414 comments on DrumBeat: July 13, 2006
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414 comments on DrumBeat: July 13, 2006
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The best two subway corridors left in the US without subways are NYC 2nd Avenue and LA's Wilshire. Wilshire, in theory, could possibly support 4 track subway. But they got "BRT". Orange colored buses (instead of red) that skip ~2/3rds of the bus stops but otherwise just grind through heavy traffic.
OTOH, the southwest terminus of Miami MetroRail (built on an old RR ROW) dumps pax onto a private 2 lane busway (only public vehicles can use it, no private cars allowed) built further SW on the same old RR ROW.
Both are BRT according to the feds. And both serve too high a traffic density for buses IMO.
IMO, any transit corridor with enough traffic to justify BRT can also jusrify electric trolley buses (with or without hybrid or auxilary diesels).
That is why I did not put down BRT as a seperate option. I see it as a subset of electric trolley buses in an ideal world.
Which city are you refering with with 1st & 2nd Avenue ? NYC ?
NYC Manhatten 1st & 2nd Avenue would be better served with multiple unit streetcars on the surface (exception to overhead wire ban) and a subway underneath. I would put the streetcars in street but on a rough surface that "induces" cars to pick another, smoother lane. Thus some, but less traffic in streetcar lane.
People don't like the idea of wires ruining their views or streetscapes...remember all our electrical wires are underground here.
So BRT is really our best option to start with. At least it establishes a ROW for mass transit on city streets which will hopefully calm the rest of the automobile traffic. Later this ROW could be easily electrified when popular support builds...
Trolley wire can be done in a way that is quite nice, even beautiful, but that will be later. One first step might be Roosevelt Island. Up & down the island with a connector to Queens. A bit too small a population but Ok for a demo.
As for "calming Manhatten streets", GOOD LUCK !!
what do you know of rail systems in the Springfield, MO area? I see on google maps they have several tracks but I have no clue what they're used for.
This is one of the locations I'm thinking of relocating to.
Kind Regards,
-C.
I really know very little of that city, sorry.
Springfield is well-served by BNSF. There are main lines through there, not likely to be abandoned. Good choice! (I consulted my husband, who is a railhead)
I think we're leaning towards Sprinfield, MO. We're all excited to be moving away from here (Houston, TX area). I grew up in the Ozarks...what a beautiful place it is :)
-C.
You must really enjoy the humidity.
Speaking of humidity.....
Here in the Asphalt Wonderland of the Valley of the Sun: the heat island effect plus global warming is making Phx very hot and dry this year. This low relative humidity [currently 14% and dewpoint at 50 degrees, projected high today of 113 F] makes for an effective and long swamp cooling season.
Yet most Phx businesses and homeowners are not willing to convert over to swamp-cooling to take advantage of the tremendous energy savings [a fraction of A/C costs]. This makes absolutely no sense to me. If Phoenicians were legislatively compelled to have both cooling sytems on their buildings, we could dramatically reduce electrical usage and GHGs, partially reduce our summer smog warning days, and then profitably sell this excess energy over the national grid to the high-humidity Southern areas.
When I take trips down into Mexico, many people do not even have swamp-cooling, much less A/C, yet they are perfectly acclimated to this lifestyle. They will work in the sun and much higher humidity than Phx all day for $6/day, then go home to an uncooled house. Wiping the sweat off one's brow and drinking lots of water is entirely doable, and has been done for uncounted years before the advent of the industrial age.
This is the appropriate future model for Phx, yet I see no effort by our local leaders to gradually shift us to this lifestyle, starting with mandatory swamp-cooling. My emails to the city council go ignored, yet presenting an early, but modest lifestyle shift is the best way to prepare Phoenicians for the postPeak future. Additionally, many wealthy locals would choose to relocate elsewhere, freeing up much land that could be converted over to humanure and permaculture farming.
Most of the time, I feel like an Easter Islander warning people not to cut down that last stand of trees. Unless the American mindset changes soon, I really believe most Americans will gladly ship off their children to die on foreign shores so that they can misguidedly mourn in thermally controlled comfort. Time will tell if we are so greedy that not only will we wreck their future habitats, but we will also prevent their chance to live in the mess.
Bob Shaw in Phx,AZ Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?
did you take into account the extra electricity needed to help manufacture those swamp coolers from raw resources( for example all the way to extracting the iron ore or boxite from the ground and not starting at the point of manufacture of the unit which some alt energy 'solutions' start their calculations) to installation and maintenance?
also did you account for the extra watter usage the swamp coolers will add to the city?
your original plan of just abandoning the city to the desert sounds better.
Thxs for responding. If everyone in Phx switched to swamp, the water evaporated to cool the inside of the buildings would be much less than our current usage on our numerous golf courses or our incredibly plentiful carwashes.
A swampcooler takes a fraction of the energy to manufacture compared to an A/C unit, and is a similar fraction of the cost, and many people in Phx already upgrade their A/C units to a higher SEER when the economics makes it worthwhile. So, the financial outlay required for a swamp is a no-brainer.
A properly tuned swamp will only require a water bleedoff of a few gallons a day to help reduce hard water buildup and prevent water stagnation--most people waste much more water than this by stupidly running the bathroom tap while they brush their teeth. This water can be routed to outside landscaping or a garden versus the standard practice of most A/C units routing their condensation to the sewer.
Maintenance can be easily done by the homeowner, it basically requires periodically changing the pads--no more difficult than changing an A/C air filter except you must go up on the roof. My swamp is an advanced design and I only replace the pads about every five years when the hard water buildup becomes excessive. I yearly oil the motor and the squirrel cage bearings, check the v-belt and small water pump, turn on the water flow, remove the insulated cutoff panel and upduct panels, then I am good to go.
When winter comes, I re-insert the panels, shutoff the water, drain the resevoir, and flip off the thermostatic control in the house. Piece of cake.
Compare this with the specialized hi-voltage training, knowledge of electronic and mechanicals controls, and all the fancy tools required to be a licensed, certified A/C technician. When a Phx homeowner's air conditioning unit breaks down here during the summer--they really get hot under the collar when presented with a legitmate bill!
Bob Shaw in Phx,Az Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?
I try to live in places where you don't use AC.
It will be a heavy, heavy lift politically, but even the major business groups are realizing that we have to change the paradigm when it comes to cars and trucks. The present situation is not really functional in many areas and curbed economic activity. The bomb waiting to drop is congestion pricing. Popular opinion is somewhat against it as a stand alone proposal, but I think that if it is integrated with an array of alternative transit options like subways, bike lanes, BRT and maybe residential parking or something, it could gain broader support. But it will take leadership from the top and pressure from the bottom!
I do think eventually the BRTs will transform into electric rail or electric buses.