Apparently the city of Indianapolis wants to create a light rail system in their city.
“A robust regional transit system is necessary to spur our region’s continued economic growth, to preserve our ability to compete for jobs and talent, and to address growing challenges with congestion and air quality compliance”The Antiplanner also notes that Indianapolis looks at the mass transit systems of cities like Denver, Minneapolis, and Portland with envy.
Does mass transit encourage people to move towards the cities with mass transit?
The opposite seems to be the case.
Take note citizens of Indianapolis: your local government wants to spend more than $1 billion of your dollars (and these projects always go way, way over budget) to create a mass transit system that few people will ride and will not encourage economic growth in your area.
I live in Vancouver, across the river from Portland and their light rail.
ReplyDeleteThere is a new bridge being planned across the Columbia between the two at an estimated cost of 3.5 Billion that has Light rail designed into it and the folks on this side of the river want nothing to do with it.
Right now Portlands light rail stops about a mile from the river and the Federal part of the money requires the light rail.
This whole bridge deal has been a giant clusterfuck. They didn't take into account that there might actually be traffic going up and down the river and the 150+ million they have already spent planning it is for a bridge too low to let ships travel under it so the Coast Guard nixed that and around and around we go with the politicians throwing tantrums left and right.
I have never seen such a group of ignorant design people in my life and this is going to drag on for another decade all while pouring money into a hole.
I would advise those folks back East to forget about light rail, it is throwing money away and the crime rate is proven to expand one mile outward of anywhere the tracks are laid.