tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511182286834112345.post8692991063123805695..comments2024-01-22T12:33:34.115-08:00Comments on Pedestrianist: Development Oriented TransitPedestrianisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03067236246319422235noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511182286834112345.post-74341290456234018902009-08-05T16:31:49.011-07:002009-08-05T16:31:49.011-07:00"What they haven't yet been able to do is...<i>"What they haven't yet been able to do is get the city to give up a lane for buses"</i><br /><br />In theory, San Francisco already has a number of bus-only lanes - down Market, Geary Street, etc. But they are never enforced, and so I'd say SF hasn't really been able to give up a lane for buses either :-/Pedestrianisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03067236246319422235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511182286834112345.post-34685575844468564062009-08-05T10:15:07.476-07:002009-08-05T10:15:07.476-07:00I think the situation with more full-on BRT (i.e. ...I think the situation with more full-on BRT (i.e. dedicated lanes and stations) is more complex than you present it. But I don't want to engage that endless, almost theological argument, here. <br /><br />I just want to note that Los Angeles has a variety of BRT treatments--a separated busway (Orange Line, being extended), lanes on a freeway (El Monte Busway) and on-street running Rapid bus lines. There are something like 22 of those at last count. <br /><br />What they haven't yet been able to do is get the city to give up a lane for buses. LA's densities are generally lower than San Francisco's, but comparable to or higher than Oakland and Berkeley's. They do of course have rail lines they are extending. But it's a pretty interesting experiment in what you can do with buses in a multicentric environment.Nathan Landauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10317530411259886392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511182286834112345.post-48422842227047869632009-07-23T16:00:38.314-07:002009-07-23T16:00:38.314-07:00Thanks for your thoughts, Jarrett, I love your blo...Thanks for your thoughts, Jarrett, I love your blog.<br /><br />It's apples-to-oranges to compare the world's best, or some perfect hypothetical BRT line to a poorly-executed Muni light rail line. In reality, we end up looking at poorly-done BRT systems in the US because that's what we're likely to get.<br /><br />I agree that there are lessons to learn from successful BRT applications, but we should be honest about the limits to reapplying those lessons here.<br /><br />SF doesn't have a network of highway medians in which it can build a BRT network. The plans we do have cost nearly as much as rail would and are taking just as long to plan and build. If cost and time savings are two major reasons to choose BRT over rail, then they do not apply in SF's case.<br /><br />My main point - one on which I hope we can all largely agree - is that those cheapest and most beneficial characteristics of BRT ought to be implemented on as many bus lines as possible.<br /><br />When BRT is advertised as a stepping stone to a high capacity transit line, it should be built that way - with as little money and time invested in creating the interim step, and as much benefit coming out of that step.<br /><br />My 2¢Pedestrianisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03067236246319422235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4511182286834112345.post-34147976179632787872009-07-23T00:15:50.859-07:002009-07-23T00:15:50.859-07:00No argument about your application of BRT-lite tre...No argument about your application of BRT-lite treatments to other major corridors. <br /><br />But your dismissal of BRT, and that of the Overhead Wire, seems too reliant on the limited US experience, where BRT has tended to be implemented near the lower end of its quality and capacity range. <br /><br />Eventually the US will need to broaden its view to learn from both best-practice first world cities like Brisbane and Ottawa, as well as best-practice advanced-third-world examples like Bogota and Curitiba. <br /><br />That Ottawa and Curitiba are now planning conversions to rail is evidence of the success of BRT at driving urbanisation and transit dependence, not its failure.Jarrett at HumanTransit.orghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052246183256575683noreply@blogger.com