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Austin's Public Transportation Plans

LRT BRT Rail Transportation Austin Capital Metro

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#1 Jeriat

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Posted 21 January 2020 - 01:00 PM

Of course Austin is going for LRT and if we know anything between us and that city, they're more than likely going to get light rail before we do...

(There's also talk of a potential subway...)

Article

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#2 txbornviking

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Posted 21 January 2020 - 04:47 PM

They're certainly aiming high!

BOLD ambition and vision are certainly needed.



#3 renamerusk

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Posted 21 January 2020 - 05:04 PM

A better way to look at what Austin, Texas is doing is that Austin is planning for its future. 

 

There will come a day when every major urban city will have rail transit within their city limits; while those cities which do not will be cast aside.



#4 Volare

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Posted 21 January 2020 - 05:08 PM

Handout to Developers

 

(that's sarcasm font for those not familiar)



#5 Jeriat

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Posted 31 May 2020 - 12:02 AM

Something minor:

While here in Austin, I saw that they're moving the downtown station a little further in to connect to the Convention Center. But they shut down service on Saturdays at 1pm... kinda strange. 


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#6 JBB

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Posted 31 May 2020 - 07:46 AM

You sure that's normal?  If it was yesterday, it might have been protest related.



#7 Jeriat

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Posted 31 May 2020 - 08:48 PM

You sure that's normal?  If it was yesterday, it might have been protest related.

 

I didn't snap a photo of the schedule, but I saw 1pm, unless I may have read it wrong. 

It may have been more Covid related than protest related. 


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#8 Jeriat

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Posted 15 June 2020 - 09:28 AM

TWEET for all their planed lines.

What I'd imagine if we were to add LRT (only I'd think we'd have more elevated lines)
 

Austin-texas-Capital-metro-Project-conne

 

Austin-texas-Capital-metro-Project-conne


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#9 renamerusk

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Posted 15 June 2020 - 09:52 AM

I'm becoming less of a fan of the placing existing mass transit within existing auto corridors.  For me, it looks very unpleasant  and hazardous for pedestrians.



#10 Jeriat

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Posted 15 June 2020 - 11:16 AM

I'm becoming less of a fan of the placing existing mass transit within existing auto corridors.  For me, it looks very unpleasant  and hazardous for pedestrians.

 

You're already dealing with cars and people who don't know how to drive.

What more is it going to hurt adding fixed transit in the middle?


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#11 renamerusk

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Posted 15 June 2020 - 03:40 PM

I believe that it increases the odds of a pedestrian crossing in the path of a speeding vehicle among some other safety issues. Not saying that it will happen, but the risk must be discussed.

 

I was chosen to represent my organization on the Risk Management Committee where plans and designs were always evaluated for the risks associated with a procedure or concept with the resulting recommendations lowering our exposure to liability.

 

This design, without modification, presents some safety flaws which could be fatal, but other than that it doesn't hurt.



#12 txbornviking

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Posted 16 June 2020 - 11:18 AM

story from feb 2019, but a brief history of the Austin streetcar is a read some on this forum may enjoy...

 

https://www.statesma...stin-streetcars



#13 Jeriat

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Posted 16 June 2020 - 02:20 PM

I believe that it increases the odds of a pedestrian crossing in the path of a speeding vehicle among some other safety issues. Not saying that it will happen, but the risk must be discussed.

 

I was chosen to represent my organization on the Risk Management Committee where plans and designs were always evaluated for the risks associated with a procedure or concept with the resulting recommendations lowering our exposure to liability.

 

This design, without modification, presents some safety flaws which could be fatal, but other than that it doesn't hurt.

 

Houston does this with METRO Rail.

The majority of issues they had down there in their earlier years were more auto related than pedestrian related... and it's Houston, so those were mostly just Houston drivers being Houston drivers. 

Either way, every system has to worry about issues like this every now and then. It wasn't that long ago the TRE was involved with two deaths and an explosion. And that's fixed rail, away from the medians of roads. 

You just have to be cautious in general. 


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#14 Dylan

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Posted 25 June 2020 - 10:24 PM

I'm becoming less of a fan of the placing existing mass transit within existing auto corridors.  For me, it looks very unpleasant  and hazardous for pedestrians.

 

There are pretty much two places where you can build rail in areas where land is already developed... existing roadways, or existing railroads. (Or, cost-prohibitive underground tunnels).

 

Railroad corridors are great for longer-distance travel since trains can go faster on them, but they're not as good at serving busy commercial corridors or neighborhoods.

 

Street corridors are better at serving busy commercial corridors and neighborhoods, but they're not conducive to fast speeds or long-distance travel.

 

Fort Worth's TEXRail and Austin's Red Line are railroad-corridor lines designed for longer-distance travel.

 

Fort Worth and Austin would like to add street-corridor lines to better serve busy commercial corridors and neighborhoods that are away from existing railroad corridors.

 

Building light rail in medians results in faster service than building light rail or streetcars along curbs, where trains have to deal with cars and driveways.


