I was in Detroit for the last few days and finally got to check out the Qline (formerly M-1 Rail) streetcar under construction. If the system was up and running, we probably would've taken the streetcar 5 or 6 times during out stay, because our hotel was in Midtown/Cass Corridor area and many of the things we did were Downtown. With the amount of new residential population that's going to be added to Midtown with projects like Dan Gilbert's new Brush Park development, I have to imagine that this will be a very successful streetcar system.

 

I was also very impressed by the quality of the construction. In some sections, pavers were nicely installed around the concrete track slab, and many intersections featured brick crosswalks. None of the stations were complete so I'm not sure how they will look, but the spacing between them seemed to be just about perfect.

U.S. Department of Transportation Announces $1 Billion to Expand Trolley Service in San Diego

https://www.transit.dot.gov/about/news/us-department-transportation-announces-1-billion-expand-trolley-service-san-diego

Detroit's Qline trams have started showing up, and man are they uuuggg-ly:

 

I rode Salt Lake City's light rail last month and had two observations worth sharing:

 

- Every light rail train I saw on weekdays and Saturday was two cars long. However, on Sunday, they were running single-car light rail trains. So basically they were running a "light rail" train the size of Cincinnati and Kansas City's streetcars on all of their light rail lines.

 

- The fare payment on SLC's trains and buses was the best experience I've had in any city. You can pay by tapping your phone (using Apple Pay or Android Pay), or any NFC-compatible credit card. You do not have to pick up a separate card or pass of any sort. There is literally nothing else you have to do to ride other than tap your phone at the train station or when you get on the bus. If SLC can do it, I don't know why every city hasn't.

I rode Salt Lake City's light rail last month and had two observations worth sharing:

 

- Every light rail train I saw on weekdays and Saturday was two cars long. However, on Sunday, they were running single-car light rail trains. So basically they were running a "light rail" train the size of Cincinnati and Kansas City's streetcars on all of their light rail lines.

 

- The fare payment on SLC's trains and buses was the best experience I've had in any city. You can pay by tapping your phone (using Apple Pay or Android Pay), or any NFC-compatible credit card. You do not have to pick up a separate card or pass of any sort. There is literally nothing else you have to do to ride other than tap your phone at the train station or when you get on the bus. If SLC can do it, I don't know why every city hasn't.

 

It's quite amazing that SLC and Denver, America's most isolated major metropolitan areas, have developed outstanding mass transit networks.

Way to go, #Buffalo! When a state supports #rail #transit, metro areas can invest in linking jobs to job-seekers.

https://www.buffalorising.com/2017/01/breaking-state-to-support-light-rail-extension-to-amherst/

^Good for Buffalo.  At least one aging, downtown-progressing/population-losing Midwest lakefront metropolis has its head out of its arse enough to at least plan to extend its existing rapid transit system.

It's amazing what is possible when your state leaders appreciate that cities are the economic drivers of your state.

I am starting to become truly hopeful about the proposed extension of Buffalo's Metro Rail to Amherst. Here is more about the story from today's Buffalo News: http://buffalonews.com/2017/01/12/state-ok-signals-reality-metro-rails-extension-amherst/.

 

 

^I'm happy for Buffalo, too.  They had a great start with an nice up-the-gut system in the 80s that leaders, for some reason, just abandoned.  Now with the reemergence of the City, especially downtown and in neighborhoods like Allentown and Elmwood, they're finally starting to appreciate the fact they have a good, expandable rapid transit base, esp given Buffalo's smaller size.  It helps to have a progressive transit-friendly Gov. like Andrew Cuomo as well (please, could we trade him for John Kasich?)

 

Buffalo is a lot like a somewhat smaller Cleveland character-wise, density-wise, weather-wise, etc.  Obviously Cleveland has had a renaissance too (although I'm sensing that after our big RNC-driven year last year, our momentum is beginning to stagnate as public disputes (Public Square) and developmental financing problems (FEB III, nuCLEus and maybe even 515), among others, are rearing their ugly heads) but leaders here, from the mayor to the transit chief to the county executive to the governor to the Statehouse, don't seem to believe in the much larger rail asset that Cleveland already has and seem content to let it die a slow death... and we the riding public seem content on letting them get away with it.

