Austinist: Capital MetroRail Open House

M1EK

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 11:32:39 -0600

That's a new one - actually, I can't figure they could have done much better up in that part of town than they did (even the much superior 2000 light rail line would have run on the same corridor up there). You need exclusive right-of-way in low-density suburban sprawl like that area in order to make the speed remotely competitive. Granted, the rail line's not real close to 183 until you get up to Cedar Park, but it's close to enough large housing areas that the Feds thought the parking lots at the stations would be quite full. The key difference between the two plans is what happens at Lamar/Airport - light rail would have gone in-street (but in its own lane, unlike Rapid Bus) right past UT and the Capitol and then right down the core of downtown; while commuter rail heads down the urban mecca of Airport Boulevard and then swings back through east Austin, barely touching the one corner of downtown where nobody actually wants to go.

Jooley Ann

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 10:35:28 -0600

Uuuugh!! This won't relieve *any* of the traffic along the 183 corridor, where our public transportation options are really damn slim as it is. There's already a decent couple of bus routes running up & down Lamar -- at least one local and one express. The route I used to take (before I moved) runs almost EXACTLY from station 7 to station 1. And it was usually EMPTY. I mean, I was the ONLY rider. This is so frustrating. I would use rail if I didn't have to drive a several miles in the wrong direction just to get to the closest station -- which is what I would have to do with this rail route. I understand it can't serve everyone, but my experience with NS traffic and public transportation is that the bedroom communities up & down the 183 corridor, from 360 to 620 (where the ONLY thing in the area IS bedroom communities), are served by virtually no public transportation. This rail system does nothing to solve that problem.

M1EK

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 09:44:34 -0600

The only question you need ask Capital Metro is this one: "How am I going to get from the train station to my office?" More here: http://mdahmus.monkeysystems.com/blog/archives/000324.html