tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post3971877351341879473..comments2024-02-01T04:37:41.878-05:00Comments on Cap'n Transit Rides Again: Competing for resourcesCap'n Transithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-44552867562758973062011-04-25T02:13:24.661-04:002011-04-25T02:13:24.661-04:00capt subway: I think part of the reason why they a...capt subway: I think part of the reason why they are pushing for BRT rather than light rail is because the BRT lanes could be used by other bus routes. The M15 local could use the M15 +SBS+ bus lanes, and, along Fordham Road, the bus lane for the Bx12 +SBS+ is used by routes in the vicinity of Fordham Plaza.<br /><br />Cap'n: The person who actually wrote the article regarding the Nostrand Avenue +SBS+ project does have a logic: He said that the BRT corridor won't do much good unless it is part of a BRT network. A passenger making a straight trip down Nostrand Avenue might switch to the B44 +SBS+, but a person traveling to, say Bay Ridge isn't going to be able to take advantage of the route, because they still have to transfer to a slow east-west bus (so they'll drive to make the trip).<br /><br />The person who wrote this actually used to work for the MTA, and proposed a series of bus restructurings to make the system more appealing, but the MTA didn't listen to him (except for a few suggestions like extending the B83 to the Gateway Mall)George Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288033149559815848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-69263293867544612372011-04-08T15:14:07.900-04:002011-04-08T15:14:07.900-04:00And of course subways are so much cheaper to build...And of course subways are so much cheaper to build and maintain than are LRV lines (LOL). Brilliant move on Toronto Mayor Ford's part.<br /><br />The bottom line is buses simply are not glamorous. Replace the BRT lane with an LRV lane and you'd probably get a whole lot more people on board supporting it. As a rail vehicle it is truly a "surface subway". Thus I'm not sure where the animus against streetcars/LRVs on the part of many NYC transit advocates comes from.<br /><br />And without getting into the superiorities of streetcars/LRVs over buses (capacity, speed, safety, ride quality, etc) certainly the densities, alone, along all the proposed BRT corridors would amply justify investment in LRV lanes.<br /><br />Of course in either case you're still stuck with the zero sum land use game.capt subwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238954255206457928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-85958921953336978292011-04-08T13:02:46.940-04:002011-04-08T13:02:46.940-04:00All surface transportation has this problem of com...All surface transportation has this problem of competing for scarce space. In some German cities, and now in Toronto, this led to pro-auto advocates replacing light rail with subways, which do not interfere with car traffic.Alon Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12195377309045184452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-72387796864999830022011-04-08T13:02:10.759-04:002011-04-08T13:02:10.759-04:00The bottom line is buses simply are not glamorous....The bottom line is buses simply are not glamorous. Replace the BRT lane with an LRV lane and you'll get a whole lot more people on board supporting it. I don't understand the animus against LRVs/streetcars on the part of many transit advocates here in NYC.<br /><br />An LRV is superior to a bus in many ways. A six section artic tram is the equivalent of three artic buses - with only one operator. Trams cars have a usable life that is three times that of a bus. Trams provide a far smoother ride than buses and can operate safely at higher speeds and in narrower lanes than can buses. And more people would ride them. And, certainly, authorized transit buses can also travel in the tram lane if the lanes are made wide enough.<br /><br />The densities along all the proposed BRT routes would amply justify LRV investment.capt subwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238954255206457928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-29307835248503985732011-04-08T12:37:18.803-04:002011-04-08T12:37:18.803-04:00Cap'n, I think you hit the nail on the head wi...Cap'n, I think you hit the nail on the head with the line about the Transitway land not being zero cost. It requires a lot of effort to bring the value of the transitway to people's attention and get them to advocate for it.Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08520811734907587902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-74365827210646279582011-04-08T12:21:30.007-04:002011-04-08T12:21:30.007-04:00I don't think that buses are uninspiring, I th...I don't think that buses are uninspiring, I think that people pushing BRT are not inspired by them. People who think BRT is cool do not refer to it as a "surface subway".Helen Bushnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14177708490995175178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-87531057574463671962011-04-07T23:59:12.820-04:002011-04-07T23:59:12.820-04:00"Speaking of attention, who has been fighting..."Speaking of attention, who has been fighting for the 34th Street Transitway?"<br /><br />I emailed my councilmember Steve Levin about it, and he just never responded. Too busy pretending to "save" doomed unfunded things, I assume, to bother himself with affordable transit improvements.<br /><br /><a href="http://googlemapsbikethere.org/2011/03/03/if-for-no-other-reason-do-it-for-the-politics/" rel="nofollow">This person</a> blamed the DOT for not putting a bike lane in its original design, and I think there's something to that. Bus riders may be more numerous than cyclists but they are not nearly as engaged. The outcome may have been the same if bike lanes were involved, but at least it would have ended with a bang instead of a whimper.<br /><br />I agree with your thesis but if we should be fighting for rail, what about vision42? I think that captures the imagination as much as anything, perhaps enough to overcome the personal auto 'access' hysteria that emerged with the busway.nathan_hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12427083977923133797noreply@blogger.com