Buffalo is also New York's second largest city. It's no secret that Cuomo isn't well regarded outside of New York City, and he's invested well over $1.5 billion in the Buffalo region alone in the past two years - mostly in transportation projects, to bolster his standing. Cleveland has to compete with Columbus and Cincinnati.

^I'm happy for Buffalo, too.  They had a great start with an nice up-the-gut system in the 80s that leaders, for some reason, just abandoned.  Now with the reemergence of the City, especially downtown and in neighborhoods like Allentown and Elmwood, they're finally starting to appreciate the fact they have a good, expandable rapid transit base, esp given Buffalo's smaller size.  It helps to have a progressive transit-friendly Gov. like Andrew Cuomo as well (please, could we trade him for John Kasich?)

 

I don't really think anyone "just abandoned" Buffalo Metro Rail. There is a relentless narrative that the subway line has not been successful but no evidence of that being true. The poorly designed downtown transit mall, where the train emerges from the subway and travels through downtown at street level, was never a design success, but the block-by-block return of one lane of car traffic in each direction (the same lanes that are used by the trains), a process that also includes new stations and the removal of many of the unattractive mid-80s flourishes, has started to transform lower Main Street. I think Buffalo is a bit behind Cleveland in its downtown renaissance, but certain successful parts of town like Allentown and Elmwood Avenue are not recent phenomena. Elmwood has been a great street for at least 50 years.

Buffalo's Metro light rail carried 5.2 million last year, which isn't as much as Cleveland's Red Line (6.4 million) but more than Cleveland's light rail Blue/Green lines that are under 3 million per year.

^I'm happy for Buffalo, too.  They had a great start with an nice up-the-gut system in the 80s that leaders, for some reason, just abandoned.  Now with the reemergence of the City, especially downtown and in neighborhoods like Allentown and Elmwood, they're finally starting to appreciate the fact they have a good, expandable rapid transit base, esp given Buffalo's smaller size.  It helps to have a progressive transit-friendly Gov. like Andrew Cuomo as well (please, could we trade him for John Kasich?)

 

I don't really think anyone "just abandoned" Buffalo Metro Rail. There is a relentless narrative that the subway line has not been successful but no evidence of that being true. The poorly designed downtown transit mall, where the train emerges from the subway and travels through downtown at street level, was never a design success, but the block-by-block return of one lane of car traffic in each direction (the same lanes that are used by the trains), a process that also includes new stations and the removal of many of the unattractive mid-80s flourishes, has started to transform lower Main Street. I think Buffalo is a bit behind Cleveland in its downtown renaissance, but certain successful parts of town like Allentown and Elmwood Avenue are not recent phenomena. Elmwood has been a great street for at least 50 years.

 

While I'm not wild about the downtown mall portion, Buffalo's subway was better designed than most, including Cleveland's, as it goes directly up the main artery to the edge of the City -- something Cleveland has been trying to do for decades, the last failure being the 1990s initiative leading to the Health Line... And for it's 6.4 mile length and Buffalo's smaller size, it performs well passenger-wise.  For an initial system like that to have no extensions, nor serious proposals for such, in 32 years, sure seems like abandonment to me.  Most every city advances past a starter line; even in older, Rust Belt cities of economic and population decline, like St. Louis. 

 

Buffalo, though smaller, seems similar to Cleveland; but the fact is, most cities are experiencing forms of recovery in their downtowns and certain close-in neighborhoods.  Rail transit in older, more conservative Midwestern cities, needs a strong champion to expand.  Cleveland lacks one and really foolishly risks hurting its overall momentum by thumbing its nose at its transit system, both bus and rail.  The new urban dwellers want quality transit along with walkable neighborhoods..  Until Andrew Cuomo came along with this initiative, Buffalo was in the same boat.  Let's hope Cuomo is successful.

Editorial: The benefits of extending Metro Rail will be worth taking up the challenge

 

Metro Rail extension to Amherst – or anywhere, really – has always seemed more fantasy than possibility. Because of the city’s resurgence and a governor committed to building on it, it might very well get done.

 

Now, more than in decades, there is a sense of hope in Western New York. New jobs in clean energy are coming online where steel mills once stood. The financial sector is going strong and IBM wants to bring new hires to its downtown offices. And let’s not forget the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, which will soon see an influx of students and workers.

