  Gmich99 Member Username: Gmich99 Post Number: 261 Registered: 11-2005 |
Ann Arbor officials are considering paying a consultant to study whether a streetcar system could work here, and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board voted Wednesday to participate in such a study. http://blog.mlive.com/annarbor news/2008/02/can_treetown_beco me_trolleytow.html | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 2740 Registered: 04-2006 |
I like the idea. It sounds like this has a better chance of happening than the rumored UM monorail. | ||
Ltorivia485 Member Username: Ltorivia485 Post Number: 2988 Registered: 08-2004 |
I have said this in the past, but I think local officials should also consider a monorail/elevated light-rail plan. They shouldn't ignore it. I frequent Ann Arbor a lot, and their streets are not wide enough to accomodate a streetcar system. | ||
Mbr Member Username: Mbr Post Number: 318 Registered: 03-2005 |
Their streets are as wide as others that have a streetcar system. | ||
Hudkina Member Username: Hudkina Post Number: 126 Registered: 12-2004 |
Streetcars generally share the road with regular traffic so you don't need a wide street to accomodate a system. | ||
Goblue Member Username: Goblue Post Number: 1259 Registered: 03-2007 |
Streetcars where? Up and down Main Street that is 3-4 blocks? | ||
Ltorivia485 Member Username: Ltorivia485 Post Number: 2992 Registered: 08-2004 |
I agree with Goblue. How will street cars fit Main Street and other streets that intersect it? I can understand Plymouth, Washtenaw and Stadium. | ||
E_hemingway Member Username: E_hemingway Post Number: 1568 Registered: 11-2004 |
Ummm... Have you been to San Francisco? The streetcars there run on thin roadways (thinner than A2s) through both residential and commercial districts. Streetcars were originally built in areas that had narrow, densely packed streets. I'm not saying Ann Arbor is San Fran but there is lots of precedent for streetcars on what Michiganders consider narrow streets. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 2352 Registered: 10-2006 |
What are the typical right-of-ways in AA? This is one example for DTOGS: http://www.dtogs.com/f/4-3_Pla ns+Sect_LRT_90_07-11-26_066.pd f | ||
Folk313 Member Username: Folk313 Post Number: 3 Registered: 01-2008 |
Ltorivia485: are you kidding? a monorail? | ||
Ray Member Username: Ray Post Number: 1086 Registered: 06-2004 |
This would be great, but my experiecne with street cars in SF is that they are really slow, like busses. What happened with the project to convert a freigh train line to a commuter line from Howell to AA? | ||
Wolverine Member Username: Wolverine Post Number: 429 Registered: 04-2004 |
^ Well, an elevated rail system of some sort. I think it's still very early in the planning stages. The issue is moving students between North and Central Campuses with buses already full to capacity. Another alternative to resolve this problem is to encourage driving, but we all know that's not the best solution It is factual that there has been planning done to link parts of campus with some sort of light rail system. The issue is where the financing would come from. | ||
Ltorivia485 Member Username: Ltorivia485 Post Number: 2996 Registered: 08-2004 |
Folk, I am not kidding. Las Vegas has a monorail system and it's exceeding expectations. It works. | ||
Focusonthed Member Username: Focusonthed Post Number: 1701 Registered: 02-2006 |
That's not transit, that's tourist transportation. That's a grandiose airport tram. | ||
Danindc Member Username: Danindc Post Number: 3921 Registered: 10-2003 |
quote: Which doesn't even go to the airport. The costs for the LV Monorail are nothing short of astounding. An 2 mile extension to downtown is anticipated to cost in excess of $400 million. That's more expensive than an urban subway system, while carrying the passenger load of a busy bus route. Never mind that the technology is shit. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 2747 Registered: 04-2006 |
Streetcars where? Up and down Main Street that is 3-4 blocks? Main St is a lot longer than 3-4 blocks... | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 2356 Registered: 10-2006 |
Yes. It is 4+ miles from M-14 down to I-94--plenty long for a streetcar. For comparison: "Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) will utilize a streetcar from Presbyterian Hospital to Johnson C. Smith University along Elizabeth, which turns into Trade Street through downtown." http://www.charmeck.org/Depart ments/City+Engineering/See+Our +Projects/Transportation/eliza beth.htm FYI, this length here in Charlotte is 2 miles. | ||
Texorama Member Username: Texorama Post Number: 171 Registered: 12-2006 |
Washtenaw-Huron would be a natural for a streetcar. Buses run frequently but are packed at rush hour, and traffic is out of control. | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1295 Registered: 11-2003 |
A monorail or other elevated system would be ugly and make the street below claustrophobic. Ray-- The planners don't want to convert the AA to Howell line from freight to commuter, but rather add commuter trains. The freights aren't being discontinued. | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 1296 Registered: 11-2003 |
Whether the system gets built or not, the consultants who do the study will laugh all the way to the bank, just like they have with the zillion other mass transist proposals in the region that are done and then sit on the shelf-- until a few years pass and the same stuff is re-studied by more consultants. Consultants and lawyers always win, no matter what the outcome is. | ||
Folk313 Member Username: Folk313 Post Number: 4 Registered: 01-2008 |
Ltorivia485, Ann Arbor is the antithesis of Las Vegas. They could not be more opposite. I can hardly think of a more reckless, absurd idea for Ann Arbor. |
