Breakfast links: My way for the highway

by David Alpert • August 3, 2009 8:53 am

Photo by dolanh.

We'd be sad if we hit you, so get out of the road: Some Iowans started a petition to ban bicycles on "farm-to-market roadways," because a few drivers hit cyclists and then they feel bad afterward. In response, a new petition calls for banning cars, which "spook horses and raise clouds of dust." (MinusCar, It's Just A Ride, JLH)

Think parking debates are rough here?: In Jerusalem, parking garage plans triggered "mass protests, turning violent at times." Public transport and parking garages in Jerusalem's Old City shut down on Saturdays to conform to the beliefs of Orthodox Jews, so Jerusalem's mayor opened a free municipal garage outside the Old City. Religious extremists rioted nonetheless. (How We Drive)

Foot traffic on Ninth Street, or just under?: Many Shaw residents hope the $550 million Convention Center hotel will spark revitalization in the ailing Ninth Street retail corridor. Boosters promise that the hotel will create foot traffic on Ninth thanks to street-level retail and restaurants. But at the same time, the hotel includes an underground walkway and garage so convention-goers can arrive, sleep, and convene without ever leaving the convention center complex and braving the scary streets of DC. (Post, JTS)

A Homerian tragedy: As Maryland nears a decision on the Purple Line, Virginia is close to another decision, for an agreement with HOT lane builder Fluor-Transurban to build even more HOT lanes. The Beltway lanes have cost much more than originally proposed, and the contract penalizes Virginia if more people carpool. (WTOP)

When no free spaces are free: Ellicott City is considering starting to charge for parking on the main street. Contrary to the typical reaction, local storeowners generally support the idea. Not so exceptionally, some are pushing for the city to pay for a new garage instead, even though the study found surplus capacity at nearby garages. (Howard County Times)

Car clips: A letter writer has the solution to traffic frustration: leave enough time to get there (Post) ... DC cab rides can now go above $19 (WTOP) ... Congress's extended "cash for clunkers" program is really, really bad. (Discovering Urbanism)

Transit tidbits: Investing in public transit could save consumers $112 billion in gas and car-related payments and also reduce greenhouse gases by 24 percent, says APTA (Apollo Alliance, dano) ... Virginia is applying for stimulus funds to speed up trains between DC and Petersburg (Post) ... The House has approved changes in the Metro compact, one necessary but not sufficient step for the $150 million appropriation. (Moran)

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12 comments

Tags: bicycling, cars, Congress, convention center, DC, economic development, Ellicott City, HOT lanes, Howard County, Iowa, Israel, links, Maryland, parking, retail, Shaw, taxis, traffic, transit, Virginia, WMATA budget

David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington. He has had a lifelong interest in great cities and great communities. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.

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Does the VA rail improvement proposal involve electrification?

by jfruh on Aug 3, 2009 9:37 am

Has anybody found a better source for the VA hotlanes contract than the WA Times editorial page? I can't seem to find it. Penalizing the state if too many people carpool, and blocking improvements to adjacent routes is not good policy (even if it is good business), if true.

by bko on Aug 3, 2009 10:48 am

Congestion Pricing is not a bad idea, but Virginia's deal with Fluero-Trans-Whatsahoosit is just so freaking bad it is beyond belief. Not only will taxpayers be penalized if too many people use the HOT lanes, they are charged if ANY HOV cars use the hot lanes. So for anyone that thinks this is the "free market" at work, you are sadly mistaken. This is a private conglomerate on the government DOLE at its worst.

by stevek_fairfax on Aug 3, 2009 10:54 am

While I generally oppose sky bridges or tunnels, I don't mind the tunnel planned for the convention hotel. I think there will still be plenty of street level foot traffic that results from keeping convention-goers in the neighborhood via the hotel. I think the tunnel will help get the hords of conventioneers to and from the center safely. Without the tunnel, masses of people would be trying to cross the street at the same time, clogging traffic and putting people at risk. I think some will still make the venture at street level and, by staying there, will be inclined to hit local businesses during breaks for breakfast, lunch, dinner and shopping instead of heading back to another area of the city where there hotel is.

by Shaw Rez on Aug 3, 2009 10:57 am

"Does the VA rail improvement proposal involve electrification?"