 

https://buffalonews.com/2017/01/16/editorial-benefits-extending-metro-rail-will-worth-taking-challenge/

[NOTE: uh-ho, now come the NIMBY's: the dreaded rail-killing, anti-rail hit-men]

 

Metro Rail Extension Met with Skepticism by Town of Amherst

 

By Mike Arena

Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 12:12 PM EST

 

AMHERST, N.Y. -- The proposed extension of the NFTA light rail would connect UB's North Campus in Amherst with the growing medical campus downtown.

 

An area that continues to bring new jobs to the city.

 

http://www.twcnews.com/nys/buffalo/news/2017/01/27/amherst-extension-metro-rail.html#/0

FTA gives thumbs up to Honolulu light-rail project

 

On Tuesday, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued a "record of decision" for the Honolulu Rail Transit project, confirming the light-rail project met all environmental law and regulation requirements. The decision clears the way for construction to begin on the city's first rail system.

 

The $5.5 billion project involves a 20-mile elevated rail system that will connect East Kapolei with Ala Moana Center. The line will include 21 stations in communities including Waipahu, Pearl City, Aiea, Kalihi, Chinatown, and downtown Honolulu and Kakaako.

 

Receiving the FTA's decision is "one of the most significant milestones" for the rail project, said Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle in a prepared statement.

 

Read more at: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article/FTA-gives-thumbs-up-to-Honolulu-lightrail-project--25550

 

From the Wikipedia article on this project:

 

For more than 50 years, Honolulu politicians have attempted to construct a rail transit line. In 1966, then-mayor Neal S. Blaisdell suggested a rail line as a solution to alleviate traffic problems in Honolulu, stating, "Taken in the mass, the automobile is a noxious mechanism whose destiny in workaday urban use is to frustrate man and make dead certain that he approaches his daily occupation unhappy and inefficient.

I was glad to see this in the news today.

 

https://www.buffalorising.com/2017/09/nfta-taking-next-step-towards-light-rail-extension/

I was glad to see this in the news today.

 

https://www.buffalorising.com/2017/09/nfta-taking-next-step-towards-light-rail-extension/

 

This is great... Maybe Buffalo can teach big brother Cleveland how to extend rail transit... that maybe it helps to have a pro-rail transit chief and board as well as having local officials get behind the extension and all pull in one direction rather than fighting rail proposals which ultimately end up never even reaching the federal funding process... Good for Buffalo.  Sure sounds promising.

^I don't think there is much to teach.  I don't care how PRO TRANSIT local officials are...this would not be happening without massive funding from the state of New York.  Cuomo is not an idiot.  Politically he cannot ignore the state's second largest metro area when the state pours hundreds of millions of dollars into NYC rail transit (not to mention the billions to re-build LaGuradia).

^I don't think there is much to teach.  I don't care how PRO TRANSIT local officials are...this would not be happening without massive funding from the state of New York.  Cuomo is not an idiot.  Politically he cannot ignore the state's second largest metro area when the state pours hundreds of millions of dollars into NYC rail transit (not to mention the billions to re-build LaGuradia).

 

Cleveland's failure to expand rail pursuant to worthwhile proposals, like say Dual Hub subway up Euclid, the Green Line-I 271 (1.5 mile) expansion, hasn't been because of a lack of state support.  It has been due to infighting and lack of shared vision.  As I said, Cleveland has had a zillion planned expansions, but they never get anywhere because some local official always shoots them down.

^Political infighting in Cleveland and NE Ohio is a major factor in getting things done at any level, but Kasich is as much a sworn enemy of passenger rail in this state as there can be. It's a well-known fact that he waived off Obama's funding for building the 3C line almost immediately after he beat Strickland in November 2010. That was about as strong of a signal that we could have that Ohio would not be seeing any kind of support for rail service, new or existing, as long as he holds the governorship. His actions since then have only reinforced that fact. Cleveland could put together something sound, but Kasich would do his damndest to shoot it down, much like he did for Cincy's streetcar (although they still managed to build it anyway, in spite of him).