-Dylan


#15 renamerusk

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Posted 26 June 2020 - 12:04 AM

 

I'm becoming less of a fan of the placing existing mass transit within existing auto corridors.  For me, it looks very unpleasant  and hazardous for pedestrians.

 

There are pretty much two places where you can build rail in areas where land is already developed... existing roadways, or existing railroads. (Or, cost-prohibitive underground tunnels).

 

Railroad corridors are great for longer-distance travel since trains can go faster on them, but they're not as good at serving busy commercial corridors or neighborhoods.

 

Street corridors are better at serving busy commercial corridors and neighborhoods, but they're not conducive to fast speeds or long-distance travel.

 

Fort Worth's TEXRail and Austin's Red Line are railroad-corridor lines designed for longer-distance travel.

 

Fort Worth and Austin would like to add street-corridor lines to better serve busy commercial corridors and neighborhoods that are away from existing railroad corridors.

 

Building light rail in medians results in faster service than building light rail or streetcars along curbs, where trains have to deal with cars and driveways.

 

I think existing road corridors are the best and most impactful means to rail transit.  Where I would do things differently is identify ideal low-level streets, ie streets with an alley and place the rail line in them.. The upgrading of alleys for rear entry to homes in exchange for a street to serve as a rail dual-line corridor/1-lane delivery corridor. 

 

Yes, it is a thinking out of the box, but it would be transit system that would be immediate to users



#16 Jeriat

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Posted 26 May 2021 - 02:18 PM

A new station for a new stadium.

ff353595-d819-4d83-8c58-5d2fe3156a52-McK

 

 

CapMetro's board approved a resolution to finalize the agreement with Austin Stadco LLC, the Austin FC subsidiary that supervised the construction of Q2 Stadium.

Austin FC will pay $640,000 up front for the construction of a rail station and bus stops at Q2 Stadium. The team will then pay $3 million over the following 15 years to CapMetro. Payments for the rail station will start either when construction begins or on March 1, 2022...


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#17 Austin55

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Posted 26 May 2021 - 03:23 PM

A visit to Dallas's Victory Station at a game time will show that this is an excellent idea.



#18 Dylan

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Posted 31 May 2021 - 12:54 AM

Cap Metro recently rebuilt its Downtown Station and is building a new FC Austin Station.

 

Although it's nice to see Cap Metro invest in new stations, it would be even nicer if they would invest in better headways and longer spans of service on weekdays.


-Dylan


#19 Jeriat

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Posted 31 May 2021 - 12:55 PM

I was just down there yesterday... they haven't really built any of what I originally posted yet, and they're STILL ahead of us. 


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#20 Dylan

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Posted 31 May 2021 - 04:51 PM

Austin is way ahead of Fort Worth in terms of bus service... but how is Austin ahead of Fort Worth in terms of rail?

 

Fort Worth has two rail lines- both of which have more robust weekday schedules than Austin's only line. And, one of Fort Worth's two lines has Sunday service, while Austin's only line doesn't.

 

The only thing better about Austin's Red Line is 35-minute headways on Saturdays (mid-days through late evenings).


-Dylan


#21 Jeriat

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Posted 31 May 2021 - 08:47 PM

Austin is way ahead of Fort Worth in terms of bus service... but how is Austin ahead of Fort Worth in terms of rail?

 

Fort Worth has two rail lines- both of which have more robust weekday schedules than Austin's only line. And, one of Fort Worth's two lines has Sunday service, while Austin's only line doesn't.

 

The only thing better about Austin's Red Line is 35-minute headways on Saturdays (mid-days through late evenings).

If we're just going with TEXRail since that's our service, you could say we're ahead but that's only because of the Sunday service. 


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#22 Dylan

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Posted 31 May 2021 - 09:27 PM

Austin's red line ends service just after 7PM on weekdays (pathetic!), and only runs past midnight on Saturday nights. TEXRail runs well past midnight every day.

 

-------------

 

On a side note, I was in Austin last weekend for the inaugural NASCAR Cup race at Circuit of the Americas! :) Though, I didn't ride transit while there.


-Dylan


#23 JBB

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Posted 31 May 2021 - 09:33 PM

How was the track and the race?

#24 Dylan

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Posted 31 May 2021 - 10:13 PM

The track was nice, though I didn't walk around the facility like I originally planned to because of the rain.

 

My dad and I stayed in our seats in turn 1, and wore trash bags in an attempt to keep dry. We saw some great 3 and 4 wide racing into turn 1 after restarts, which I never would've imagined was possible before watching it right in front of me. However, since it was a road course, we couldn't see the whole track at once, and spent a lot of time relying on the small video board to see action in other parts of the track. Eventually, the rain got too intense and NASCAR called the race early. My dad was furious with NASCAR calling the race early for rain when it had been raining all day, but I understood the situation was getting uglier with the rain getting more intense, cars hydroplaning, and drivers unable to see.

 

I'm torn on whether I want to attend again. I want to watch a race at COTA again, but not under rainy conditions and not for so much money. Our two tickets were nearly $300.

 

That said, despite the rain and cost, I'm glad I attended the inaugural NASCAR Cup race at COTA.


-Dylan






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