This Week in Amtrak

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Volume 7, Number 17
June 14th, 2010


A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from



United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

America's foremost passenger rail policy institute



Jacksonville, Florida USA

Telephone 904-636-7739, Electronic Mail info@unitedrail.org . http://www.unitedrail.org

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Positive news for commuter operations, and ponderings on the future of high speed and intercity operations. But let us begin with two brief preludes; first, a short poem, called a "Grook" by its author, Danish poet and philosopher Piet Hein.


Thoughts on a Station Platform

It ought to be plain
how little you gain
by getting excited
and vexed.
You'll always be late
for the previous train,
and always in time
for the next.

A second lead-in: a note on why we are all here. Marcus Garnet, of Transport Action Atlantic in Canada, writes in a Progressive Railroading internet journal ,

What is commonly overlooked, is that time spent on a full-service
long-distance train is also available for other purposes, including
overnight sleep, meals, work, meetings, socializing or simply the
enjoyment of scenery. Overnight train travel serves a transportation
function, but also offers a total experience, especially for those
who are able to afford a bedroom. These passengers do not just
travel on the train, they live on the train. Whether for tourists or
traveling Canadians, this is a vital market distinction from other
land transport modes.

Mr. Garnet sums up many of our feelings and motivations for being passenger train advocates. Yes, trains are a vital part of our national infrastructure, but we want trains because of what they do for us personally, what they do for our friends and families and neighbors, what they do for our economy and our ecology. Trains are special and we need many more of them.

One last item, from the Inbox: Reader Ole Amundsen wrote in regard to the referenced article on VIA Rail Ocean Train Service:

The comments around this exceptional piece of work seem to be
getting at the heart-wood of the rail passenger conundrum in this
country. My positions come from being 70 years of age, nurtured by
an old school conservative view of individual responsibility,
educated in business and economics, and experienced in national
agendas...

When Amtrak was started, I was only interested in getting the
/Montrealer/ re-instated so I could avoid driving from my new home
in Vermont to family in Connecticut. It is easy to look back and say
Amtrak should have been done differently: it has performed the task
of "place holder" for passenger rail but that is about it. Those
were dark days for railroads, but we are now in a very different
world: then I paid 16 cents a gallon for fuel oil to heat my drafty
Vermont farm house! Today, we have 75 million boomers aging out;
they control about 75% of the nations wealth, they love to travel,
they are fit but getting more prone to medical situations, they have
"done it all" and want to continue to have adventures, they enjoy
creature comforts and are enjoying being grandparents. This is not a
market block to be ignored, it is not solely a market for "luxury
train travel;" it is a major component of the traveling public which
does not opt for speed alone, but which prefers reasonable mode
frequency, reasonable adherence to published schedules, reasonable
and clean accommodations, reasonable food, accessible and
accommodating equipment and a minimum of hassle...

My friend, the late Paul Weyrich, had all the conservative
credentials a person could have; and he was a strong voice for
passenger rail and trolley ("light rail") as well as integration of
inter- and intra-urban service. This problem, this opportunity, must
be addressed without falling back on old reasons not to, and [there
must be a way we can] come together with fresh ideas on how to
really run the railroad.

Now, on to the news.

The /San Mateo County Times/ reported on 27 May that

Caltrain officials have convinced federal safety authorities to
allow quick European-style electric trains to zip from San Francisco
to San Jose... common in Europe, the smaller electric trains... [had
been considered] unsafe. But after three years of tests and
research, Caltrain will become the first railroad in the nation to
use the technology after being granted a waiver... [this] will
essentially be a pilot operation for the trains, called electric
multiple units. If successful, commuter railroads and planned
high-speed rail networks throughout the nation would have access to
cheaper, greener and faster trains...

Even with several restrictions, the advent of modern equipment used successfully and safely for years elsewhere around the globe is a huge step forward for the implementation of regional rail lines around and between American cities.

