Regional Electric Rail.

I've largely ignored the UTA FrontRunner. I don't ride it. It doesn't go where I need to go, at the times I need it to go places. It's a commuter rail, ferrying office works. It doesn't serve my transit oriented lifestyle. But not everyone is me, and transit riders come in many varieties.

The new (draft) WFRC-MAG long range transportation plan is out.  And looking at transit, one of the things that really catches my eyes is the money being put into FrontRunner--extension, electrification, double-tracking. I'll admit all are worthy: a) a regional rail network needs to serve the region; b) It's a dirty secret that FrontRunner's diesel engines actually produce more pollution than the cars they replace; c) doubling tracking is strictly necessary for more frequent operations. 

But a whole pile of articles I've been reading have me thinking about through-running regional rail (see end of post). In a nutshell, the 'Réseau Express Régional' (RER)  works because Paris is polycentric. The center is historic, so they exiled all the new skyscrapers to the edge of historic Paris--literal Edge Cities. So when people commute to/from these edge cities, they do so using the RER to cross central Paris. Despite much hope, such an approach seems unlikely to work in NYC, because it has one central CBD. 

But it makes me wonder if it might work in the Wasatch Front--that long skinny ribbon of urbanity west of the Wasatch Mountains. The biggest 'CBD' is SLC, but neither Provo nor Ogden are exactly tiny. So it's possible to imagine a transit network connecting all three, flowing through and across them. Not just a CRT, but a regional rail network. 

My first objection would be: "We already have TRAX!". But when I look at the Long Range Plan, I see 'infill stations' at 1700 S. and 2700 S. Infill stations improve the local access, but reduce network access. Every station requires an additional 3 minutes, making every commuter 3 minutes longer. Mode-share is very time sensitive, so adding 6 minutes the commute for someone coming from Sandy may lose UTA riders. (Whether the new stations add enough riders/trips to offset that requires serious analysis). But, less us presume things do go that way: That the TRAX corridor becomes more urban, with a stop every mile, such that the entire corridor is within a half-mile of a Trax Station--a veritable Transit Oriented Corridor (TOC--see Cervero's article on it). If that happens, SOMETHING is needed to replace the high-speed regional access formerly provided by TRAX. And if I'm reading the planning right, the idea is to have FrontRunner fill that role: A RER ('Regional Electric Rail'), touching Trax at North Temple, at 6400 South, and (sort of) in Sandy. LRTP is also showing cross I-15 at 102nd south, to connect Trax to FrontRunner, with a shared corridor down to 135th. (While still on the map, I view extending the Draper line as a dead letter. Nothing but miles and miles of single family out that way.) The South Jordan FrontRunner station would be a reasonable terminus. But, given the pressure to reach the Point of the Mountain and prison site, I can't imagine them stopping there. Draper FrontRunner would be the next reasonable terminus for extending Trax, and would make Ebay happy (they were long-ago promised a train). Past that gets muddy--reconnecting to east-side rail would require jumping I-15 again (not cheap), and is highly dependent on what happens with Utah County Trax.

• What the RER A vs. C Contrast Means for New York Regional Rai
• Regional Rail for New York City - Part I
• Through-Running at Penn Station
• To RER A, or to RER C? How Paris typifies the two models for cross-city commuter train lines

My comments on the Salt Lake City Draft Master Transportation Plan

The Plan (Draft)

The map

My comments:

Reducing local bus stop frequency would be a virtue. Fewer stops would mean faster transit and more money to be sent per station, so there is (minimally) someplace to sit, rather than 'a pole in a mud-puddle'. The new places along 200 south have been really nice. Arguably, even local buses should not stop more often than 1/4 a mile. The high-stop density in downtown makes riding a bus across downtown miserable--far faster to bike. The couple of minutes walking the larger number of stops saves a few people is outweighed by the delay is causes people still on the bus. Harm to those with walking difficulties can be mitigated by better bus stops, available seating, and improved walking conditions for sidewalks near bus stops.

Very pleased to see a 200 south connection direct to FrontRunner--getting between the FrontRunner and the U is almost astonishingly difficult. The University connection between main and 400 west has been on the books for decades, without success, and it's a pleasure to see an alternative under consideration. Upgrading an already successful line is a best practice in transit planning.

The new transit centers near the hospitals and at 2nd&7th are welcome. I might suggest the addition of a 'transfer center' at State and 200 East, to take advantage of the connection between the future State BRT/Bus+. I've heard Carl's Junior mooted as a site, or the use of Gallivan center, with a bit of a walk to transfer to Gallivan station. It's a long way to ask people to walk, but might be feasible.

