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Re: San Jose's VTA is closing it's crappiest light-rail line
Author: synonymouse
Date: 04-10-2019 - 10:30
Subway-surface is certainly not a new idea - Cincinnati tried it a century ago. SF attempted bond measures to tunnel on major lines in the thirties but failed, in large part due to opposition by the privately owned Market St. Ry. Had those subways been built much more of the street railway network might have been saved postwar. And Bechtel gauge would have been aced out of downtown SF streets.
LA is putting the money into downtown civil works and it will reap the rewards. It is not entirely impossible that cities like San Diego, Seattle, Denver, Sac, etc. might in time do some mining of tunnels thru the most congested spots. It is a question of money and political motivation.
In SF you can see an important question and decision coming up with the proposed undergrounding of the M line. Obviously Geary takes total priority but the city father dolts are afraid to take it on so they want to tunnel out West Portal Ave. This plan is quite similar to the BARTish scheme put forth in 1967 which would have of course killed off the streetcars. Fortunately failed at the polls. But tying together the K and L lines as surface streetcars and forcing a transfer at West Portal would be a downgrade and a regression. Possibly you could have a ramp-down to the M subway within the confines of the West Portal station similar to what exists at Duboce and Market. In the process saving subway-surface no transfer service on the K and L lines. In any event this subway has way lower priority than Geary but SF Muni management has no stones.
LA is putting the money into downtown civil works and it will reap the rewards. It is not entirely impossible that cities like San Diego, Seattle, Denver, Sac, etc. might in time do some mining of tunnels thru the most congested spots. It is a question of money and political motivation.
In SF you can see an important question and decision coming up with the proposed undergrounding of the M line. Obviously Geary takes total priority but the city father dolts are afraid to take it on so they want to tunnel out West Portal Ave. This plan is quite similar to the BARTish scheme put forth in 1967 which would have of course killed off the streetcars. Fortunately failed at the polls. But tying together the K and L lines as surface streetcars and forcing a transfer at West Portal would be a downgrade and a regression. Possibly you could have a ramp-down to the M subway within the confines of the West Portal station similar to what exists at Duboce and Market. In the process saving subway-surface no transfer service on the K and L lines. In any event this subway has way lower priority than Geary but SF Muni management has no stones.
