Let me begin by saying that I'm not yet sure how I feel about the proposed light rail for Stamford. Now let me bring to your attention a seemingly far-fetched proposal to turn Manhattan's 42nd Street into a traffic-free light rail line. Here's the Times article.
Some interesting quotes:
“Real estate people should take a look at what’s happened with real estate values in other cities where there are these walking streets,” said Mr. Durst, who visits pedestrian-friendly Copenhagen frequently, as his wife is Danish. “They’ve increased tremendously.”
Vision 42 advocates said light rail lines in Dallas had stimulated more than $1 billion worth of development. In Portland, Ore., light rail has catalyzed about $1.2 billion worth of development. In Jersey City, about 33.3 million square feet of development is under way, Mr. Haikalis said.
3 comments:
yea, i have to agree with you with the skepticism. it seems to have worked in other places, but that in no way means that it would work here. there are just so many other issues to consider...
I'd love to see light rail in Stamford. I remember living in Salt Lake for a few years in the 90s when they were debating whether or not to do light rail. Now that it's there, no one complains and the ridership is generally very high. I live just outside the downtown area. Just too far to really walk there. But I could do a lot with light rail...
Now... 42nd street... that would be interesting. I've worked on 42nd street for a long time. I'd be for reducing cars. But, honestly, I think they need to reduce cars overall in manhattan (i.e., congestion charging) otherwise if you squeeze cars off of 42nd street, they go to 41st and 40th and 39th and 38th and 37th and 36th... Somehow we need to work toward an overall reduction in car traffic in NYC...
Ideally, we should aim for an overall car reduction wherever it's feasible! Studies have shown time and again that the best way to improve traffic is to have fewer cars on the road. When you build more lanes, they just fill up with more cars!! (See: Angeles, Los.)
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