Passenger Trains > interesting commentary on Atlanta transit

Connecting light rail to the Atlanta Streetcar would be a mistake:

http://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/commentary-connecting-martas-proposed-light-rail-current-atlanta-streetcar-mistake/

I think the piece is right -- were the new light-rail to intersect with the streetcar for easy transfers, that would be one thing. But to use the streetcar trackage as part of the light-rail routing would duplicate the problem many cities had with combined streetcar and interurban (essentially light-rail) routing in the early 20th century.

Streetcars, by their nature, are intended for slower speeds with very frequent stops for passenger access. Light-rail is intended for higher speeds with stops farther apart. The two modes do not mix well.

Rochester, NY, for example, found the mix in the 1920s to bring the downtown network almost to a standstill at rush hours. Fully loaded, ready-to-go interurban trains, many capable of 50 mph+ running, were snarled behind packed local cars that snaked along one behind the other through numerous transfer point stops. In a visionary move, the city decided to create a subway through downtown on the old Erie Canal bed, with the intention that interurban traffic would use the subway along with dedicated subway cars, with several downtown points of transfer to the streetcar network. Alas, the plan was implemented too late, and by the time it was up and running most of the interurbans had failed.

There is a reason why our superhighway networks don't just use ordinary surface streets through our cities: the two function do not mix well.

In Portland the light rail and streetcar systems are completely separate except for a brief section of shared track over a new transit/bike on bridge. There are numerous interchange points, and several locations where there are crossings. Seems to work well.

Gordon

Chicago area's two major interurban railways, CNSM and CAE, used the "L", not trolley car trackage to get into or near the Loop.

RevRandy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Streetcars, by their nature, are intended for
> slower speeds with very frequent stops for
> passenger access. Light-rail is intended for
> higher speeds with stops farther apart. The two
> modes do not mix well.

Thanks for your thoughtful comments.

Streetcar is basically an upgrade to walking, while light rail is an upgrade to buses, if designed properly. People living in an automotive society might not understand that, since many of us take walking for granted. A funny California phenomenon is people circling the parking lot to look for the "closest" spot. I usually eyeball from a distance and park at the first spot I see, then I'm already walking into the store while others are still circling. That's the car culture mentality we have to deal with.

Seattle's First Hill Line is a great example of an upgrade to walking. Without it, people would be walking up and down some grades. Portland's system basically saves the walk from one area of downtown to the other, and I think it is designed reasonably well.

Many of the light rail systems that run on freeway medians are great example of "upgrade to buses."