 

^I don't think there is much to teach.  I don't care how PRO TRANSIT local officials are...this would not be happening without massive funding from the state of New York.  Cuomo is not an idiot.  Politically he cannot ignore the state's second largest metro area when the state pours hundreds of millions of dollars into NYC rail transit (not to mention the billions to re-build LaGuradia).

 

Buffalo is fortunate to be in New York state for this very reason (as opposed to Pennsylvania or Ohio). Cleveland would enjoy a similar advantage here if Cincinnati had grown to Chicago-esque proportions--and built its subway system--as people once thought it might.

 

There was a time, however, when Cleveland was in a far better position to leverage its political clout and influence in Ohio, much as NYC does today in NY. But that was when the city proper was as about as large as Columbus is getting to be, back when it still had the economic might of being in the heart of the Industrial Belt in its favor.

More applicable to light-rail, Kasich's newly appointed TRAC committee at ODOT pulled $50 million in pass-through federal funds that would have allowed for the extension of the Cincinnati Streetcar up the hill to Clifton and UC/hospital. The prior TRAC committee ranked this project as the most prolific job creator of any project that was pending at that time. But Kasich's newly stacked TRAC changed the criteria from a job-producing emphasis to one where car traffic flow, speed, road safety were greater priorities.

BTW, Albert Porter wasn't the only rail transit hater in Cleveland. The Cleveland Press mounted a campaign against streetcars, and even drove a "Bottleneck Special" behind streetcars to document and bring attention to the times that streetcars blocked car traffic. Here is a photo of their efforts. Ironically, Cleveland sold its newest PCC streetcars to Toronto, which recognized that more and faster car traffic doesn't make a city more livable. Rather, pedestrianism supported by accessible public transit makes a city more livable, which Toronto used to build up its urban core while Cleveland disemboweled its. The type of city we have isn't due to happenstance, but by the conscious choices we made and continue to make...

 

More applicable to light-rail, Kasich's newly appointed TRAC committee at ODOT pulled $50 million in pass-through federal funds that would have allowed for the extension of the Cincinnati Streetcar up the hill to Clifton and UC/hospital. The prior TRAC committee ranked this project as the most prolific job creator of any project that was pending at that time. But Kasich's newly stacked TRAC changed the criteria from a job-producing emphasis to one where car traffic flow, speed, road safety were greater priorities.

We can't get this man out of office soon enough, as far as I'm concerned, although it doesn't seem that DeWine or another probable successor to Kasich is going to be any more friendly towards the overall cause of mass transit. But it's hard to think of another Ohio Governor that has been so openly hostile, or that will be, particularly towards rail.

 

I remember Voinovich as Governor had actually considered advocating for a temporary passenger rail line between Cleveland and Cincy in the event that the Indians and Reds both made it into the World Series. Too bad that never panned out. It would have been helpful to be able to cite as an example, a recent Ohio Republican Governor who saw the benefits of passenger rail and acted on them, in light of one who couldn't be more thick-headed about anything that doesn't involve adding another lane to I-71.

 

It probably helped that Voinovich was a Mayor, and of Cleveland at that. He understood the benefits and usefulness of the Rapid on some level. More than Kasich does or ever will.

DeWine always voted for trains and transit when he was in Congress, but it's important for voters and campaign contributors to inform him that good trains/transit are important to them. If they don't hear from constituents, a politician isn't going to do anything.

 

BTW, there was a 3C corridor train that ran during the 1995 baseball playoffs when both the Reds and Indians were playing. It was a recently refurbished Rohr turboliner borrowed from New York state. The trains offered a great ride and we're very popular.

Seattle has selected CAF to build the streetcars for the Center City Connector streetcar line, which will connect Seattle's two existing streetcar systems. Cincinnati and Kansas City are using CAF streetcars although I think Seattle plans to purchase a variant with batteries for the off-wire segments of the route. These will be a big improvement over the Skoda streetcars that they are currently using for the two existing segments.

So will they be replacing some or all of their existing equipment?