I don't think so. While the actual preapplication hasn't been released, there's some indication of its contents in a brief Chip Badger gave to the Commonwealth Transportation Board on 6/17: "Update on High Speed Rail." One slide is titled "Top Priority High Speed Rail Projects." Against a diagram of the Washington Richmond corridor, the follwing breakout:

Washington, D.C. to Alexandria (AF) ~ $106M
4th Main line section through Alexandria Â– 6 miles
Alexandria Station ADA Improvements
2nd Platforms at VRE Crystal City Station

Alexandria (AF) to Fredericksburg (FB) ~ $383M
3rd Main line sections Dalghren to Franconia Â– 38 miles
2nd Platforms/extensions at VRE Lorton, Rippon, Brook, Leeland, Woodbridge, and Franconia

Fredericksburg (FB) to Richmond (GN) ~ $185M
3rd Main line sections Fredericksburg to Richmond Â– 32 miles
4th Main line section Fredericksburg to Mine Road Â– 5 miles

Richmond (GN) to Main Street Sta. Area ~ $491M
Acca Yard improvements in 2 Phases Â– 6 miles
South Acca to Main Street Sta/Area/Fulton/Platforms Â– 13 miles

Main Street Station to Petersburg/Collier ~ $152M
Main Street to Centralia Track and Signal @ 79MPH Â– 11 miles

Washington, D.C. to Richmond Corridor Long ~ $195M
Track curve geometry, crossover, and signal system upgrade

This adds up to only slightly less than the $1.57B that the preapplication asked for. I'm quite prepared to believe that in the three weeks between this brief and the preapplication filing, they found a few tens of millions they hadn't previously accounted for.

If they were planning to electrify, I imagine they'd have said so.

I can think of a couple of reasons they'd leave it out. (1) Cost. I've seen an estimate of $953M to electrify Washington to Richmond. I don't quite believe that estimate. European electrification costs run around $1M/track-km. Electrification of two tracks Washington-Richmond would run under $400M at that rate; electrification of three and four tracks, under $600M. Where the other $400M comes from I don't know. But that's the estimate that DRPT cites. (2) NEPA. The SEHSR Tier 1 EIS said that Washington-Charlotte would be serviced by fossil-fuel locomotives. DRPT may be avoiding revisiting that prior to starting work.

by jim on Aug 3, 2009 11:13 am

If carpool traffic is greater than 24% of total road traffic...the subsidy kicks in. This is a built-in profit guarantee. So much for the free market!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/19/AR2008071901651.html

http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/resources/ARCA_with_ExhibitA-Defintions.pdf

by stevek_fairfax on Aug 3, 2009 11:17 am

Thanks, stevek_fairfax.

by bko on Aug 3, 2009 11:25 am

Please write the governor of Virginia and ask that he kill this Contract proposal ASAP!

http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm

by NikolasM on Aug 3, 2009 12:00 pm

That hotel will do absolutely nothing to "revitalize Shaw" just as the Convention Center itself has done nothing. Both are taxpayer financed boondoggles.

by 7th & Q Crew on Aug 3, 2009 12:33 pm

7th & Q, I agree! It's even more outrageous that the city is proposing this right after raising several taxes. Wouldn't it just be cheaper to buy the Renaissance Hotel across Mt. Vernon Sq, rather than paying for a brand-new structure?

by Monumentality on Aug 3, 2009 12:56 pm

A third reason for no electrification is opposition from CSX. A new, separate parallel right of way or completely new alignment would be necessary. @jim, the high per-mile costs you cite also include a lot of new alignment work (as I've outlined above.) At minimum, the alignment through downtown Ashland and all the at-grade road crossings would have to go.

by Paul on Aug 3, 2009 4:28 pm

What is troubling about the HOT lanes phenomenon - especially the way it is being funded in VA, is that it presents an opportunity for many different ideologies to converge:

anti-sprawl, those against regressive taxation, and those for other types (ie: sane) of congestion pricing...as well as more conservative types who are against subsidizing private companies and/or very costly subsidizing or car-poolers.

Alas...the projects appears on the surface to be "something for nothing" (ie: a 4 or 5 billion dollar construction project for only 500 million state money). Sigh....oh how it is not.

mark my words...we are 1 year away from Fluer-Transurban's cost re-estimate for construction, and us taxpayers will have to poney up some more money. Ripping apart and reconstructing half the VA Beltway will not cost only 1.9 billion.

Bank on it.

by stevek_fairfax on Aug 3, 2009 7:52 pm