For those who saw the Ayn Rand quote last week as being "the politics of the past," we turn to Paul Merrion 's article in Chicago Business this June 10th , regarding high-speed rail (emphasis mine):

In a move that reportedly "stunned" the rail industry, the Federal
Railroad Administration last month proposed stiff terms for the
grant agreements that railroads must sign with states to get funding
to upgrade their rail systems... Among other things, *the FRA said
railroads must be required to pay, without limit, for any further
improvements or fixes needed to meet on-time performance goals* set
out in the grant agreements, or else pay back the federal
grants.Even Boston-based non-profit, National Corridors Initiative
Inc., a high-speed rail advocacy group, questioned whether that is
feasible."While the objective of these guidelines --- to protect the
taxpayer against the (mis)use of their money when federally assisted
railroad projects are built --- is a valid one, the prescriptive,
punitive nature of the proposed FRA regulations are and will be
non-starters for any normal businessperson who has to carefully
assess projects for risks to his company, or face the wrath of his
stockholders," the group said in a statement on its Web site...

The FRA holds over the railroads, not just the billions in high-speed rail grants effectively controlled by Amtrak, but also the impending imposition of Positive Train Control (PTC), a worthwhile safety and capacity improvement but one that will cost billions and take years. It is still not certain how much of PTC the railroads are expected to shell out of their own pockets. Is the Obama administration seriously going to require the railroads to pay /any/ price so Amtrak can operate its government-funded high speed trains?

In parallel developments, concerning the Gulf oil spill, "Obama said he had no interest in undermining the value of BP" (Reuters story , 12 June 2010), but meanwhile "U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday BP should be subjected to unlimited liability costs and should pay all damage claims" (Reuters story , 11 June 2010). How can one impose unlimited liability without undermining industry? What person or corporation in their right mind would continue operating under those conditions?

(Caution: Ayn Rand reference follows; the timid may avert their gaze.)

In /Atlas Shrugged/, Rand populates her dystopia with officials who do not understand how the world works. Rand's bureaucrats have only ever ridden, as a Mr. Guthrie would put it, "their fathers' magic carpet made of steel," never seeing the engineering brain-power and the technical muscle-power behind a railway, imagining that trains function by magic, that oil pumps itself, that commerce and industry exist in a mythical land of everlasting continuation unaffected by taxes, regulation, and legislation. Rand posits a government whose popular and well-intentioned enactments "for the public good" strangle commerce and industry, slowly as a gentle flurry at first, finally escalating to a murderous avalanche.

Arthur Laffer explained in the /Wall Street Journal/
one June 6th why this neverland of perpetual sameness does not exist:

People can change the volume, the location and the composition of
their income, and they can do so in response to changes in
government policies... It has always amazed me how tax cuts don't
work until they take effect. Mr. Obama's experience with deferred
tax rate increases will be the reverse. The economy will collapse in
2011.

Dire predictions of impending doom aside, will the Obama administration, having already started down the dystopian road (One of the characters in Rand's 1957 book asks, When they nationalized health care, did anyone ask what the /doctors/ wanted?), truly enact scorched-earth policies in one economy sector after another? If so, look for oil and rail executives to be among the first to relocate to Galt's Gulch.

Back in the high speed arena,

Amtrak announced it is reorganizing and establishing a new
department to pursue opportunities to develop new intercity
high-speed rail service in select corridors around the country...

"Amtrak is the unparalleled leader in high-speed rail operations in
America today and we intend to be major player in the development
and operation of new corridors," said President and CEO Joseph
Boardman...

-- Amtrak press release, 22 March 2010


Aside from the omission of a word (does Amtrak intend to be /*a*/ major player, or /*the (only*/) major player?), does it not sound as if Amtrak might be jockeying for a near-monopoly in high speed rail? Will we see a resuscitation of the dead corpse of its former monopoly over all intercity trains, moved to HSR? Prior to the passage of S.738, the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997, U.S. Code: US Code, Title 49, section 24701(b) read (emphasis mine):
"Except as provided in section 24306 of this title, a person may provide intercity rail passenger transportation over a route over which Amtrak provides scheduled intercity rail passenger transportation under a contract under section 401(a) of the Act *only with the consent of Amtrak*."

The "monopoly clause" indeed prevented state agencies as well as private companies from even talking to railroads about running passenger trains.
Would Amtrak have approved trains like New Mexico's RailRunner?
Doubtful. Certainly not in the short time it took from its announcement to the first cue for the "Meep-meep!" of the RailRunner departure door chimes.

That provision having been rescinded, will the liability issue now be how private operators are forced out of business?

