straightening out, if you will... many more slow/sharp curves exist, dating back to when the L was built in the 1890s and early 1900s.  I'm sure many Chicago commuters would rather fight the auto traffic in their own cars or opt for nearby Metra stations, even though the latter is more expensive and less frequent. 

 

I stand corrected. Perhaps it was just that the Berlin systems had a unified ticketing scheme that made me feel differently.

 

Also consider that if Metra didn't have many in-city stations, there would be even more motivation to ride the L, not less.

 

Ok there is tons to dissect here:

 

Temperature:

Chicagoans are a hearty lot, and cold / snow doesn't stop them quite as much as it does people who live in Central to Southern Ohio - people know its miserably cold and will bundle up appropriately.

 

Low ridership:

While total miles are good, the L is very much a hub and spoke model, and there are tons of gaps.  Those gaps are filled by a bus system, so the bus system gets way higher ridership than the L does for that reason.  Problem is the buses stop probably more than any other bus system I've ridden, stops are like a 5 min walk apart, which makes the system incredibly slow.  In the past there were more express routes, but they've been slowly withered away to either not existing or barely existing.  If the L was more of a network, ridership would be way higher but there are parts of town that don't really get served well by the L and even areas on the southside which have terrible transit service and terrible bus service.

 

Best solution given IL structural budgeting is to implement a good BRT System on Ashland or Western which are wide roads capable of handling the addition of these lanes, sadly the city decided to half-arse a system in the Loop before this and the more needed system has since stalled out.

 

Metra inner city stations:

 

Metra is being really dumb about these.  There is this guy who has been advocating for the "Grey Line" for years to basically allow CTA level services on the Metra Electric because it covers more of the south side than the green and red lines do.  Sadly due to bureaucratic inertia and territorial-ism (even though Metra and the CTA are supposed to be united under the RTA board they NEVER talk to each other hence the reason for their not being shared fare schemes, though at least you can now buy tickets through a smartphone app, its still stupid).  The infrastructure of the ME is wonderful but metra will always neglect it.  While Hyde Park gets good service even on saturdays all other parts of the line are stupidly underserved.  Its frustrating, I also really wish that the rest of hte system would run smaller trainsets at off peak hours so that they'd have less train crew and still be able to offer better services when its not rush hour but again they are very old fashioned about the way they operate (and some lines do have freight interference which makes this impossible).... I could go on for hours about the problems with Metra.

There is a Metra station on Western and 16th in Pilsen not too far from where I live. The only time I see it get used is suburban kids from Naperville coming in for Riot Fest at Douglas Park or that Spring Awakening DJ fest at Addams/Medill Park. I don't know a single person that commutes on it to Downtown. It's really a dump, a rotted wooden platform and a rickety narrow staircase goes between concrete walls and dumps you under a rundown train overpass on the street. It's not even marked, I should take a pic. I think the Halsted stop is in the same condition. I get the feeling Metra could care less about inner city stops...at least on that BNSF line. Maybe the burbs pay for the nice stations for Metra?

I wish NYC buses would move this fast normally!

That is frightening. My cousin was once driving east on US-322 through Gates Mills towards Geauga Co, and on the part going downhill towards the river, he claims a garbage truck was barreling backwards down the hill until it smashed into a stopped police car. He might have exaggerated the story...  :-D

Plan for Metro Rail extension to Amherst coming into focus

 

Planning a major infrastructure project like the Metro Rail extension to Amherst isn't like painting a house, but it does provide a useful analogy.

 

Just as a painter starts with the broad strokes of a sprayer, followed by a roller and, finally, a small brush, details on the proposed $1.2 billion extension to the University at Buffalo North Campus will become finer in each stage of the planning process, said Rachel Maloney Joyner, a transportation planner at the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority.

 

"We're probably at the point where we're using a roller," she said. "At some point in the study when we get into final design, we're going to get out that little paint brush and we're going to start doing the trim."

