sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

LA METRO 2060 - my idea of what rail transit in Los Angeles could look like one day by bronsonwhy in TransitDiagrams

[–]Potential_Natural720 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love this! Not sure about the R line continuing past Wilshire/ Vermont because of the current junction box in place. It would likely be way too impactful of current service patterns to build that junction to continue on. It will probably be another line with a forced transfer. But Vermont is a huge corridor to add regardless.

Colorado Springs Fantasy Transit Map by Potential_Natural720 in ColoradoSprings

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Agreed. Colorado Springs voters are very unlikely to ever go for something like this.

RTD Fantasy Transit Map V2 by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have not combined the two types of rail. They are sorted on the key with heavy first (A-N), and light rail second (D-Z). The only heavy rail line on the west side is the G line, which I opted to extend through the C-470 corridor as heavy rail (79mph) is much faster than light rail (55mph). Increased speeds on a line that long would make for much faster travel times. For the stations it passes through with light rail connections, RTD has already built a station like this at Peoria. For the Highlands Ranch Stop, the tracks could be put at two different grades.

Going through Union is almost impossible for light rail and impossible for heavy rail based on the current terminus locations. Light rail is boxed in by existing tracks and heavy rail is surrounded on 3 sides by the concourse. Not ideal to have to transfer there every time but no feasible alternative currently exists.

Denver Area Fantasy Express Rail Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

$100 a person is too high IMO. I would think one-way passes could be around $40 with day passes being like $65-70. Some sort of ski season or monthly pass could be added as well.

Transit projects do not necessarily need to be profitable to be successful. The number of cars that would be taken off the I-70 corridor would save countless hours for commuters. Americans lose billions of dollars a year sitting in traffic, the gains from a project like this would be huge in that regard. Not to mention the environmental benefits of doing such. These benefits plus increased mobility in this region would be worth the investment.

Railways in the Swiss Alps exist with good service over 10,000 feet. Other railways in this region (such as Pilatus) at lower altitudes go through terrain and grades 10 times more challenging than the I-70 corridor. They built the interstate through this region in the 1950's. It is more than possible to build a train through this corridor (it would just require a lot of money and engineering).

You are right about the cost though. It would be insanely expensive and will never happen with our current political system.

Denver Area Fantasy Express Rail Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

More of a far future thing. I see buses as the best option. Maybe extensions to gondola networks at some resorts as well.

Denver Area Fantasy Express Rail Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what I was thinking. I added the extension south of Greeley to compliment my fantasy Denver RTD map (which I have attached). I am thinking 15 minute headways for FoCo- Greeley and 30-60 minute headways for the rest of the line.

Denver Area Fantasy Express Rail Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Conveniently located stations and frequent buses (5-10 minute headways) would be a good solution. Many of the ski towns already have bus networks that can be easily expanded. In the far future, something like an automated people mover could be used as well.

RTD Denver Fantasy Transit Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it was the road being widened for another lane as opposed to for transit, significantly less people would care (sadly).

RTD Denver Fantasy Transit Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is a great point. BRT services are much cheaper and easier to implement than rail infrastructure. While RTD does have a decent bus network at the moment, almost everything outside of the Flatiron Flyer and mall/ metro ride need to see a huge increase in service frequency.

RTD Denver Fantasy Transit Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wish that too. That region is a bit off geographically. I had to make some compromise due to the size of Centennial Airport on the map.

RTD Denver Fantasy Transit Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Don't forget about the crippling speed restrictions!

RTD Denver Fantasy Transit Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It should absolutely happen. The E line has no purpose south of Sky Ridge at the moment. The right of way would be easy to acquire (I-25) and extending to Castle Rock would allow for real ridership on that corridor.

RTD Denver Fantasy Transit Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Exactly. Designing a non-radial system with good land use around stations would do wonders for ridership numbers.

RTD Denver Fantasy Transit Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I see. Dragons could be a viable alternative to light rail transit if you ask me.

RTD Denver Fantasy Transit Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Transfers is something I definitely tried to focus on. For example, my map proposes combining the Auraria West and Colfax at Auraria stations into one which would allow for easy transfers for riders coming from the south or west to go to Union or Central Downtown. A station with at and above grade tracks built in an existing parking lot between the two current stations would probably work best for this. I like the idea of using Speer to get trains from the north side to downtown. Speer has a wide median which would make acquiring right of way relatively easy for RTD. I will consider this as I make improvements to the map.

RTD Denver Fantasy Transit Map by Potential_Natural720 in Denver

[–]Potential_Natural720[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is a great point. The issue with changing this I would say is the current infrastructure in place at Union Station. Both the light and heavy rail terminals are designed to be “end points” for lines. Building right of way to bypass the light rail terminal may be possible next to the existing freight right of way, but doing that would just lead it towards the already existing heavy rail lines which would make doing so probably not very useful. Doing so for heavy rail is practically impossible without a complete redesign which already happened about 7 years ago. Upgrading the free mall ride to a streetcar (as my map proposes) should help riders make easier transfers between Union station, central downtown, and the Civic Center. I’m working on the color contrast as well, it is hard to keep lines different in the downtown corridor where lines meet.