Perhaps echoing liability concerns voiced frequently by North
America's Class I freight railroads, Amtrak President and CEO Joseph
Boardman has cited similar concerns "emerging as a significant
obstacle to the improvement of existing passenger rail service and
the development of new, including high speed and intercity corridor,
passenger rail service in the United States."

Boardman, in a five-page letter to four congressional leaders dated
Feb. 26, says in part, "The core of the problem is the unwillingness
or inability of a growing number of entities, including states and
other public bodies, to enter into the kind of agreements for risk
allocation ... and/or to purchase insurance at all or at sufficient
levels ..."

"Moreover, the attitude from a number of private parties and state
entities alike seems to be that Amtrak, in significant part because
of its federal funding, should assume the greater share or risk of
liability." That, Boardman warned, could curtail or terminate
state-supported services Amtrak currently provides...

-- Railway Age, 2 March 2010


Airlines are feeling a similar pinch. According to Susan Stellin in the /New York Times/ , this 7 June, reporting from the first meeting of the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee, air travel will look much different within half a decade.
Small cities will continue to lose air service, or at best will have ever-fewer flights at ever-higher prices, while some large cities with aggregated volume will see volumes above today's and low prices from further rate wars.

...Glenn Tilton, United's chairman, stated it more bluntly: "There
are clearly going to be winning cities and losing cities," he said,
addressing the fact that the industry cannot sustain service to
destinations that don't have the passengers to fill planes...

High speed trains have the same problem as airplanes: They just do not serve enough places. California's governor Schwarzenegger has proposed running a "high speed lite" train before he leaves office. Here is what Noel Braymer of RailPAC has to say in a letter to the /Los Angeles Times/:

According to the letter signed by the Governor, it looks like there
are plans to run rail service between Los Angeles and San Diego by
November in about 2 hours. It looks like the new train would only
have 3 stops at Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Diego. Just dropping
the six other intermediate stops would save 30 to 36 minutes on the
current schedule of 2 hours 40 minutes.

Generally express trains are not successful. By skipping stops such
trains also loses the business from those stations. Amtrak has tried
several express trains and they have all failed. A local example of
this was the /San Diegan Metroliner/ which ran for about a year
starting in September of 1984. It rarely carried more than a busload
of passengers. It lost the traffic the other trains carried from the
skipped stations. There was only one train a day leaving Los Angeles
for San Diego in the morning and returning in the afternoon. Saving
10 minutes wasn't worth the extra money for passengers if the return
train ran at an inconvenient time. Another problem with the
Metroliner was most cities with train stations lost a train to run
this new train. Many of these cities had gone to great trouble to
build new or rebuilt their stations and had not been consulted about
this decision. These cities were not happy...

Precisely this same scenario is playing with the English Javelin trains, the California HSR project, the Florida HSR, and soon coming to a minor city near you whose airport terminal will lose scheduled flights.

Looking back to Mr. Garnet's thoughts about the vital market distinction of rail, clearly the nation's towns and smaller cities, the ones left without air service, and nowadays without even bus service or anything at all, are the market for regular passenger trains. Even fifty or a hundred years of mangled government transportation policy cannot hide the basic utility and need of trains over cars and airplanes. The difficulty will be to create something that works more like a free market, replacing today's lack of choice or hope for too many towns and people.

The way forward involves tort reform, reasonable liability caps, and getting government back to /governing/, not operating, passenger trains. The same prescription holds for the freight railroads, the oil industry, even our highway and airway systems. This involves the dreaded "C" word -- Change -- and nobody much likes change; not lawyers, not unions, not management, not stockholders, and certainly not government.

We had better get started quickly.

\\/
William Lindley

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PO Box 3621
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This Week In Amtrak

Image via Wikipedia

This Week at Amtrak; December 17, 2009



A weekly digest of events, opinions, and forecasts from



United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

America’s foremost passenger rail policy institute



1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203 • Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-7739, Electronic Mail info@unitedrail.org • http://www.unitedrail.org





Volume 6, Number 52



Founded over three decades ago in 1976, URPA is a nationally known policy institute which focuses on solutions and plans for passenger rail systems in North America. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, URPA has professional associates in Minnesota, California, Arizona, New Mexico, the District of Columbia, Texas, New York, and other cities. For more detailed information, along with a variety of position papers and other documents, visit the URPA web site at http://www.unitedrail.org.