Transit Signal Priority, segments of dedicated lane, and improving stops into level-boarding stations are all welcome and effective improvements. The emphasis on the creation of better bus corridors through ongoing capital spending rather than on high capital cost streetcars is welcome. The mooted continuance of the Sugarhouse streetcar along 1100/900 East (11c) seems more feasible as a bus. Connecting Westminster to Sugarhouse and the TRAX line is a surefire strategy for success.

I applaud avoiding Research Park along the the Foothill BRT/Bus plus (line 12). The lack of a I-215 NE means that some combination of Foothill and 13th East have to handle the traffic demand of a major freeway. Given the difficulty and cost of widening either street, using higher capacity alternative to make more efficient use of limited ROW is an excellent idea.

If a TRAX extension is in the works, a line along 400 West from 200 South to 700 South and eastward to 200 West is suggested. It would require only about a mile of new track, serve Pioneer Park and Pierpont, and free up much needed capacity along the main street line. Much of the median ROW is already preserved, so there would be no need to take traffic lanes. The greatest conflict would be with automobile traffic at 500 and 600 South.

Reducing local bus stop frequency would be a virtue. Fewer stops would mean faster transit and more money to be sent per station, so there is (minimally) someplace to sit, rather than 'a pole in a mud-puddle'. The new places along 200 south have been really nice. Arguably, even local buses should not stop more often than 1/4 a mile. The high-stop density in downtown makes riding a bus across downtown miserable--far faster to bike. The couple of minutes walking the larger number of stops saves a few people is outweighed by the delay is causes people still on the bus. Harm to those with walking difficulties can be mitigated by better bus stops, available seating, and improved walking conditions for sidewalks near bus stops.

Very pleased to see a 200 south connection direct to FrontRunner--getting between the FrontRunner and the U is almost astonishingly difficult. The University connection between main and 400 west has been on the books for decades, without success, and it's a pleasure to see an alternative under consideration. Upgrading an already successful line is a best practice in transit planning.

The new transit centers near the hospitals and at 2nd&7th are welcome. I might suggest the addition of a 'transfer center' at State and 200 East, to take advantage of the connection between the future State BRT/Bus+. I've heard Carl's Junior mooted as a site, or the use of Gallivan center, with a bit of a walk to transfer to Gallivan station. It's a long way to ask people to walk, but might be feasible.

Transit Signal Priority, segments of dedicated lane, and improving stops into level-boarding stations are all welcome and effective improvements. The emphasis on the creation of better bus corridors through ongoing capital spending rather than on high capital cost streetcars is welcome. The mooted continuance of the Sugarhouse streetcar along 1100/900 East (11c) seems more feasible as a bus. Connecting Westminster to Sugarhouse and the TRAX line is a surefire strategy for success.

I applaud avoiding Research Park along the the Foothill BRT/Bus plus (line 12). The lack of a I-215 NE means that some combination of Foothill and 13th East have to handle the traffic demand of a major freeway. Given the difficulty and cost of widening either street, using higher capacity alternative to make more efficient use of limited ROW is an excellent idea.

If a TRAX extension is in the works, a line along 400 West from 200 South to 700 South and eastward to 200 West is suggested. It would require only about a mile of new track, serve Pioneer Park and Pierpont, and free up much needed capacity along the main street line. Much of the median ROW is already preserved, so there would be no need to take traffic lanes. The greatest conflict would be with automobile traffic at 500 and 600 South.

Salt Lake City Draft Master Transportation Plan

Check it out!

http://slcrides.org/documents/

9-Line BRT

Looks like UTA is planning to put some transit in place along 800 South/Indiana Avenue. Or so it appears from their ROW purchase plans. My best guess at the alignment for the BRT would be:

Start at 900 South Trax Station, West along 800 South, to Navaho Street.
Option A: Continue West along Indiana Avenue to Redwood Road
Option B: Head south along Navaho Street to Glendale 'Rose', then southeast to California Avenue.
-b1: Return to 1300 S. Trax
-b2: Continue West to Redwood Road.

And then hence south along Redwood Road, terminating at one of many TRAX stations, viz:

• Redwood Junction
• West Jordan City Center 
• Sandy Civic (at 10600 S. and State, following route 218)
• 114/118/Pioneer Road in Draper