Comments on: DOT to Award $280 Million in Inner-City Circulator Grants

By: Kristi S.

Kristi S. — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:30:20 +0000

Funny, I was thinking the same thing. Remember all the money allocated to fix the levees and we just found out when Lee came onshore that they never fixed some and now say the money is not there? Well, what happened to the money? Seems New Orleans and Chicago have a lot in common when it comes to “taking from the people”. Look at the whole Jefferson family, and NONE have gotten punished. I am ashamed of what we the people let the government get away with.

By: RBlanpied

RBlanpied — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:56:24 +0000

New Orleans was never ‘renewed’ mid-century, and the built environment is much more easily adapted to return to streetcars then to modify for wheeled transit.

Big props to Mr. Freemark for the observations on the Convention Center. The Convention Center was supposed to fund their own steetcar loop in phase 4 expansion plans. Mayor Nagin has shifted that financial burden from the Convention Center to the taxpayer.

The City has been trying hard to limit streetcars to tourist areas, rather than transit for workers and residents. Studies for the Loyola and Convention center loop, conducted by the City and Veola, counted population density in Uptown and CBD areas. Tourists and transients were given the same weight as workers and the study area initially did not include St. Claude, where most service industry people lived.

Post flood, these decisions forced service industry workers (and everyone else) to take on the burden of an automobile. What few resources people had were drained off by the need to buy and maintain a car if they wanted to return and rebuild. The decisions were touted as ‘good business’, based on profit and loss projections

The persistence of using a 20th century suburban model in a 19th century built environment is appalling. We’re strangling the Golden Goose trying to adapt to automobiles rather than embracing our unique assets.

This business model, based on short term liquidity rather than strategic investment, has been kneecapping our recovery for years.

By: EJG

EJG — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:30:09 +0000

Seattle has a mildly ambitious streetcar network in planning with one line complete, one more funded and others on a preliminary map. Those projects could use outside funds to ensure they actually get built. And $25m would be nice change to throw toward Sen. Patty Murray who chiairs senate subcmte on transport appropriations. Interestingly, King County Metro has an ambitious 5 line BRT proposal moving forward called Rapid RIde. A little money could really acccelerate the timeline on that which now calls for lines to open over a few years time, but they could be constructed simultaneously. Will it be telling about the administrations mode preferences if one of those gets funded but not the other? As a last thought, I would also like to see serious consideration for building out our LRT faster. The University link tunnel is chewing up all of Sound Transit’s funding, but if additional dollars were available there is no reason we couldn’t begin work on south and east link segments sooner. and have north link ready to open along with the U segment when the tunnel is finished in 2016.

By: DBX

DBX — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:59:21 +0000

If the New Orleans Streetcar expansion, why not push the new southwest light rail in Minneapolis through Uptown where it’s needed now, rather than shunting it down Excelsior Boulevard and turning it purely into a peak commuter operation that might trigger densification in 20 years if they’re lucky?

By: Russell Warshay

Russell Warshay — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:43:45 +0000

My real fear is that billions of federal dollars will go to these “streetcars” while the need to expand regional light rail and rapid transit systems will go ignored.

I think that you can bet on your fear becoming reality. Would members of Congress really allow the money to only go where it is best spent if that leaves their constituents out of the party?

By: cph

cph — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:12:26 +0000

Forgive me, but I’m not really blown away by most of these new “streetcar” projects. Seems to be a lot of money spent on big one-way loops and streetcars in mixed traffic lanes….the result is a shuttle bus on rails getting \stuck in traffic.

My real fear is that billions of federal dollars will go to these “streetcars” while the need to expand regional light rail and rapid transit systems will go ignored.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:32:50 +0000

Two Missouri cities put in for TIGER grants for streetcars as well; in St. Louis, the Loop Trolley group put in for a TIGER grant to construct a trolley from UCity’s spectacularly redeveloped Delmar Loop through a somewhat economically depressed area out to Forest Park (and the adjacent light rail line). And Kansas City also applied for some trolley money, though I’m not as familiar with the details. There are lots of projects out there looking for funding and it’s been eight long years of minimal federal dollars. The emphasis in this administration on livability – building not just more transit but focusing on the true TOD aspects – is very encouraging to those who want to see not just more transit but walkable, livable, vital neighborhoods that feed into the transit systems. No matter what you build, though, there have to be funds to operate it and I’m afraid that’s the biggest struggle transit agencies are facing.

By: Andrew S

Andrew S — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:38:16 +0000

The tone of your post is upbeat, but it sounds to me like “discretionary grant” is being taken to mean “pork/glamour project”. $161 million for 2500 riders? 151 of whom used to drive? How about you take 10% of that money and create a bus lane that would draw many (if not more people), and spend the other 90% on levees that won’t fail.

It seems the DOT has entirely abandoned any discernible objective decision making criteria.