Exit133

September 4, 2014 · Exit133

Overall, U.S. Streetcars Just Aren't Meeting the Standards of Good Transit

Some transportation experts contend that the latest generation of streetcars, Tacoma's Link among them, fail to meet basic minimal transportation service standards. They generally don't run far enough, fast enough, or often enough.

It's not an inherent shortcoming of streetcars (or light rail), but of how they're run.

"... if they run in dedicated lanes and with high frequencies as part of a wider network, they can perform quite well. It's the way too many new streetcars are being deployed—as economic enginesfirst and mobility tools second (if at all)... that's inspiring much of the criticism."

Tacoma's Link light rail expansion is still only on paper, which makes now the perfect time to add critical voices to the conversation. It might make for a better end result.

Read original on The Atlantic: CityLab →

Filed under: Transportation, Link, Transit, Streetcar

2 comments

  • ckarnes September 4, 2014

    To some degree, the horse is already out of the barn on this one. The alignment with the greatest mobility benefits was 6th Avenue because of the direct geometry of the route that cuts through swaths of dense, mixed use Central and North Tacoma. The good news is that MLK shared about 2/3 of the same route as 6th Avenue so it doesn't preclude investing in a 6th Avenue expansion in the future. Where we can make real impact is to advocate for higher speed dedicated right of way, real traffic signal priority, and well-chosen station locations. Sound Transit just posted the report on public comment for station locations yesterday. It is worth a look. http://www.soundtransit.org/Documents/pdf/projects/link/Tacoma/Tacoma Link Expansion/TLE May 2014 Open House Summary.pdf

  • atenhaus September 4, 2014

    Let's not make the same mistakes Seattle/Sound Transit have made with the SLUS and upcoming First Hill lines - the lack of an exclusive ROW and no traffic signal priority. The initial segment of the TLink is a good example of how a streetcar should operate - segregated from regular traffic.