David Wilson wrote:
I drove Hiawatha Ave. today and paralleled the LRT route. My experience wasn't as bad as Jason describes (it was aprox. 3:20 pm) but the waiting time at the lights was a quantum level greater than pre-LRT. The sequencing didn't make much sense to me. I can imagine what that stretch will be like during rush hour--bottled up, slow-going, anxious, and angry
drivers.
What, specifically, didn't make sense? Remember that a "quantum" level is not very much at all. :) In all seriousness, though, I honestly haven't noticed much change paralleling the LRT at all. It may be due to the times I travel, of course. If anything, I would expect the cross and turn traffic to be worse and the straightline Hiawatha traffic to be somewhat better. It surprises me to hear otherwise, certainly that it is significantly worse. It would be nice to get some measurements from the traffic planning people.
Maybe drivers should just ride the LRT. ;-) Of course riding the LRT would only be a reasonable argument if there was a complete system
in place, rather than one line.
While I think extending the system is absolutely critical, I don't think the Hiawatha LRT is useless. It's a very resonable argument if one works downtown and travels along Hiawatha (or lives downtown and works in the southeastern suburbs). I use it almost every weekday and the cars headed into downtown are standing room only. A significant number of people find it useful right now, even without the Mall extension. The numbers (or my percerption of them) surprised the heck out of me. They will increase when the line goes all the way to the Mall.
Drivers are willing to adapt to change if things "make sense" and if they feel that everyone has to endure the consequences.
Makes sense to who? Mass transit is going to make perfect sense to mass transit advocates like myself and roads are going to make equally perfect sense to driving enthusiasts. To me, slight delays in traffic movement are a very small price to pay for the speed and efficiency of rail, BRT, etc. Others may disagree.
The real answer, of course, is that we need both in a well-planned transportation system, not roads and haphazard transit when the legislature decides to make funding available. What we _don't_ need is toll roads and HOT lanes.
-Dave
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