 

 

http://buffalonews.com/2017/04/18/plan-metro-rail-extension-amherst-coming-focus/

Buffalo: Public input sought on development along Metro Rail line

 

By Stephen T. Watson  | Published June 27, 2017 

 

The public is invited to offer input on what kinds of development they'd like to see take place along the existing Metro Rail line in Buffalo and along the proposed expansion into the Northtowns at a workshop Wednesday on the University at Buffalo South Campus.

 

http://buffalonews.com/2017/06/27/development-along-metro-rail-line-topic-wednesday-forum/

Here's where Dallas will build a new subway and streetcar line

Written by Liz Farmer

 

 

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday gave its support to plans to build a downtown subway route under Commerce Street.

Council members also tentatively approved a new streetcar line that would connect the city's two existing streetcar lines through downtown. A large part of the new line also would run along Commerce. The council supported both plans unanimously.

 

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/2017/09/13/downtown-dallas-roads-ripped-make-way-subway-streetcar

ntsb investigation pins commuter train crashes on sleep apnea:

 

http://www.amny.com/transit/engineers-in-lirr-and-nj-transit-derailments-had-sleep-apnea-ntsb-1.14241007

Here's where Dallas will build a new subway and streetcar line

Written by Liz Farmer

 

 

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday gave its support to plans to build a downtown subway route under Commerce Street.

Council members also tentatively approved a new streetcar line that would connect the city's two existing streetcar lines through downtown. A large part of the new line also would run along Commerce. The council supported both plans unanimously.

 

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/2017/09/13/downtown-dallas-roads-ripped-make-way-subway-streetcar

 

Dallas obviously made a mistake with its 2-track, surface downtown transit mall being the core of such a sprawling LRT system.  Props to locals to man/woman-up, bite the $1.3M bullet and (attempt to) correct that mistake and build an adjoining downtown subway.  It would be great if Cleveland leaders were paying attention.

Here's where Dallas will build a new subway and streetcar line

Written by Liz Farmer

 

 

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday gave its support to plans to build a downtown subway route under Commerce Street.

Council members also tentatively approved a new streetcar line that would connect the city's two existing streetcar lines through downtown. A large part of the new line also would run along Commerce. The council supported both plans unanimously.

 

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/transportation/2017/09/13/downtown-dallas-roads-ripped-make-way-subway-streetcar

 

Dallas obviously made a mistake with its 2-track, surface downtown transit mall being the core of such a sprawling LRT system.  Props to locals to man/woman-up, bite the $1.3M bullet and (attempt to) correct that mistake and build an adjoining downtown subway.  It would be great if Cleveland leaders were paying attention.

 

 

dallas already does have one light rail subway station. check out mockingbird station. it was sort of built as a demonstration. its pretty cool -- and obviously it worked in helping win people over. and now? a unanimous city council vote for a subway and additionally another connecting streetcar over it? wow, can you imagine? what a project. that is just excellent, heartening news.

mta news:

 

 

a demonstration station for platform doors is coming, likely along with the L train sandy tunnel repairs:

 

https://www.amny.com/transit/subway-platform-screen-doors-1.14605599

 

 

and in bigger news, at last metro cards are going away for a tap/open fare payment model:

 

https://www.amny.com/transit/metrocard-replacement-timeline-1.14589510

new contactless payment system should make fares more equitable:

 

 

 

MetroCard’s replacement could lead to more equitable fares, experts say

 

By Vincent Barone  [email protected] November 12, 2017

 

 

 

As the MTA begins its slow phaseout of the MetroCard, experts and advocates hope its successor can provide a more equitable fare system.

 

A common criticism of the current MetroCard system is that only those wealthy enough to afford the single-purchase $121 monthly pass benefit from such savings. Low-income commuters have no choice but to pay the more costly per-ride option. The contactless system — set to completely replace the MetroCard by 2023 — could change all that.

 

“... With the [new] technology, if you in fact swipe through enough times in a month you could automatically be given the 30-day benefit,” said David Jones, president and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York and MTA board member. “The backend of this technology is sophisticated enough that it can tally how many times you are using the system.”