URPA is not a membership organization, and does not accept funding from any outside sources.



1) Sometimes, the information sneaks in through the backdoor, which is fine, as long as it comes in.



Courtesy of the United States House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, we have learned of Amtrak’s plans for new equipment.



The United States House of Representatives, in a rush to spend more public money, has presented H.R. 2847, THE “JOBS FOR MAIN STREET ACT, 2010” which it considers to be a jobs creation bill. There is all types of transportation monies in the bill, including scads of money for Amtrak.



Before you jump to any conclusions, this is a bill which is in progress, not a completed bill approved by both the House and Senate and sent to the president for signing. This is only a bill in progress, working its way through the legislative system.



But, what this bill does is give us a good glimpse into Amtrak’s wish list for new equipment.



Here’s what the bill has to say, pertaining only to Amtrak.





[Begin quote]



AMTRAK: $800 MILLION



H.R. 2847, the Jobs for Main Street Act, 2010: Title I, Chapter 6 of H.R. 2847 provides $800 million to Amtrak for fleet modernization, including rehabilitation of existing equipment and acquisition of new equipment such as fuel-efficient locomotives. It also strengthens Amtrak’s Buy America requirement to encourage domestic manufacturing and rehabilitation of the equipment.



Amtrak’s equipment is aging; it is a major factor in delays. Some of Amtrak’s vehicles are more than 50 years old. The average life of a passenger rail car, depending on its usage, is 25 to 30 years. The lifespan of a locomotive is 20 to 25 years. Currently, Amtrak has 92 Heritage cars in service (which are 53 to 61 years old), 17 Metroliners (which are 42 years old), 412 Amfleet I cars (which are 32 to 35 years old), 122 Amfleet II cars (which are 28 to 29 years old), 249 Superliner I cars (which are 28 to 30 years old); 184 Superliner II cars (which are 13 to 15 years old), 97 Horizon cars (which are 19 to 20 years old), 50 Viewliners (which are 13 to 14 years old), 29 Talgo cars (which are 10 years old), 120 Acela cars (which are nine to 10 years old), and 41 Surfliners (which are seven to nine years old).



With respect to locomotives, Amtrak has 49 AEM-7 locomotives (which are 21 to 29 years old), 18 P32’s (which are 18 years old), 18 P32DM’s (which are 11 to 14 years old), 21 F59PHI’s (which are 11 years old), 15 HHP-8’s (which are eight to 10 years old), and 207 P42’s (which are eight to 13 years old).



Over the next five years and given adequate resources, Amtrak plans to purchase 396 new single-level vehicles for corridor service, which will replace about 95 percent of the Amfleet I vehicles; purchase 275 new single-level vehicles for long-haul service in an effort to remove all of the Heritage single-level cars and about 95 percent of the Amfleet II vehicles from service; purchase 160 new bi-level vehicles to replace 65 percent of the Superliner I cars; and purchase 100 new electric locomotives to replace the entire electric locomotive fleet. Amtrak also plans to acquire 54 new diesel locomotives, replacing 20 percent of its diesel fleet; and purchase five additional Acela trainsets and 41 new switch engines to replace the entire switcher fleet. Amtrak estimates that the effort requires capital funding of approximately $4.57 billion.



Recovery Act Implementation: The Recovery Act provided Amtrak with $1.3 billion for capital improvements. Of the $1.3 billion, Amtrak has awarded $623 million in contracts for 350 projects. This amount represents 48 percent of the total apportionment. Other major initiatives are planned, including infrastructure improvements (such as major bridges); and improvements to rights-of-way, facilities and other structures, information management systems, and communications and signal systems. Amtrak is also making capital improvements to stations and other facilities to meet requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act; various safety and security improvements, including purchasing police equipment; and replacing concrete ties.



[End quote]



Okay, while your True Believer buddy to the left of you is jumping up and down for joy at the information above, you, being a regular reader of This Week at Amtrak, and, therefore, exercise more bold caution when it comes to announcements from Amtrak or about Amtrak, take a more critical view of what you have just read.