Yes. The South Lake Union line uses the standard Skoda streetcars (with no batteries), and Seattle plans to sell those to Portland. The newer First Hill line is partially off-wire, so it uses the same style only with batteries.  I assumed they were going to just buy more of the Skodas with batteries and run them along the entire unified route. So the decision to buy from CAF is a little confusing to me. Are they going to run a mix of CAF and Skoda along the entire, new unified route? The benefit of the CAF streetcars is that they have 100% low floor boarding which the Skodas do not. So IMO they should phase out the Skodas and build the new Center City connection with level boarding much like Cincinnati's streetcar stops. Over time they can rebuild the other existing stations to have level boarding as well.

When I read about this project about a year ago the plan was to run the SLUT streetcars over the new track to the point where the First Hill line ends and to run the First Hill streetcars north over the new track to the spot where the SLUT currently terminates next to the monorail.  Maybe they have changed plans and will run all-new streetcars over the entire line instead of overlapping in the middle. 

Yeah, that would make sense. That way you have double the frequency in the center city, and you only have to pay attention to which streetcar you're boarding if you plan to travel beyond the center city section. I still hope they decide to eventually replace their entire fleet with CAF streetcars. They are so much nicer due to the lack of stairs inside the vehicle and level board at stations.

 

Toronto is trying something interesting to reduce congestion on King Street and speed up its streetcars. Instead of making a transit-only lane, King Street will remain open to mixed traffic... however, cars will be forced to turn right at every intersection along this corridor, meaning that it can no longer be used as a through street. This will be done as a 1 year pilot program before Toronto decides whether to implement it permanently or make changes.

 

Here's another video of the pavement markings being installed:

 

Streetcars getting stuck in traffic is a major problem that I noticed when I was in Toronto a few months ago. College Street in particular was completely gridlocked, and the people I was traveling with (who aren't urbanists by any stretch but aren't completely afraid of public transit) made multiple comments about how they weren't sure what advantages the streetcars had over buses when they were getting stuck in the same traffic as the buses anyway.

 

 

As a rider, I would say it's mainly a farrrr smoother ride....?

 

Obviously for investors and homebuyers and the like it brings certainty etc.

Capacity is another huge benefit of streetcars. Especially now that Toronto is using the super long modern streetcars that probably carry 3-4x as many people as a standard city bus.

 

Anyway, cities that take streetcars seriously as a form of transit usually go back and add signal priority or transit-only lanes to speed them up. Which is pretty much how we used to design our streetcar systems before we started making the streetcar vs. light rail distinction for mixed traffic and grade-seperated systems respectively. Seattle's new downtown streetcar segment will run in transit-only lanes, and Portland is adding some transit-only lanes as well.

Possible TOD in Buffalo: http://buffalonews.com/2018/05/14/inspired-by-allen-medical-campus-project-nfta-seeks-ideas-to-redevelop-metro-rail-stations/

Presentation on Purple Line Tunnel construction: (saw this via @railmag twitter): http://www.purplelinemd.com/images/public_involvement/community_meetings/2017/2017-02-21%20Wayne%20Manchester%20Towers/Wayne%20Manchester%20Towers%202%2021%2017%20-%20FINAL.pdf

Initial phase of Northside-Southside MetroLink line pared back

https://www.stltoday.com/news/traffic/along-for-the-ride/initial-phase-of-northside-southside-metrolink-line-pared-back/article_505981a3-2805-59be-baf0-d283e206a193.html#tncms-source=block-contextual-fallback

 

NY: NFTA proposes new, cheaper route for Metro Rail extension to Amherst

https://www.masstransitmag.com/news/12437248/nfta-proposes-new-cheaper-route-for-metro-rail-extension-to-amherst

It's so frustrating to be a transit supporter living in the Midwest and watch news like this from the rest of the country...

 

 

Progress on the new Crosstown LRT project in Toronto:

 

 

Huge news out of Seattle today, as sources are saying that Mayor Durkan intends to resume construction of the Center City Connector streetcar project, which she "paused" last year. For those unfamiliar, here's a map of the full system. The CCC is the dotted line through Downtown that links the two existing streetcar segments.

Seattle Transit Blog: The Downtown Streetcar is Alive

 

Mayor Jenny Durkan announced yesterday that the 1st Avenue streetcar will go ahead, if the city can secure $88m in new funding. In a release, the mayor offered her most enthusiastic endorsement of the Center City Connector to date.

