DC Transit: old things made new again
WMATA and the D.C. Department of Transportation are studying ways to improve D.C.'s transit network. Thus they have identified several corridors that they will target for further analysis. As DCist points out, the study corridors follow the city's 30s, 70s, and 90s bus corridors. The corridors might eventually get light rail service similar to that being built in Anacostia.
An excellent DCist series about Metrobus brought a little order to the chaos that is the D.C. Metrobus route numbering system: numbered buses follow old streetcar routes. Thus, the study is looking at the idea of replacing old streetcars that were ripped out decades ago.
My hometown of Denver has light rail. Most of the system is fully grade separated, but downtown it runs on city streets and must contend with traffic signals in every block. My father called this a "bus on tracks." I think light rail can be a fine idea, but not if it is merely a smooth-riding electric bus that runs only two miles per hour faster than a diesel-belching conveyance. Fortunately it appears the Anacostia light rail project will not run entirely on a city street.
Post Author:
massysett | 07:30 PM |
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2 mph faster? That's like a 20% increase!