You realize everything above only talks about REPLACING aging equipment; none of the hyperbole above actually talks about fleet EXPANSION.



In other words, Amtrak, if it gets the big bucks, only plans to replace its fleet, not expand its fleet. Using Amtrak’s usual bureaucratic thinking nonsense about always wanting perfect government-think scenarios because they are neat and tidy and don’t require any real thought, probably considers all of that older-hopefully-replaced equipment as upcoming surplus, to be sent to the scrap yard.



Amtrak still hasn’t learned its lesson from its chilly cousin to the north, VIA Rail Canada, which has the majority of its fleet’s equipment older than what Amtrak is using, and they cheerfully slap a new coat of paint on it, take out some of the dents, upgrade the electronics, and keep it going down the road with great dispatch, mostly because when Budd built the stuff in the 1950s, they built is the same way other companies built Sherman tanks: virtually indestructible.



But, no, that won’t do for Amtrak. Amtrak wants all-new, instead of new augmenting older for a blended fleet with different purposes. Heaven forbid Amtrak maintenance would have to be as clever as VIA Rail Canada maintenance.



So, yes, it’s nice to know Amtrak does have some plan tucked away somewhere for the future. Unfortunately, that plan doesn’t call for any expansion, or any improvements. It only calls for replacements.



Amtrak hasn’t figured out that wars are not won by just replacing dead soldiers; wars are won by determined surges making use of a combination of existing and new soldiers.



2) Did you notice the ad in the November 2009 issue of Railway Age Magazine?



It has the unglamorous title of “Request For Proposals: 10-PCJPB-T-025 For a Rail System Operator.” Did that make you start tingling all over? No? Well, here’s why it should.



The ad was placed by Caltrain, which operates the former Southern Pacific Railroad commuter service in and out of San Francisco and down the San Francisco Peninsula. Caltrain operates 98 trains per day, San Francisco-San Jose-Gilroy, with a total of 33 stations (including endpoint terminals). Included in the system is the famed Silicon Valley. The system has 77 miles of track with a top speed of 79 M.P.H. Caltrain carries on average, 39,000 passengers a day on weekdays.



This is not an inconsequential system; there are 29 locomotives and 110 passenger cars.



Let’s look at Amtrak in California; Amtrak’s biggest state cash cow. Amtrak takes in State of California (Caltrans) revenues for operating costs for the Capitols, San Joaquins, Pacific Surfliners, and, now Southern California’s Metrolink, in addition to its current operations deal for Caltrain.



Amtrak has been operating Caltrain on behalf of the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (a longish and legally proper way of saying the old Southern Pacific San Francisco Peninsula commuter service) since 1992. Now, the contract is up, and Caltrain has advertised for a request for proposals.



Amtrak just lost the Virginia Railway Express on the Right Coast; what would happen if it lost Caltrain on the Left Coast?



With the addition of Southern California’s Metrolink, probably not much on the surface; the Amtrak bureaucracy in the West would just keep on marching.



Those with a sharp eye may notice Gilroy, California is on the Union Pacific main line which is traversed by Amtrak’s Coast Starlight. Gilroy slips right in the middle of the San Jose and Salinas station stops.



So, let’s speculate, just a bit, as an intellectual exercise.



Suppose Amtrak doesn’t keep the Caltrains contract; suppose some other service provider, such as Veolia Transportation, Herzog, or even the French company which is taking over VRE on the far side of the country successfully bid for and win the Caltrain contract.



And, then, suppose the Caltrain operator performs successfully, and pleases not only the folks at Caltrain, but also – more importantly – the folks at Caltrans, who are monthly writing big, big checks to Amtrak for operating the Pacific Surfliners, Capitols, and San Joaquins (Metrolink writes its own checks).



What if some renegade bureaucrat in Caltrans says, “well, Caltrain is doing so well, how can we expand that service?



“What would happen if, say, we took one or two of those Caltrain consists, and pushed them further south than Gilroy, perhaps all the way to Los Angeles?



“What would happen if Union Pacific Railroad liked the Caltrain operator better than Amtrak?



“What would happen, if say, well, gee, we just start turning over all of the Caltrans contracts to the Caltrain operator, instead of retaining Amtrak contract after contract?”



