A Street Car Named Undesirable?
The Public had it's first chance to weigh in this Sunday on the new proposed "Wave", a Street Car system for Downtown Fort Lauderdale. And at first blush, it seems their are quite a few Doubting Thomases !
About 50 readers responded with comments to the Sun-Sentinel's Story on the StreetCar.
(click the link for the full story - (http://www.sunsentinel.com/news/local/broward/sflflblightrail0427sbapr27,0,41729.story
Of the forty comments so far, 32 were opposed, 8 in favor.
Here is a sampling of some of the more colorful responses:
Opposed
"wires overhead, traffic tie-ups, are these guys smoking horse manure?" ...
and....
"this railplan will work when elephants fly!"
and....
"with the bridges and traintracks... only efficient way to move people downtown is by helicopter!"
and the ever popular....
"The DDA is smoking Crack!"
In Favor
"downtown will continue to be rebuilt, grow taller and attract even greater population"
and....
"they have it all over Europe without all of this gloom and doom"
Looks like the DDA will have it's hands full to get this done.....
About 50 readers responded with comments to the Sun-Sentinel's Story on the StreetCar.
(click the link for the full story - (http://www.sunsentinel.com/news/local/broward/sflflblightrail0427sbapr27,0,41729.story
Of the forty comments so far, 32 were opposed, 8 in favor.
Here is a sampling of some of the more colorful responses:
Opposed
"wires overhead, traffic tie-ups, are these guys smoking horse manure?" ...
and....
"this railplan will work when elephants fly!"
and....
"with the bridges and traintracks... only efficient way to move people downtown is by helicopter!"
and the ever popular....
"The DDA is smoking Crack!"
In Favor
"downtown will continue to be rebuilt, grow taller and attract even greater population"
and....
"they have it all over Europe without all of this gloom and doom"
Looks like the DDA will have it's hands full to get this done.....
Add me to those who doubt the desirability of the Wave light rail proposal. In the long run, I do not believe it will be successful in moderating vehicular traffic and once the novelty wears off, people will return to their old commuting habits but will then find part of the public streets dedicated to the Wave with its overhead wiring. As for economic development, that too is a dicey gamble undertaken with public money.
The world-wide web is filled with cons for light rail, even in Portland, Oregon which supposedly is showing the way for the DDA's misguided efforts. Our cities differ greatly from those of Europe and we should learn not to emulate or draw conclusions from things that work well there. Our cities are laid out very differently from those old world cities and the population there is acclimated to accepting public transportation of varying flavors. If you look carefully at light rail's limited success in this country, you will find that such costly systems are invariably linked to broader transportation networks. The Wave will be a boutique system albeit an expensive one!
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Great Idea ... I will ride it as much has possible with gas almost $4.00 a gallon and with parking costly Downtown ... I beleve the population will be glad to acclimate to leaving there car at home.
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Perhaps if there had been some foresight on behalf of the city leaders twenty-some years ago (including the current Mayor and C Moore), this issue would have been a no- brainer. Back then, folks were flocking to Broward County. Fort Lauderdale was just a new city basically, starting to grow some culture and substance with the new development. The time was then to set the idea in one's mind as to whether a vehicle was necessary to get to their destinations downtown.
Additionally,the areas the system transports to and from have to be carefully considered to include all the folks that would be able to take advantage of it. Personally, I think it's too little too late, far too expensive. Unfortunately, we didn't mirror the great cities such as NY and Chicago long ago to create mass transit, eliminating traffic congestion, and adding a bevy of other benefits that come with mass transit. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, therefore I believe most people will continue to drive through Ft. Lauderdale....To the tune of $4.00 a gallon...guzzle guzzle,cough cough...........
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There are 2 major flaws with a light rail system. First, how much of this investment goes down the tubes the first time a hurricane hits? Overhead wires will not withstand a storm. Secondly, you can't build something like this and assume the demand will follow. It has to work the other way. The water taxi was a GREAT idea, but the following was never there. They tried to create demand, but it failed. I fear the same plight for the light rail. Mucho tax dollars for a train car that circles downtown with empty seats.
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Broward can no longer grow out, we have to grow up - in more ways than one! Part of this maturation process is to quit just talking about a mass transit system, and actually implement one. Maybe if we furnish it, they will come. Otherwise, the current and future traffic gridlock conditions are not exactly an inducement to those quality developers who might want to invest in our downtown.
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Hey - misleading intro.....the public has been weighing in on this proposal for years with tons of meetings and input. Don't treat it like a surprise! The surprise is that people ignored the need and didn't participate until now. Give it fair consideration before you give it up! We need some public transportation that is useful, reliable and useable in the downtown area. If this isn't the right product, let's find the one that is but transit is needed.
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Ugly looking colors for damn sure for the downtown area!
Just waiting to see how many citizens really ride this street car?
Hurricane season is just around the corner ~ should be interesting.
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