 

This policy is called fare capping. Cubic Transportation Systems, the company replacing the MetroCard, already has implemented such a feature in London, where it operates Transport for London’s fare system. On the Underground, Transport for London offers daily and weekly capping. So riders no longer have to decide if a daily or weekly pass would be most cost-effective for them. They can pay per ride until they reach the daily or weekly capping rates, at which point they could then continue riding the system for free.

 

“If you look at why the Oyster Card and contactless is so popular, one of the reasons is because of capping,” said Shashi Verma, TfL’s chief technology officer. “There is no way to really overplay it.

 

“What contactless allowed us to do is let us think more carefully and cater to the needs of the people using our system and the choices they need to make on a day-by-day basis,” Verma continued. “The daily cap also incentivizes people to use the public transport network, instead of using the road network. We don’t want them to be in taxis, to be driving, anything of that kind.”

 

While Transport for London has a significantly different distance-based fare structure, experts believe capping in some form could improve equity and affordability at the MTA — similarly to how the MetroCard transformed city travel by allowing for free transfers. The new technology would also allow the MTA to institute lower fares during off-peak hours, which Verma said has also increased ridership on the tube.

 

Some New Yorkers worry that the new fare tech will shut out commuters who do not have bank accounts or smartphones. But the MTA has pledged to meet the needs of all riders. Tap cards will be available to purchase with cash at station machines or in convenience stores. Changing fare policy, though, the MTA said, is a matter that must be resolved by its board when the time comes.

 

“The MTA’s new fare payment technology will be among the most advanced in the world, and accessible to everyone with both electronic and cash payment options,” said MTA spokesman Shams Tarek in a statement. “As for fare policy, the contract is independent of that and no decisions by the MTA Board have been made.”

 

Jones believes the new technology would also more easily allow for fare discounts for low-income riders, a policy CSS and the transportation advocacy group Riders Alliance have backed. His main focus at the moment is ensuring that MetroCard vending machines remain in working order during the card’s phaseout over the next few years.

 

“Breakdowns of machines at particularly isolated stations could leave people really in the lurch, and we’re worried about that. Essentially, you’ll have a subway station and a broken machine and people will just be out of luck,” Jones said. “This already happens now.”

 

 

more:

https://www.amny.com/transit/metrocard-replacement-name-ideas-as-proposed-by-new-yorkers-1.14945131

Just knitpicking, but why exactly do people attribute these software advances to "contactless" technology? Whether you swipe a card or tap it is irrelevant, everything they are talking about could be done with swiping.

Can Nashville Pull Off a $5.2 Billion Transit Makeover?

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry announced a massive transit overhaul for the city earlier this month—one of the boldest municipal projects in recent memory, and easily the biggest in Nashville history. The $5.2 billion plan would introduce 26 miles of inlight rail across four new lines, four rapid bus lines, expanded bus service for existing routes, a major downtown tunneling project, and some two dozen transit centers across the city.

 

“Let’s Move Nashville”goes up for a referendum vote in May 2018. Over the next 7 months, residents of the consolidated Nashville–Davidson County area will debate a goliath project that calls for increases to four taxes in order to pay for a metro transit dig that will run through 2032.

 

The lion’s share of the proposal would be paid for by a one-half percent increase to the sales tax in Nashville, starting in July 2018, which will jump to a full 1 percent in 2023. That’s a tall order, even for liberal Davidson County. But the biggest obstacles to the mayor’s vision of a comprehensive city transit scheme—one pitched as the root of a regional transit rethink—may already be behind the city.

 

The real genius of “Let’s Move Nashville” is in the way that the city won state support for long-term local planning initiatives.