The answer is, Amtrak would suffer a horrible blow, and be crippled tremendously in the west. Amtrak would actually have real world competition. Amtrak would have to sing for its supper every night. Amtrak would really have to perform.

All of this, of course, comes under the heading “what if?”. But, it’s an intriguing “what if?”.



Amtrak for too long has taken most of its world for granted. It has even had the hubris of presuming it will be the preferred operator of the coming various high speed rail systems, even though it has not done well operating what it has today.



An article in today’s Daily Finance (www.dailyfinance.com) says Japan Central Railway has started putting together a proposal to be the sole builder and operator of America’s high speed rail system; everything from building track and infrastructure to building and operating trainsets. These are the same folks who operate the profitable bullet train franchise in Japan today.



The French and Germans want in on the USA action, too.



Amtrak may think it has the home field advantage, but it’s tough to see how, when there are much more successful worldwide competitors out there knocking on America’s door.



Veolia Transportation, which operates some sort of commuter rail or transit system in over 500 cities around the world (equivalent to Amtrak’s number of station stops in the national system) wants in on US high speed rail, too. They have the talent, and they have the financial clout to make it happen.



Will Amtrak understand in time what is swirling around it and potentially causing a lot of mayhem? Will Amtrak understand it has a long, long way to go to get its corporate house in order so it can fend off these much more successful international competitors? It’s going to take a lot more clout than Amtrak has today on Capitol Hill to keep things together. Amtrak needs to understand the world is not an exclusive Amworld.







If you are reading someone else’s copy of This Week at Amtrak, you can receive your own free copy each edition by sending your e-mail address to



freetwa@unitedrail.org



You MUST include your name, preferred e-mail address, and city and state where you live. If you have filters or firewalls placed on your Internet connection, set your e-mail to receive incoming mail from twa@unitedrail.org; we are unable to go through any approvals processes for individuals. This mailing list is kept strictly confidential and is not shared or used for any purposes other than distribution of This Week at Amtrak or related URPA materials.



All other correspondence, including requests to unsubscribe should be addressed to



brucerichardson@unitedrail.org

Copies of This Week at Amtrak are archived on URPA’s web site, www.unitedrail.org and also on www.todaywithjb.blogspot.com where other rail-related writings of Bruce Richardson may also be found.



URPA leadership members are available for speaking engagements.



J. Bruce Richardson

President

United Rail Passenger Alliance, Inc.

1526 University Boulevard, West, PMB 203

Jacksonville, Florida 32217-2006 USA

Telephone 904-636-7739

brucerichardson@unitedrail.org

http://www.unitedrail.org

Blog Entries of Note...

Image via Wikipedia

From Streetsblog San Francisoco:

Caltrain Will Boost Bicycle Capacity But It’s Still Not Enough

Caltrain like many other systems including UTA is having issues with the number of bicycles that are trying to use the service.

Columbus and Its Mall: This Marriage Can’t Be Saved

Has our love affair with the malls come to an end and what can be done with these big spaces like the moribund Cottonwood Mall project?

Living a Car-Free Life

Story of a couple from San Francisco living a car free life.

From the California High Speed Rail Blog:

Lindbergh Field HSR Station Plans Emerge

Project to incorporate a new terminal at the San Diego airport that will have direct access to the San Diego light rail system, Amtrak and the high speed rail lines.

From the Xing Columbus Blog:

Cleveland to Build Ohio’s First Bike Station

Nice article about bike stations which we should soon have at Central Station.

From the Transit Miami Blog:

Sprawl is Dead, says Obama

Big talk, but will it lead to any action?

From the Overhead Wire blog:

Sunday Backlog Links

Some great comments about transit in Los Angeles plus other aritcles that you may find interesting.

Three Projects is Waaay Too Many

Apparently the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina (a city I once lived while working in NASCAR) thinks that working towards three transit projects at once is too much. I guess he would think were positively wacko here in Utah...

Imagine This Story Times Millions

My question is, there is so many property rights advocates coming out of the woodwork especially in Denver because of light rail construction, did these people say anything when people were losing their homes to the interstate highway system?

From Streetsblog LA:

Community Plan for Boyle Heights a Test of Planning’s Promise

Los Angeles City planning has stated it plans to work with neighborhoods to create plans that the citizens want. The new Boyle Heights plan will put that promise to the test.