 

I know several people that are involved in this Seattle Streetcar project and from what they have told me, Mayor Durkan's year long "pause" of the CCC added tens of millions of dollars to the project. So now there is a $88 million budget gap that City Council must find a way to fill in order for the project to proceed. (Any we though that Cranley's pause of the Cincinnati Streetcar adding $2 million to the project was big...)

 

the arrival of amazon hq2 might make the ny mayor and his developer buddies pet project, the brooklyn-queens bqx streetcar, a reality:

 

https://thebridgebk.com/backers-bqx-say-amazon-helps-prove-case/amp/

Seattle's East Link light rail line, which will connect Downtown to Bellevue and Redmond, opens in 2023. In order to connect the new track to the existing Link light rail system, there will be some service disruption in 2020. For a 10-week period, trains will be single-tracked and riders heading from the south into Downtown will need to transfer at the Pioneer Square station.

 

 

55 minutes ago, taestell said:

Seattle's East Link light rail line, which will connect Downtown to Bellevue and Redmond, opens in 2023. In order to connect the new track to the existing Link light rail system, there will be some service disruption in 2020. For a 10-week period, trains will be single-tracked and riders heading from the south into Downtown will need to transfer at the Pioneer Square station.

 

 

Taking the Link light rail from the airport to Capitol Hill in Seattle made me so jealous that we will likely never have anything like it in Cincinnati. I feel like we're 50 years behind the times and it's so depressing. 

It's so funny when I talk to people in Seattle and hear them talk about how "bad" their transit it. I honestly think it's one of the best transit systems in the US. Yes, their light rail system is relatively small right now but they are expanding the central line piece-by-piece with a new station opening every few years, and also working on additional lines like this one to the east side. The most valid criticism I've heard is that Seattle should have built a heavy rail system instead of a light rail system. They already went to the expense of grade-separating almost the entire system, so running high capacity heavy rail trains wouldn't have been that much more expensive.

 

On top of that, their bus system is great with many of the routes having very high frequency. When I was there last fall, I wondered around the city without any real plan of where I would end up, knowing that when I decided to return to my AirBNB I would be within a few minute walk of a bus stop with frequent bus service. There are very few US cities where I would be comfortable doing that. They keep adding more bus-only lanes and I think there is even an entire bus-only street through downtown now.

1 hour ago, taestell said:

It's so funny when I talk to people in Seattle and hear them talk about how "bad" their transit it. I honestly think it's one of the best transit systems in the US. Yes, their light rail system is relatively small right now but they are expanding the central line piece-by-piece with a new station opening every few years, and also working on additional lines like this one to the east side. The most valid criticism I've heard is that Seattle should have built a heavy rail system instead of a light rail system. They already went to the expense of grade-separating almost the entire system, so running high capacity heavy rail trains wouldn't have been that much more expensive.

 

On top of that, their bus system is great with many of the routes having very high frequency. When I was there last fall, I wondered around the city without any real plan of where I would end up, knowing that when I decided to return to my AirBNB I would be within a few minute walk of a bus stop with frequent bus service. There are very few US cities where I would be comfortable doing that. They keep adding more bus-only lanes and I think there is even an entire bus-only street through downtown now.

 

Yea, when I lived in Philly everybody complained about how inadequate the system is despite having three subway/elevated lines, six trolley (streetcar) lines (five of which operate in a tunnel through downtown), an extensive bus system, 14 commuter rail lines, and 11 Amtrak routes--including 53 (!) trains each weekday between Philly and NYC. I didn't own a car the entire time I lived there and never had trouble getting around, but lifelong Philadelphians only saw the faults in the system. 

2 hours ago, DEPACincy said:

 

Taking the Link light rail from the airport to Capitol Hill in Seattle made me so jealous that we will likely never have anything like it in Cincinnati. I feel like we're 50 years behind the times and it's so depressing. 

 

 

Yeah the Seattle light rail system is big-time compared to St. Louis, Portland, etc.  Not only is it mostly grade-separated, it has 400-foot platforms to enable trains that are almost as large as heavy rail trains (NYC and Washington have 600-foot platforms, but most light rail systems have 200-foot platforms like Portland). 

 

TIL Toronto applies an antifreeze solution to their streetcar's overhead power lines in extreme cold weather.