 

In recent years, significant municipal transit schemes have crashed hard on the shoals of state politics. Where conservative state leaders hold the gubernatorial mansion, dashed liberal transit dreams often follow. Consider the 2015 decision by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican elected the prior year, to scotch the Red Line, an east-west light-rail project for Baltimore. He reallocated $2.9 billion planned for the corridor to various state highway projects (and passed on $900 million in dedicated federal funds along the way). Even in a blue state like New York, the governor largely pins the blame on New York City’s transit meltdown on the city—despite the fact that the subway is squarely the state’s responsibility.

<snip>

 

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/11/can-nashville-pull-off-a-52-billion-transit-makeover/544301/

more airtrain like it or not:

 

 

 

LaGuardia Airport AirTrain moves toward fruition, despite criticism

 

By Vincent Barone  [email protected] November 16, 2017

 

 

 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s LaGuardia Airport AirTrain continues trudging along.

 

The Port Authority’s board approved $55 million in spending Thursday to move the project into its second planning phase — a move that left transit experts confounded.

 

Despite drawing criticism on nearly every aspect of the proposal, including the AirTrain’s route and travel speed estimates, the Port Authority’s executive director and chairman defended the project as being vital to a region where 86 percent of all LaGuardia travelers access the airport by car.

 

 

more:

https://www.amny.com/transit/laguardia-airport-airtrain-1.15004542

 

Chicago's Metra problems sure sounds like Greater Cleveland RTA's -- both their death-spiral problem and survival-only solution. This is from a Midwest High Speed Rail Association blog....

 

https://www.midwesthsr.org/growth-metras-only-option-survival

 

Growth is Metra's only option for survival

 

Last week, the board of Metra, Chicago’s commuter rail service, voted to raise fares and cut service. Fare hikes are nothing new to Metra riders, but coupling them with service cuts is an eye-opener.

 

Metra calls their situation “unsustainable,” which is probably an understatement. “Death spiral” comes to mind. The death spiral is classic public transit trap. Faced with a budget shortfall, operators reduce costs by cutting service and increase revenue by raising fares. This has the effect of driving riders away, which only makes the problem worse, and the cycle repeats. This is where privately-run transit and passenger rail services found themselves after the post-war automobile boom, leading to eventual public take-overs.

 

Is “death spiral” a bit hyperbolic for Metra today? Maybe not. Joe Cahill had similar thoughts in his Crain’s column.

 

The other troubling thing is Metra’s five-year strategic plan, also adopted at last week’s board meeting. The plan is essentially, “keep doing what we’re doing now, but a little bit better.” There is no bold vision for growth, only a fight for survival.

 

Metra’s only option for survival is aggressive growth.

 

Metra needs more financial support from the state, but any requests for more funding will fall on deaf ears unless Metra can offer something in exchange: more service. Better service. Metra, like any service provider, needs to be selling a product that people want, not just one they feel is their only option.

 

Other commuter rail systems around the world have re-invented themselves for the 21st century. They’ve shifted from only serving the traditional rush-hour commute to providing frequent, all-day service in both directions.

 

Paris is considered a pioneer in this concept, called Regional Express Rail, but it’s hardly a European-only idea. New York’s Metro-North now runs off-peak trains at least every 30 minutes on its New Haven Line, and is studying how to further increase frequency. Toronto’s GO Transit is in the midst of a system-wide upgrade that will quadruple the amount of service it offers. Trains will come every 15 minutes on the busiest lines, using new, lightweight, electric multiple-unit trains.

 

That’s another carrot Metra should dangle in front of riders: modern, comfortable trains to replace the 1950’s-era gallery car design. New trains would accelerate faster, use less energy, be safer, and offer conveniences like bike racks and work tables. As pictured below, they have two doors per car, with less stairs to climb, making getting on and off faster and easier.

 

Keeping trains running frequently all day would make better use of the fixed costs that Metra faces. More convenient service will attract more riders, bringing more fare revenue. It’s an equation that works for other commuter rail systems around the world, and it will work for Metra.

 

Metra is facing a big problem, and its only solution is to make an even bigger plan to invest in its future.

 

Richard Harnish

Executive Director

ha, now things will get done!

