Wanker Of The Day
“Our system has almost every attribute of rail except rail,†said Joe Calabrese, chief executive of the Cleveland transit authority. “If you operate a system that is perceived to be simple to use, has great frequency, is safe, and is clean, you will attract new riders. I am confident we will attract new riders.â€
…
Mr. Calabrese acknowledged Cleveland could have been well served by a light-rail system bringing additional speed, carrying capacity, and pollution abatement to the city, but that the project would have been too expensive.
“The projects are getting more and more difficult to get funded,†he said. “[Rail] is very expensive to build and very expensive to maintain.â€
The transportation veteran said rail can cost as much as $100 million per mile.
Cleveland’s Mr. Calabrese said he believes volume and density affect the viability of train lines between cities as well.
“If you look at the intercity rail that has been the most successful, it’s the northeast corridor. One reason is you have a lot of people, a lot of density,†he said. “We don’t have the density to make rail be cost effective.â€
The first thing that jumps out is Mr. Calabrese’s belief that his new bus system is going to attract new riders. I guess it could end up being technically true - he might get one or two new riders — people in dire financial straits who have no other choice will indeed ride the bus, but would that justify spending hundreds of millions of dollars?
As for density and light rail, an unlearned person like myself might ask how Cleveland expects to handle what they hope will be increasing density in Cleveland. That is the point, after all, isn’t it? Or did I miss something?
Other unlearned people might suggest that real transit-oriented development has the ability to attract…development - i.e. people, aka ‘density’ - things and stuff and people - you know.
Now, back to those stubborn things known as ‘facts’ - let’s compare the density of a place like, say, Cleveland, with a place like, say, Phoenix. There’s no reason I’m comparing these two cities — I just picked them out off the top of my head - no reason in particular at all:
Cleveland density: 6,166.5/sq mi Phoenix density: 2,937.8/sq mi
I’m not trying to pile on - I’m sure Mr. Calabrese and Cleveland Mayor Frank Johnson feel bad enough today - though, I’m not sure what role, if any, Mayor Johnson played in the BRT fraud. Imagine trying to convince people that a bus can attract development? I mean, I don’t even think Nick Taylor could sell that.
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