San Diego's downtown trolley service is becoming too popular, causing officials to propose equipment upgrades to handle the rising crowds. But the bigger trolleys will take out some car lanes and affect traffic lights, and many are unhappy about it.
"Every weekday morning, trolleys disgorge 10,500 passengers from packed cars. During peak hours, Trolleys are so full that the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), which operates the trains, suspects that some people are opting against public transit because it's too crowded."
"'We've been very successful. Too successful, really,' said Brandon Farley, an MTS planner."
"And it's going to get worse. A recent update of the Downtown Community Plan predicts an 183-percent peak-hour growth in ridership by 2030. To meet the expected demand, the MTS board has decided to add a third car to trains running through Downtown and buy new, bigger models. Known as "low-floor" cars because the passenger compartment is literally closer to the ground, the new cars are 10 feet longer. A train with three of these cars would extend 275 feet, roughly 30 feet longer than a Downtown city block. To squeeze into the proposed station between Sixth and Seventh avenues, the city would have to close a travel lane on each of the avenues, and red lights would occasionally need to be longer to accommodate a crossing train."
"Needless to say, the Downtown powers-that-be are not happy."
FULL STORY: Going underground
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
Brightline West Breaks Ground
The high-speed rail line will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.