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Re: Am I the only one who thinks a Monterey bus rapid transit line is more important than...? Yep, BRT is mostly nonsense and wishful thinking, especially in a place where an HOV lane might make more sense....?
Author: BOB2
Date: 04-28-2024 - 20:00
FUD Wrote:
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> Main difference between the Monterey and Santa
> Cruz branch lines is that Santa Cruz acquired a
> still partially functional railroad line connected
> to the national system; Monterey didn't. IIRC from
> my last visit to the area (many years ago) there's
> a trail along parts of it, especially but not
> exclusively the section beyond Sand City where the
> rails are gone. But I just don't see new rail
> service on that line within most of our lifetimes,
> if ever. Under those circumstances, turning part
> of it into a bus lane makes all sorts of sense.
> The Highway 1 freeway is a driving disaster on
> weekends and other times when it's full of
> tourists (including many that would meet the
> criteria for the new term "touron" ... look it
> up). Personal experience of that, having lived and
> visited with family in the Monterey Bay area.
> Having a bypass for that to use with
> regional-access buses would greatly improve
> schedule reliability. Most likely, it would be in
> the more central areas, since the rail line
> doesn't actually go to Salinas (would need to use
> normal roads for that, probably through Marina
> like the current through routes run). Of course,
> something that reaches Castroville, which the rail
> ROW does, would also help tie the area to Santa
> Cruz.
What is it about "bus lanes" or "BRT" that make you think that spending money on a bus way would actually speed up most trips, and why it would somehow work in a rural application like this? And, while you are thinking about that, what service levels would be operated in a region like this to justify the costs?
Good "old fasthioned" HOV Lanes on SR-1, which could be used by fifteen minute or half hourly express buses in that corridor, but which could also accomodate 1500 2+ plus carpools per hour, for all of those "multioccupant" vehicles, that one often sees in corridors with lots of tourists might seem to make more sense? Sometimes "evil" highway lanes, especially HOV lanes are a better investment in a case like this.
Bus lanes seems to be the new urbanist "cure all" for every kind of transit "ailment" these days... Though the true "believers" can rarely, in most of these instances, explain to me exactly why? The only problem with spending oodles of taxpayer money that kind of "true believer" reasoning is, to quote George Carlin, that it's BS, and it's bad for you...
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> Main difference between the Monterey and Santa
> Cruz branch lines is that Santa Cruz acquired a
> still partially functional railroad line connected
> to the national system; Monterey didn't. IIRC from
> my last visit to the area (many years ago) there's
> a trail along parts of it, especially but not
> exclusively the section beyond Sand City where the
> rails are gone. But I just don't see new rail
> service on that line within most of our lifetimes,
> if ever. Under those circumstances, turning part
> of it into a bus lane makes all sorts of sense.
> The Highway 1 freeway is a driving disaster on
> weekends and other times when it's full of
> tourists (including many that would meet the
> criteria for the new term "touron" ... look it
> up). Personal experience of that, having lived and
> visited with family in the Monterey Bay area.
> Having a bypass for that to use with
> regional-access buses would greatly improve
> schedule reliability. Most likely, it would be in
> the more central areas, since the rail line
> doesn't actually go to Salinas (would need to use
> normal roads for that, probably through Marina
> like the current through routes run). Of course,
> something that reaches Castroville, which the rail
> ROW does, would also help tie the area to Santa
> Cruz.
What is it about "bus lanes" or "BRT" that make you think that spending money on a bus way would actually speed up most trips, and why it would somehow work in a rural application like this? And, while you are thinking about that, what service levels would be operated in a region like this to justify the costs?
Good "old fasthioned" HOV Lanes on SR-1, which could be used by fifteen minute or half hourly express buses in that corridor, but which could also accomodate 1500 2+ plus carpools per hour, for all of those "multioccupant" vehicles, that one often sees in corridors with lots of tourists might seem to make more sense? Sometimes "evil" highway lanes, especially HOV lanes are a better investment in a case like this.
Bus lanes seems to be the new urbanist "cure all" for every kind of transit "ailment" these days... Though the true "believers" can rarely, in most of these instances, explain to me exactly why? The only problem with spending oodles of taxpayer money that kind of "true believer" reasoning is, to quote George Carlin, that it's BS, and it's bad for you...
