tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511182286834112345.post7240824271616783110..comments2024-01-22T12:33:34.115-08:00Comments on Pedestrianist: BART Moves OAC Forward, Apparently at Staff's RequestPedestrianisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03067236246319422235noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511182286834112345.post-32722050988998866302009-05-15T16:08:00.000-07:002009-05-15T16:08:00.000-07:00I think you misunderstand. The problem isn;t BART...I think you misunderstand. The problem isn;t BART defending its image, or even necessarily approving the OAC.<br /><br />The smell I detect is one of BART employees testifying as members of the public without full disclosure of their role or conflicts of interest.<br /><br />That's a bad thing and it can cause good government agencies to make bad policy decisions.Pedestrianisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03067236246319422235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511182286834112345.post-40335542239397886152009-05-15T15:50:00.000-07:002009-05-15T15:50:00.000-07:00Please Visit Switching Modes for a DIFFERENT TAKE ...Please Visit Switching Modes for a <A HREF="http://switchingmodes.com/2009/05/14/capital-costs-vs-operational-costs-the-general-state-of-misdirected-anger/" REL="nofollow">DIFFERENT TAKE</A> on the Oakland Airport Connector.<br /><br />I think this project is a good thing. It was discounted with Federal Stimulus dollars. The existing bus is deplorable. We can do better. Not a just a little better, a lot better. This is the way to achieve it. When you consider how much a new parking garage costs, how much a new terminal costs… $500 million is reasonable.<br /><br />LRT and BRT are great. But it is not appropriate in this case. It wouldn’t have resolved the problem because it wouldn’t be grade separated and it wouldn't have allowed for an integrated ticketing system. The result would be a system that shaves a few minutes and looks nice, but wouldn't have solved the problem of convenience and reliability. BRT, <I>can</I> have some similar benefits as a rail line, but not for the $44 million that was proposed by the advocates of BRT. No way. <br /><br />And as far as BART using some its' time to protect its' image... that's OK. Just because it's a public agency doesn't mean that it can't protect its' image. That's ridiculous. BART gets the job done. They got the original system built, they got the extension to SFO built, they're going to get trains going into Silicon Valley... every project has huge amounts of opposition. Sometimes you got to rally the troupes. <br /><br />Please check out the <A HREF="http://switchingmodes.com/2009/05/14/capital-costs-vs-operational-costs-the-general-state-of-misdirected-anger/" REL="nofollow">Switching Modes post.</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com