 

Toronto Transit Chief Is Tapped to Run New York’s Ailing Subways

By MARC SANTORA

NOV. 21, 2017

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/nyregion/torontos-transit-chief-named-to-lead-new-yorks-troubled-subway.html

 

 

ha, now things will get done!

 

Toronto Transit Chief Is Tapped to Run New York’s Ailing Subways

By MARC SANTORA

NOV. 21, 2017

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/nyregion/torontos-transit-chief-named-to-lead-new-yorks-troubled-subway.html

 

 

 

Not necessarily. America's government is corrupted and dysfunctional.

the new generation subway train models on display at the hudson yards 7 train station:

 

 

 

 

 

 

New subway cars, known as R211s, on view at Hudson Yards station in Manhattan

 

By Vincent Barone  [email protected] November 30, 2017

 

 

 

The subway car of the future has arrived — sort of.

 

Riders can catch a glimpse of the next generation of subway cars at the 34th Street-Hudson Yards station in Manhattan, where the MTA has unveiled two sections of the model they expect to hit the rails for testing in 2020.

 

Riders can tour the two models through Dec. 6, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Surveyors from the agency will be stationed alongside the models to collect feedback — feedback the MTA says will influence the final design.

 

 

 

more:

https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-new-subway-car-1.15261184

Does "Democratic Party" automatically mean "transit supporter"?  That's a dangerous assumption for transit advocates...

 

Dems Gain Control of Washington Legislature and Immediately Move to Pilfer Transit Funds

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/01/08/dems-gain-control-of-washington-legislature-and-immediately-move-to-pilfer-transit-funds/

the gov announced a $30M affordable housing project at speonk station, one of 8 current tod projects on long island:

 

 

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-groundbreaking-30-million-affordable-housing-development-suffolk

Niiiiiiiiiiiice.

It's too bad we can not work this fast.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5297201/amp/1-500-Chinese-workers-build-railway-nine-hours.html

 

I don't know why I find this so cool. But Whitehorse up in the arctic, with only about 25,000 people is trying a bus-only lane. Apparently it has been a huge success, and everyone loves it.

 

the new shinkansen is quieter, lighter and greener, but not faster:

 

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/shinkansen-supreme-n700s-japan/

 

Seattle's mayor halts streetcar project:

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/seattle-mayor-jenny-durkan-halts-streetcar-expansion-project-as-costs-jump-to-200m/

From what I've heard, this is a Cranley-style "pause" which will do nothing but add expense to the project. In the end, the central city connector will still be built. It doesn't make sense for Seattle to continue operating two separate streetcar lines with two separate car barns/maintenance facilities. It makes way more sense to build the middle section that links them and operate it as one line.

From what I've heard, this is a Cranley-style "pause" which will do nothing but add expense to the project. In the end, the central city connector will still be built. It doesn't make sense for Seattle to continue operating two separate streetcar lines with two separate car barns/maintenance facilities. It makes way more sense to build the middle section that links them and operate it as one line.

 

From what I know of Seattle, I do suspect that the First Hill Streetcar, as-built, was a bit of a mistake.  A streetcar on First Ave. makes a ton of sense, and having that then turn east on Jackson also makes a ton of sense.  But the circuitous way in which the line gets to Broadway is the killer of the functionality of this line, both now and after the First Ave. mile is built.  Right now, the Broadway section and the Jackson section of the First Hill line no doubt function as two separate services, with very few people using the meandering connection between the two areas.  I predict that the Jackson St. area will really take off after the First Ave. section is built, but the section of the First Hill line that is actually in First Hill will continue to serve lukewarm ridership. 

 

Seattle is really crippled by its innate road configuration and the fact that so many single-family homes are situated so close to its downtown.  The table has been set for a hellish housing shortage since single-family homes, no matter how humble, will protect their neighborhoods to the detriment of the region, to the end.  Just like San Francisco. 

 

 

 

 

 

the wtc subway station will finally reopen in oct:

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/no-1-line-run-cortlandt-st-station-9-11-article-1.3947861