From Biking in LA: The Pedestrian Free Crosswalk

Pedestrians are banned from a Westwood intersection despite the presence of pedestrian signals. Planning at its finest to improve the life of the automobile.

From Streetsblog:

An Attempt to Create Empathy in Drivers

Will signs make drivers think about pedestrians more?

Streetfilms: A Conversation With Congressman Earl Blumenauer

Interview with the very vocal pro transit and bicycling Earl Blumenauer out of Portland, Oreogn.

From the Sprawled Out Blog:

Kid-friendly senior housing proposed - JSOnline

Most senior developments are designed as being anti-children. However, a growing number of older people are having to raise thier grand children due to various reasons so a development in Milwaukee will be designed for those raising their grandkids.

From the Seattle Transit Blog:

New Zipcar office and city partnership are big steps in company’s effort to expand

Car sharing is being expanded in Seattle but we are still waiting for it in Salt Lake City. Plus it would be nice if it was a locally owned company.

From the RT Rider Blog:

Stimulating transit

Senate approves money for transit projects.

From the Jacksonville Transit Blog:

JACKSONVILLE AND FLORIDA BLOW THE STIMULUS

Florida will not be getting any stimulus money for transit.

Blog Entries of Note...

Image by btobin via FlickrFrom the Daybreak Today Blog:

TRAX in Daybreak - Real Estate Boost?

From the Stephen Rees Blog:

Federal government, Ontario agree on $3.3B auto bailout package

The US isn't the only place were automakers are looking for a bailout. Canada plus the providence of Ontario has agreed to a bailout for the beleaguered automakers.

Funding Transit Elsewhere

Stephen Rees notes that voters in Manchester England voted down congestion pricing while Seattle is still trying to figure out what to do with the infamous viaduct. Many would like a San Francisco type option with the removal of the viaduct with increased transit service but the state constitution forbids highways funds being used to fund transit even if its part of a highway project.

From the Mobilizing the Region Blog:

In the Bronx, Pedestrians Bring the Business

A local community board charges that the loss of parking for bus service is causing a downturn in business (of course its not the economy!!). However numbers show that the area generates more pedestrians than even the famous London shopping district of Regent Street

Older Pedestrians at Risk in the Region; Gov. Paterson Responds

As the average age of the population increases, it will be more important that ever to insure that elderly people feel safe while doing such everyday things as walking across the street.

Groups, Electeds: CT Must Put Rail Project on Fast Track

This commuter rail project is along a stretch of track owned by Amtrak. While it is considered part of the northeast corridor, it has been the poor step child of the main north east corridor.

From the California High Speed Rail Blog:

Will Obama Repeat Clinton's Failure?

Clinton made some big promises about rail transportation in 1992 that never happened. Will Obama fail transit and rail transportation just like the Clinton Administration?

Bay Guardian: Build the Downtown Extension

One of the biggest problems with effective transportation planning is politics. We have seen it locally and here is an example from California. Caltrain currently ends south of downtown San Francisco and should be extended to the Transbay Terminal which would also allow High Speed Rail to use the facility. However, will politics get in the way?

Obama And Congress To Screw Up The Stimulus?

More on the possible outcomes for the stimulus package and where the money will most likely go.

From the Transit Miami Blog:

Public Transit Up; Auto Industry Down

While the 3rd Quarter looked good, you have to wonder what the 4th quarter will bring with the lower gas prices.

From the Trains for America Blog:

Amtrak NEC ridership down sharply in November; long distance ridership up

From the Streetsblog LA Blog:

Streetsblog Network: No Way to Build a Sidewalk

Story about a pole in the middle of a Louisville, Ky sidewalk. The question is asked why pedestrians have to deal with this and not motorist. They make a good point but if they drove 3300 South westbound west of about 1700 East, would they make the same claim? After all you cannot tell were the road ends, the telephone poles begin and were the pedestrians should run for cover.

Blog Entries of Note...

Image via WikipediaFrom the Bike Utah Valley Blog comes:

Are You Green?

I have pointed out before, highway supporters always try to demonize transit supporters by calling them anti-car and the like. I am not anti-car, in fact I can see a bright future for the auto industry even if more people switched to transit but it would take a change of attitude of some executives in the auto industry.

From the Mobilizing the Region Blog:

NYC Comptroller: Car Fees Could Raise $1B for Transit

Proposal to charge an annual fee in addition to the regular state license fees for vehicles. The fees would also charge more for bigger vehicles such as large SUV's.

What We’re Thankful For in 2008

Here in Utah we have a lot to be thankful for this year. We have several new TOD projects going up, we have seen groundbreaking on all the new transit lines except the Draper extension, we had the grand opening of Front Runner along with the TRAX extension to Central Station. People in this region have a lot to be thankful for.

From the California High Speed Rail blog:

Biden Calls for Rail Investment

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months. During the current administration we defiantly saw a move away from new rail projects despite the voters in many states (including here in Utah) with their wallets by supporting rail transit.

Electric Stimuli

The benefits of electrifying rail lines.

From the Track Twenty Nine Blog:

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet

A Subway for the Prairie

The Track Twenty Nine blog gives a brief glimpse into the Caltrain commuter rail service between San Jose and San Francisco plus the Edmonton Light Rail line.

From the Transit Miami Blog:

Dolphin Ricky Williams Waxes Nostalgic For Toronto’s Rich Urbanism

Interesting that a NFL player misses the urban living of Toronto where he could actually walk to everything.

From the Trains for America Blog:

Will the election of Obama change anything when it comes to our transportation priorities? The Trains in America blog seems to feel that nothing is going to change.

From the Overhead Wire Blog:

On Systems Efficiency

Perhaps I Have Had Too Much Hope

Another blog posting that questions whether we will get any true change from the up coming administration or will it be more of the same.

From Streetsblog:

Will Transit, Bikes, and Peds Get a Stimulus We Can Believe In?

More discussion on what President Elect Obama will do with his Stimulus package and if it is going to be auto centric.

From the Sprawled Out Blog:

New crisis means new rules for community development

We all know that all of the new developments in our area are dependent on chains. While now that dependency is biting many in the butt now. Many of the so called big boys are struggling this year and closings are way up. Is it time to start giving incentives for locally owned business like the big boys get?

From the Seattle Transit Blog:

City Council Panel Approves Streetcar Plan

Seattle comes closer to approving expansion of its short streetcar line.

From the RT Rider Blog comes:

Street-level commerce

John compares Sacramento street level where he lives to the Oakland street life where he works.

Blog Postings from this week...

Image via WikipediaHere are some blog postings from this week:

From the California High Speed Rail Blog:

US Senate Ready to Step Up on High Speed Rail

Nearly A Good Laugh

What is interesting is that some of the people mentioned are the same ones used by a fringe group here that constantly attacks UTA. It is also interesting that groups like the one here in Utah and the Bus Riders Union in Los Angeles while being left wing groups have no problem bedding themselves with extreme right wing groups in order to promote their cause.

From the Xing Columbus Blog:

International Walk to School Day

This event is October 8th. Now if you live in one of the older communities with local schools that is great but for many who live in the era of walking unfriendly schools, then this is a little more complicated.

From the Neighborhoods.org Blog:

PARK(ing) Day Returns This Friday!

Today is national Park(ing) day in which people turn parking stalls into park areas. Apparently no in Salt Lake City has decided to participate according to the website.

From the VTA Watch Blog in San Jose:

Measure B puts Caltrain electrification at risk

Caltrain is the highly successful commuter train service between San Jose and San Fransico, California. Currently run with diesel locomotives, they have been looking at electrification for several years. Now Caltrain starts to electrify and other cities start looking at it, manufactureres will start looking to make FRA compliant EMU's which in turn would make Front Runner electrification make more sense.

From Transit Miami comes:

Dude, Where’s My City Car?

Interesting concept that expands on the car sharing program.

Energy Improvement and Extension Act

This act would add tax incentives for bicycle commuters and such things as electric drive vehicles. How about transit riders?

From the Trains for America Blog:

Kerry’s high-speed rail plan: The whole letter

Developing: A big HSR bill from John Kerry?

It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this. Of course here in Utah we need the development of better regional and long distance trains that is totally ignored with ideas such as this.

From the Overhead Wire Comes:

Those Pie Charts Again

Great information about housing and transit especially about economic diversity around transit.